The word is out about our move so it has started to feel "real." If you haven't heard yet - we're moving to Boulder, Colorado. Although I must admit it really still feels surreal. David quit his job at Yodle on Monday which marked the end of a 7+ year adventure for him (and us.) Bittersweet, for sure. There has been good news and bad news since he quit. The good news is that we're both home and available to work on getting the house ready for the market and we can spend some quality family time together before David starts his new job at Trada on the 14th. The bad news is that our health insurance benefits were terminated on Monday which means we A. don't have health insurance (apparently Cobra info is being sent to the house) and more importantly B. we had to pull Blaine from his new therapy program because it was being covered in full by insurance (at $75/hour) and we can't swing that on our own. After three years of searching for the right program for our Mister, researching countless preschools and struggling to find the right fit for him we found the best option just three short weeks ago. He started in a 4 hour/day preschool at the Children's Autism Center with ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) therapists at the beginning of April and we have learned a lot about how to work with Blaine and he was actually having fun and relating to other kids. We hope this is short term and he can go back for a while before we move but won't know if our new insurance covers this therapy until after the 14th. With all the stress and sadness and change we've encountered in the last few weeks with this move, this was the one thing that made me cry. I hated having to pull him from something he needs like that, but we're certain good things are in store for him and us.
Speaking of the stress - I don't think I've ever had this much to do. Since I love lists so much, let me share one with you.
Things to do
1. Clean out every room, closet, cupboard, nook and cranny and get rid of stuff we don't want to move.
2. All that stuff that we don't want - sell in a moving sale.
3. Organize, price, prepare for moving sale.
4. Hire a Realtor and after meeting with Realtor fix (spend money on) the 495 things they want to change/upgrade.
5. Take out a second mortgage to pay for 495 things.
6. Get bids from a million different people for the 495 things that need to be done.
7. Fly to Boulder (where I haven't been yet) and find a rental house where our family will spend the next year.
Did I mention that all of this needs to be done in 1 week? Oh, it does. We have a goal of getting the house listed by the 16th. We want to have all the work done, garage sale done, junk given away, house set up, cleaned and ready for the photographer as soon as possible and when all that is done, we plan to get out of here (probably heading to Michigan) so the Realtors can do their thing and get our house sold. We're praying that the house goes in a reasonable amount of time and we don't have to pay a bunch of money after it's all said and done.
Hannah is too young to understand but Blaine is ecstatic to move. He's been talking about moving and the mountains for months now (before he even knew about Colorado) so we took that as another sign that this was the right move. Trying to get a 4 year old to understand what moving across the country entails is hard though. The first thing he said when we told him was, "I can't wait to have Siri over!" When we broke it to him that she wouldn't be able to come over anymore, he insisted that she would, he would just need to give her his new address. He also informed us that Siri is his only friend and he was not going to make any new friends. (Great.)
So, aside from working 17+ hour days we're doing well. The word "exhausted" just doesn't cut it. We are excited and motivated and thrilled that this move to Boulder is next on our adventure. Of course all the glory goes to God. David and I know that we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Him, his grace and the foundation he provides in our lives. I've done something similar to this before. When I left Michigan for Houston 10 years ago I came on faith alone. I was selected to join Teach for America but I was placed in my 17th out of 18th choice. (Houston was 17 and Detroit was 18.) A very small percentage of Corps members were placed in a city that they did not want to go to but I trusted God that He had a plan for my life. Boy did he ever! Here I am 10 years later with the love of my life, David, two amazing and beautiful children and I've experienced more growth spiritually, emotionally, and mentally than I could have ever imagined. While I don't want to leave Austin (or Texas, for that matter) I feel that this is the next right move for us. I am thrilled for David and his new opportunity and I have a feeling that some pretty amazing things are going to happen for us in Colorado. If nothing else, my love-hate relationship with the cold will intensify! :)
Keep checking in. I'll try to keep you all updated on our move as it happens.
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