Why did we get such a big house again?

Every May, Mike and I usually head off to the happy land of National Boy Scout Meetings, somewhere in the United States.  Which means, since my kids are not yet to the legal age of watching themselves for a few days, we have someone take them or come and watch them for us.  Before we moved here we had to make plans to fly them back to California less than a month after landing in Utah.  They were scared to death of flying alone, but it was a great experience.  I have a wonderful Sister in Law and Brother that took care of them like their own children (but they didn't make them do as many chores, lucky kids.  I am not as nice...).  The next year they stayed with friends here and had a wonderful time.  We have been very blessed.

Last May, my Mom was able to come out again to help and visit for a month.  My cousin was getting married in the middle of June and instead of flying back and forth twice, she stayed.  It was so much fun! After all the years that I have lived far from home, having a visit for that length of time was a real treat for me and the family.  Mike and I were gone for the meeting the first week of her visit and then got to be with her the rest of the time.  

The first Monday that we were back Mike turned to me and said, "Your mom should just come and live with us."  Now, this was not completely out of the blue.  Before my dad passed away, we told her several times that if she ever wanted to come and live with us, we would love to have her here with us.  Now she isn't even 65 (for 1 more day), so she is not the age that most would probably consider doing such a thing.  However, she is legally blind and that means that she can see well enough to do things and get around, but she can't drive anymore.  In fact, she hasn't driven in over 12 years.  

Thursday night rolled around and, again, Mike said, "Your mom should really just come and live with us."  Again I told him, as I had on Monday, that when and if she was ready she would tell us.  

Friday morning, I was in the kitchen doing something and she came up to me and said slightly nervous and apprehensively, "I have something to tell you."  

Now, I have learned from my friend Jeralee, that because I am a people pleaser, I am always fearing that I am in trouble.  I have to get over that, because it is really annoying.  So, I rushed, "I know I could do better on my parenting,"  

She laughed and said, "No, that is not what I am talking to you about at all, and I think you are a great parent!"  (Well, now that you have said that, of COURSE I am!)  She paused and then said, "I think I am going to move in with you."  I think my response was of my mouth dropping open and then a shout of excitement and then she told me how she came to thinking about it.  She couldn't get the thought out of her mind all week as she was going to bed.  She went to sleep thinking about where she would put her stuff, where to move things.  She woke up thinking about it as well.  These thoughts had not been on her mind before she came and they were not invited there.  She felt a little perplexed by it all, probably especially since so many of her children and a sister lived in California.  I then told her that I could answer for Mike as well and that it could not have been coincidence that he said, not just once, but TWICE, how she should move in with us just that week.  We hadn't spoken about it for months before that.  

She still felt like she had to think and pray about it.  And by Sunday she felt like she had a confirmation with all of the thoughts and feelings that she had that she was supposed to come.  My mom really didn't understand completely why (I think she understands more now), but within four months she had moved in with us into our daylight windowed, walkout basement that she calls home.  She has two bedrooms, her own (much smaller than her old) bathroom, and a living room with a fireplace and a place for her huge office desk.  It was hard to leave kids and grand kids and her home and friends behind in California, but she has been amazing at reaching out and meeting people in our neighborhood and ward.  

Now we'll be "real" here for a short moment.  (And I hope my family does not think me ungrateful)  There have been a few bumps as the kids adjusted to another motherly figure around (back-up for mom! Woohoo!) and she has been so wonderful in trying to just remain grandmotherly (dang it, less back-up) when the law needs to be laid down.  But those things have been minor and, I think, mostly overcome and it has been a joy to have her here!  We laugh and talk a lot.  I have to fight her off in the kitchen to do dishes (I know, crazy, but I don't want to abuse the help).  It is just so nice, after all of these years, to have her close again (and no, not a little too close)  In some ways, that someday I may elaborate on, it has saved my relationship with my own daughter.  

So when we bought this huge house, almost a thousand square feet more than I had wanted and swore I would never have again, I couldn't understand why this house felt so right when we wasted so much of its space.  I spent a lot of time thinking about how we could use it better (rent it, adopt, foster, missionaries).  Why?  I love this house.  I love so many things about it.  But I just didn't understand, why this big?  All the pieces fell into place when my mom told me that she was going to move in with us.  In one moment, all of that space made sense.  And it is no longer wasted, it has purpose, and one of my best friends living there.

