The Move

This post has been in my drafts since September of 2017!  I suppose I totally forgot about it as we transitioned on with new explorations.  Now a year later I'll try to piece together the story I intended to tell when this was originally drafted...

The terrain here differs from the Midwest.  While I will always love the Flint Hills, the wheat and corn fields, and even the grazing cattle lining many roads...there's something exciting about the mountains, cactus, palm trees, bright blue cloudless skies and cotton-candy sunsets.

I visited Phoenix twice before moving here, once in March on a quick visit with Matt and Cam and once in April on a trip we'd already had planned to attend the NCAA Final Four.  (We explored Surprise a little but ultimately Matt bought our house on his own and I saw it for the first time when we moved in. #trust) 

The Final Four was held at Cardinal Stadium in Glendale. 

Matt's parents toured the campus with us.

Selling coaches and athletes on promises, air and dirt at this point.  And a pretty great view, I think!

Matt accepted the job as the first ever head coach of the men's basketball team.  What an exciting opportunity to get to start a program...and start a university!  No doubt in my mind that Matt is just the guy for the job!  He spent a lot of the spring in Arizona while we put the house on the market.  As I look back now, it was a hectic time with working to finish up the school year, 3 kids, and keeping the house clean 24/7 for possible showings.

In all honesty, the 2016-17 school year was a tough one.  I started the year on maternity leave, had a hernia surgery limiting what I could do and lift, and then returned to school after a terrible string of several subs who had quit.  With Cade in kindergarten I had to leave work right at 3:30 which is often difficult to do.  Especially on lab days.  I had to criss-cross town getting kids picked up from 3 different places on a route that took 45 minutes to an hour.  Every day.  It was just a time of transition where it was difficult to feel like I was winning at work or winning at home.  #momfail 

When I received this for Mother's day from Cade...I knew something had to change.  I know these things are meant to be funny and I shouldn't read too much into it...but my son pointing out that I love to go to work and that I often forget to pray for him was a kick in the gut.  I did enjoy working.  My classroom has always felt like my happy place.  Teaching is something I love and something I always thought of as family-friendly.  Until the 2016-17 school year.  

Which was all part of God's plan.  Without that tough year I'm not sure I would have been open to not working.  With the move came the opportunity to stay home with Cam, to help my family get settled in a new place, to be able to support Matt in his new role without having my own work schedule to contend with.  I knew it was time to step back from teaching for awhile and I'm so thankful it has worked out for me to be home as we make Arizona our new home.

We loaded the truck on June 12 where our belongings then went BY TRAIN (!) to Arizona.

After celebrating Matt's sister's wedding and spending some time in Great Bend, we drove our cars out (about 15 hours from Great Bend) with Cam and Matt's dad.  It was a really pretty drive!  (That I want to drive ONE TIME in my life.  #2hourflight)

The truck was unloaded on July 1st.  And it was over 120 degrees.  Welcome to the desert.

We had some painting done and tried to get as much unpacked and set up as we could before my parents brought Cade and Reese out in mid-July. 

Transforming from browns to grays is tricky...there are WAY MORE than 50 shades of gray to choose from it seems.

It was hot.  For many, many more months than we were used to.  But we have loved the neighborhood, the pools, meeting new people, our church, and just getting to explore a new place!  This is such a growing area that it seems like everyone was new here at some point recently.  Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.

It was an adjustment for me to be a stay at home mom and not have my classroom to manage.  I struggled with what my days should look like, how I could contribute to our family, and when I should jump back into working.  I prayed a lot about if I should work this next school year...and God answered pretty loud and clear that He thinks I need a couple more years at home for our family.  Even though it's taken months for me to wrap my mind around that...I am thankful.  It's in the midst of change that God can really work.  And again, I am thankful. 

The 1360

A look back at our house in Olathe that we sold over the summer before making the move to Phoenix.  This was the second home we purchased and, honestly, we all thought we'd live there longer than we did!  

We put on a new storm door and painted the front door when we moved in (a Behr paint but I don't know the exact color--believe me I wish I did!)  I want to paint our new front door but our HOA here is crazy-strict so I don't know if I'll ever jump through all the hoops or get a fun color approved.

To the right is a sitting room and the left is a formal dining room.  The previous owners had made many nice updates including the flooring, kitchen upgrades and master bath.  

The basement...no basements in our area now but I actually don't miss it as much as I thought I would.  We've found a place for everything in our new place even without a basement.

Upstairs bedrooms

I do miss all the storage in our master bath and all the tile work.  Tiled bathrooms like this don't seem to be very common around here.

The realtor pics didn't document one of my favorite things about the house, the barn doors from the master bedroom to the bathroom, so I had to add my own pic that I snapped right before we moved out.  

The new house did not have very many pics posted in the real estate listing and some were strange pictures.  I relied on video that Matt took when he walked the house.  The first time I saw the house in person was when we moved in!  Crazy to think about!

The stair case with the book nook is one of my favorite things about the house!

We have since painted the whole house and kitchen cabinets!

This random pic was very strategic on their part.  This is a tiny snippet of a huge, awkward, terrible wall of rock.  The next project is to have it removed and reconfigured.  They were smart not to post the whole wall!  #hindsight

We want to be able to remember our Olathe house but also are so thankful for how God continues to provide on our new journey!  This move was not foreseen at all by us, but we know we are right where we need to be!

Previous post about the 1360 here.