Texas, Here we COME!!!

Considering everything that is going on in my life right now, I think I am holding it together pretty well!  I just felt I needed a place to put my thoughts down and share the events of the day with whoever will listen!

I am a Carolina Girl born and bred - I have never lived more than 15 minutes from my parents (even in college). I am 33, on August 12 will have been married for 11 years and the mom of 4 AMAZING kids!  (7, 5, 2 1/2 & 10 months).  They keep me busy!  As if that weren't enough, just over 3 years ago my husband got laid off.  I happened to be 3 months pregnant with our third child (now 2 1/2) and was (by the Grace of God) working part time from home.  When my husband came home from work that July 11, 2008 and told me he had been laid off, I immediately called my manager and asked if I could go full time.  Thankfully, she said yes.  So there I was 2 kids at home, one in the belly, hubby now at home and working full time from home!  I wouldn't go back and change a THING!  :)  My husband put out tons of resumes and started looking HARD to no avail (the beginning of the downturn).  He decided (with my support) to start up his own company.  Luckily overhead was not needed and he worked out of our home office.  So November 3, 2008 we officially started our own small business.  I continued to work full time and my husband was attempting to do his own thing.  Baby #3 arrives in late Jan 2009 and I am SO thankful that we were all able to be home together.  It was an amazing time in our lives, it worked!  When my husband got laid off, we started slashing expenses...QUICK!  First our membership to the Y, then we took the kids out of preschool...just started trimming where we could.  I continued to work from home for another year.  My contract ended on Dec 31, 2009.  Our main goal was to pay our mortgage, second goal was survival of the company.  We took on a partner in Feb 2009.  2010 was a great year, but again we were putting as much back into the company as possible, meanwhile our finances were taking a hit and we were struggling.  My husband and I look back over the last 3 years at what a humbling experience it has been and how much we have learned from this.  We are closer than ever, we don't fight...period.  We discovered we could work together not only as a couple in the home but running a business as well (I was accounting, HR and did invoices & accounts receivable - among other things).  After 3 years of struggling financially and just being exhausted from living like that we decided to look at making a change.  Just for grins and giggles he threw a couple of resumes out in San Antonio, Texas (where his dad and his dad's family lives).  He has always dreamed of moving to Texas (he will say moving "back" to Texas - cause that is where he is "from" - but I tease him relentlessly about that - he was born in Texas and lived there for 2 years...).  His dad just brainwashed him with how amazing Texas was and now my husband is brainwashing my children with this same love of Texas - which is fine with me...its neat to have a place to love. I will ALWAYS proudly tell people I am a Carolina Girl!!  

Anyways - he sent a bunch of resumes out almost as a test in Texas.  We researched a LOT and saw that Texas seemed to be the place to look for jobs.  And San Antonio and Austin kept popping up on all these "lists" about best places to work, best place to find a job...so we figure what the heck, we will try it...One worked!!  He was offered a job and they wanted him to start on July 11, 2011.  (For those of you paying attention - that date should be familiar - that was the date the exact date he was laid off from his previous employer!!!! - if that is not God saying "HERE!", I don't know what is...and I don't take hints very well, so God has to open barn doors for me - no cracked doors, or windows, - He better make them FLY open if He wants me to see and pay attention!)  Anyways - after lots of talking and thinking and talking and telling my parents through tears, we decided to go for it...we decided that we were ready for a change.  I was ready to be a mom again, a mom FIRST, not an employee first.  So he accepted the job.  That was 2 1/2 weeks ago.  He is now in San Antonio and has just finished his second day at his new job.  The rest of the family is up here trying to get things in order so we can go down with him.  I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for our kids and the whole reason we were doing this was for financial reasons...so the smart financial thing to do, was to send him ahead let him stay with his dad for a few weeks, me and the kids stay here.   This has been a WHIRLWIND to say the least!!!  Yes it is HUGE, yes this is a big change for this Carolina Girl...but I can do it.  With him, my husband, and my kids by my side, I can do anything!  

So what has happened since he accepted the job???  We have gotten the house ready to put on the market - thanks to the hard work of my baby sister, my mom and my bestie!  They helped me pack and purge and clean!  The house went on the market 1 week ago.  We have had 166 hits on our website but no showings - YET!  We have purged and sold a TON of stuff on Craigslist the past few weeks, made NUMEROUS trips to Goodwill and it has been EXHILARATING!!!

Last week I started my oldest 2 in school, one in second grade and one in Kindergarten.  I took my little girl to the park for the first time in MONTHS!  Almost brought me to tears thinking about how long it had been since I was able to take my kids to the park.  I have been stuck behind a computer for the past 3 years!!!!  Yes I have been home, but I have had to work!   Those days are numbered though!!  

Today I took my daughter to the park again, walked a mile (second day in a row for both)!  Cleaned and sold my husband's car (we decided it was not making the trip to Texas...)  Went to the grocery store before carpool, made a failed attempt at Eggplant Parm for dinner (well the meal didn't fail, my kids liking it failed - it turned out pretty good, but the kids were less than impressed - but at our house they have to eat it anyways...my 10 month old even tried it!).  I got all 4 bathed, fed, read to and in the bed before 8!  And the older 2 and the baby even got to talk to Daddy on Skype.  (baby girl went to bed early cause she skipped a nap due to the car stuff today)  And somehow managed to get some work done too (I am still working for "the company" to attempt to smooth the transition while I am still here.)  Then for whatever reason felt I needed to start a blog to tell people about this adventure.

So yes - "We Are Really Doing This!!!"