We are Moving!!!

This picture is a hint... Where can you go and get Fry Sauce and night crawlers at the same gas station/restaurant? When I saw this, I loved it! This was in a smaller town we went through and we felt at home. It is the Riverbank Cafe/Gas Station...you still don't know, do you?

WARNING...VERY LONG (MIKE SAID SO)...Mainly for my records...

Many of you that live close by have already heard the news, but most have not heard...we are moving! We didn't really talk about the opportunity with many people because we were really not sure if Mike would get the job. But we are really excited.

When Mike and I first got married we were supposed to make a list of all the places we were willing/not willing to live/move while working for the Boy Scouts. In one category, along with the Dakotas and Alaska (just too cold people...I am a WIMP!), were Idaho and Utah. We were young(er). What can I say. A year or less after making that list we had a job in Idaho. When Mike first got the offer to interview in Idaho he immediately turned it down, I mean, we had said we were never moving there...he held to the agreement we had made. When he casually told me of the offer that night and subsequent refusal of the interview, I said, "WHAT! That is a really good job. What if that is where the Lord wants us to go?" So the next day he made the calls needed to let his future boss know that he was interested after all. Kim, a kind and wise man, let us reconsider our hastily made list and we lived in Idaho for 3.5 years. It was a great experience that opened a lot of doors for Mike. We have many good friends that we made there, I am so glad we didn't pass that up!

Fast forward to today where Mike is working for another incredible man and has learned much more. We really feel led and had the door open at the right time (timing is everything in jobs, isn't it?) and Mike has worked with Larry, a man that he had wanted to work for since before we were married. Another huge blessing in our lives. We have loved it here and with the kids being the age to forge good friends has really felt like home, even though we have rented and knew it was going to be a short stay.

We have now completed our three year "tour" as one of my friends called it. It is really a three year minimum commitment with being able to stay as long as you want (or as long as your boss can stand you). So for whichever reason you would like to pick, Mike was up for a promotion if he wanted to be. He has been the "number 2" guy in three different councils. It was time to interview for the "number 1" guy. An opportunity arose for him to interview in Ogden, Utah for the Scout Executive position. The other two men that were interviewing were either living in Utah or had worked in the council and had family there. You never know what the selection committee, made up of volunteers, is looking for or wanting. So with us being the "outsiders", so to speak, we really felt like the underdogs and that if we got the job, it was really where we were supposed to go.

To back up just a little, we had an incredible time in Utah this last summer for our family reunion. While on Temple Square, I had such a peaceful feeling. I had the thought that I could probably really love living in Utah if we ever had the opportunity...I didn't actually think that it would happen. With three councils in Utah, and timing being KING, I never thought in a million years it would happen now. I think that the Lord was preparing me for this though. Softened my heart up. Quite frankly, it is hard moving anywhere.

So back to the interview...things went really well. The first day we were there we hit the ground running. We got our car, drove to Ogden to the Boy Scout Service Center, got directions to the 3 camps that were not snowed in and were on our way. We went to a Day Camp close to Tremonton, Utah. Then went on to Bear Lake to Camp Hunt and lastly ended up at Camp Kiesel just outside of Huntsville. It had just snowed that morning so we weren't sure how the roads would be. But they were really clear. The camp properties were beautiful and we kept pinching ourselves that we were even interviewing for such a great council.

Here is the hamburger we ordered on a recommendation to two men Mike struck up a conversation with at the Riverbank Cafe close to Tremonton. It was HUGE! I think it was the first and close to the last thing I ate all day. Notice the Napoleon Dynamite Tatar Tots! Why don't they serve good tots most places anymore. They were good.

Mike was excited to be in fry sauce territory again. Porter...this is for you...if you've made it this far.

Here we are on the back of Camp Fife, overlooking the fort in the background. What beautiful mountains. And these are probably considered hills in this territory.

The view we drove into as we headed towards Logan and onto Bear Lake...

Mike, ever the posing Boy Scout at Camp Hunts Dining Hall...I love him!

