an update

i am finally writing a post about what is going on with our family, to move or not to move????

to recap: ned graduated in december from u of i in law. he started a job in spokane, wa at a patent firm. after only a few months they laid him off due to lack of work. he has spent the last few months applying for jobs but has not been able to find one. eventually we came to the conclusion that we needed to make some decisions about what to do if he doesn' t find work. in the process my dad and i spoke on the phone and he offered to let us stay in his home in slc, utah while he is living in colorado. that became plan b in case plan a(finding work) didn't pan out.
we are now a few weeks from school starting for the kids and we still don't have a job. so, we decided we better move to slc(temporarily, we hope) to avoid being kicked out of our current residence because we can't pay rent. SOOOOO, that is the plan! we will be moving to slc on or around august 21.

i have to admit this has been a very difficult decision. i never anticipated being in this situation when we started law school 3 years ago. we didn't expect to move back to utah, either. i have really had to wrap my brain around this entire decision and while i know it makes sense, it is challenging to accept. depending on the day, i am either happy or upset about this decision. i have known for at least 2 years that moving from moscow would be difficult. it is amazing that in the short 3 years that we have been here, moscow has come to be what we call "our home." i don't think i have lived anywhere before that has felt so much like home to me. growing up in the military has provided many opportunities to experience different places, but moscow, idaho has been the one place that i can say i feel truly "at home."

moving from a small town to the "big" city is going to be shocking to us. we love this small town and the wonderful people who live here. we really hope that one day we can move back up to the northwest.

to help me with this move, i have had to really make myself think about the positives of living in slc. some things i came up with are: seeing my old friends again(namely, amy..yeah), being closer to extended family, more job opportunities and ned can work his real estate again until he finds work. i debated on whether or not having more shopping options was a positive and decided that when you are unemployed, it isn't so great!!

with only a few weeks left until our big move, we have a lot to accomplish. i have begun downsizing our junk and already feel very overwhelmed. my goal is to pack at least 4 boxes a day and hopefully clean as i go. i have been spending a considerable amount of time out in our garage sorting and organizing. while it is a long process, it has also been kind of fun. i have located lost items(piano books i knew i had but could never find)as well as old mementos that have been fun to reminisce about. (ie: our wedding videos. the kids love to see how we and everyone else has changed over the years.)

these last few weeks we will also make a quick trip to seattle to see ned's family, celebrate our 13th anniversary and celebrate will's 1st birthday. we also plan to spend as much time with friends making those last minute memories before we head south. it will be an emotional month. one thing i am certain, our family will miss moscow but we will be back SOON to visit. so, don't be surprised FRIENDS if you get a call from us asking if we can come visit!! i PROMISE, we will!