Sometime in the spring Matt had gotten the feeling that we were meant to be closer to our family in Ohio. We really started prayerfully considering it. We definitely got a yes to our prayer of should we move closer to our family. Then we had to figure out the how. We still had the girls and weren't sure as to how long we were going to have them. We were still being extremely prayerful as to what Heavenly Father wanted us to do. We knew we'd both have to find jobs, somewhere to live and sell our house in North Carolina.
While I went on my wonderful trip to the beach with my sisters and mom, Matt got a call one night. A man called him on that Friday and said he received Matt's resume and heard he was wanting to move closer to his family in Ohio. Matt was pretty stunned about all of this. He had never heard of the company this man was calling from and was just in shock that he knew of our situation. Matt told him he'd have to talk with me first and that he'd call him back. Once I got back and we talked about it, Matt called him back the first of the following week. After talking with James, he called me and said that James asked Matt what he thought of moving to Louisville, KY. When Matt mentioned this to me I was in shock for about 1/2 a second, then I immediately told Matt sure, why not? It would put us much, much closer to our families, but still far enough away that we'd have the space we were used to.
Matt went on an interview around the middle of June. I stayed home with the girls while he went. His interview was a major success! Three hours after he left they called him and said the three people he interviewed with were very impressed with him. He got a job offer from them a couple of weeks later and he had a start date of August 16.
The girls were still an issue, because Casey had been home from Haiti for quite some time, so I called her and told her it was time for her to come pick them up. She originally didn't want to get them until Nicholas came home in August. I explained that Matt would be moving, and I didn't want to have the girls by myself and she needed to get them. I still wasn't quite sure if Matt would get the job or not, but it was time for them to go back. Matt and I absolutely, positively LOVED our time with those two precious little girls. But we could tell it was time for them to go home. It was very hard for us and the girls to say goodbye, but we had to around the middle of July.
Once the girls left, I had to start getting busy. I had to get the house ready to be listed so we could try and sell it. It's amazing how empty our house felt once they left. It was very heartbreaking for Matt and I, but we really didn't have time to dwell on it since we had to get ready to move. I wasn't having any luck finding a job, and the house wasn't sold, so we knew Matt would have to move without me. I kept thinking I had a ton of time before he'd be gone, so I was trying not to worry about it. Well, let me tell you, that time flew by and before I knew it it was time for him to move. Two weeks before he was supposed to move we went up to Louisville to try and find an apartment. We were very lucky and the second one we went to we liked and were able to get it.
I believe Matt left on Friday the 13, and I had never felt so lonely before in my life. Thank goodness I had the dogs. I knew that this was supposed to be what happened, but it didn't make it any easier. We had been praying so hard about this, and I truly knew this was the right thing, but boy was it difficult.
At the end of September I was asked to come up and interview with Matt's company. I was more than ready to since I was extremely ready to be with my husband again. I was offered the job and had a start date of October 26. That meant I had to get the house packed, and everything settled in two weeks from when I got the offer. Talk about being stressed out! Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely DESPISE moving, and then to have to do it all by myself on top of it. Luckily I had a good friend who came over a couple of times to help me pack. Without her help, I honestly don't think I could have gotten it done.
The move itself went pretty well. Matt and I didn't pull out of Winston Salem until 10:00 pm. I had worked all day, and then came home and had to finish up the odds and ends. Luckily my friend came over again to help us finish. We drove all night long and finally pulled into our apartment complex at 6:00 am. Our family was due to show up around noon to help us unload. We got about 4 hours of sleep and got up and started unloading some ourselves. Before we could unload the truck we had to go to Uhaul to drop off the car carrier. After we got the car unloaded, the guy there told Matt to pull the truck around the building. When he was coming back around the building, the didn't see a parked car and side swiped it. Needless to say, it put a little bit of a damper on our morning.
Anway, we got the truck unloaded, and were basically completely unpacked by Monday. It was such a huge relief. The only major thing still lingering is the fact that we still have our house in North Carolina. We are in the process of trying to rent that, so we'll see how that goes.
The weekend that we got here, Matt got called as the Second Counselor in the Elder's Quoram presidency. So he's not only busy with work, but he's busy at church too. I got called as the Public Relations and Emergency Preparedness Specialist. Don't ask what that is, because I'm still trying to figure it out.
Overall our move here has been wonderful. With one major exception. The dogs are living with my sister Jeanne for now. We didn't want to have them in this apartment. It has been so hard to not have them with us. But, Jeanne got a new puppy the week before we moved, so Macy and Brutus have a new friend to play with.
As you can see, they are doing just fine there. That is Max in the middle, and he's obviously much bigger than Macy and Brutus. For the first couple of weeks Macy wanted nothing to do with Max. Anytime he came near her she growled at him. Brutus on the other hand, has done just fine with him. It took a little while, but Macy is now friends with Max. They love their Aunt Jean so much, so I know they are being well taken care of. I try to go up every couple of weeks so see them. Luckily they haven't forgotten me. That's been a huge relief, since that's been a ginormous fear of mine.
So, as far as I can think of, that's our update. I will try and make a better effort at updating again, even though it's only Matt and I now and not the girls.