The gate was secure at Camp Kiesel, so we had to hike it in. The sun was starting to go down a little at this point. I had us on a clock for how long we could be in camp so we didn't get caught in the dark...

The entrance of Camp Kiesel! Wouldn't this be stunning to enter into as a Cub Scout?

Fun with Icicles...we were having fun with them...but I think that Utahans were sick of the snow at this point of almost April...

The next day Mike had calls to do around the community and I went looking for houses "just in case". Looking for houses is a great way to see the community while being productive, because I knew I wouldn't have much time to look for a house, nor want to leave my kids again for an extended time, if we got the job. The weekend before we left I remembered that my sister's father-in-law, Mike, was a realtor in the area. I was so excited, because I knew he would help me like I was one of his kids. He is also a hoot and we laughed and coughed and sucked on lozenges together all day long. (I had had the flu really bad before we left and still had a bad residual cough).

That night, there was a reception for the candidates and the selection committee and then we went out to dinner. I was more relaxed than I probably should have been, however, I have learned that scouting volunteers are some of the most wonderful people on the planet, so they really are not scary. In fact, they were really fun to talk too. When we got back to our room, we remarked to one another how we felt really good about how the night had proceeded. We felt that if this was not the place, we could do it again! The process was somewhat demystified. We went to sleep exhausted and slept amazingly well, even though I had a bad cough.

Mike got up the next morning. We had breakfast, got ready and tried to relax until it was his turn. I called and talked to my parents almost the entire time he was gone, which helped my sanity enormously. When he came back he told me everything he could remember. He felt like he did his best. So we just waited while the committee decided over lunch. Most of the stories we had heard from others that had gone through the process before was that you usually get a knock on the door if you got it and a call if you didn't. A little after an hour had gone by, my phone rang really loud. We were so nervous (we couldn't eat lunch) that we jumped until we realized that they wouldn't call me. While I was on the phone, there was a knock at the door. I hung up quickly while jumping up. However, the door started to open on its own and we realized it was housekeeping. At this point we were laughing. We walked the halls, staying close so we could hear the phone ring in our room, just in case. Finally we went back in and the phone did ring. I was shaking my head, saying to Mike that we obviously didn't get it, but then he started to nod his head. I was so confused. He got off the phone. The HR guy for the Western Region called to tell him to "get his butt down here and sign the contract". I almost couldn't believe it! We felt so welcomed by the volunteers as we walked into the room. I think my smile at unbelief mixed with excitement was from ear to ear. We then went to the service center to meet the staff, who were so gracious. Everyone was so nice. There are some really amazing people working there too. We are still a little overwhelmed by it all.

After all the introductions were over, we rushed off to see the two houses I picked out. They were both great houses, but by the next morning, neither of them felt right for various reasons. We called to see if we could change our flight. Now this is just funny. If we changed our flight, it would have cost us over $150 each ticket (a brand new one was $190). I didn't know what we were going to do. Then the customer service agent, feeling my distress volunteered, that if we missed our flight, but still got there within two hours of take off we would be put on the next flight...FREE OF CHARGE...if we had a really good excuse. It ended up that I didn't remember our flight time...I thought we were going to make it in the end. I had remembered what time we had to leave by to catch the flight safely...but not the actual take off time. So, I really did screw up in the end. However, it bought us two hours of house looking time. After looking at 20 houses over two days we found two more houses that we really liked. One was perfect. Everything was new, lots of play things in the back for the kids, three car garage, everything. But it was further from work by 15 minutes than the other house and "just" $40,000 more. We put an offer on it and by the end of the 24 hours we gave them I was praying that they wouldn't agree to it. I call it the new car effect. You are really excited to have that brand spankin' new car...but then you make that first payment and think of all the things a cash paid for car or less expensive car would have allowed for in your budget. We ended up going with the two car, still beautifully updated, house that is only 10 minutes from work. A blessing for Mike, who is gone a lot and may only have a moment to come home before a night time meeting.

So, in the end, the Lord had different plans for us than we did almost 10 years ago. We are headed to Utah. I just hope I can survive the drama of my eight year old as we move. Those who say young kids move easily must have been drinking heavily through it.