We are moving!  Or we are trying!  Last week I shared that I had fallen into my hole. Today, I want to explain a little bit as to why and share some of the exciting things we have facing us as we move forward.

For about a year and a half, we have been talking and praying about what was next for us as a family.  There have been a series of events like our best friends moving across the country and our family month-long road trip. These have been chapters in “our story” and have given us the sense that something new was coming.  There have been ideas, conversations, and dreams all over the place.  Its been exciting and fun, but no clarity was given until this past fall.

We now have a dream that is coming into a plan that we believe God has placed directly in our hearts.  I have LOTS more details coming to what is next for us, but for now, the part where it all melted down.

One thing in the mix of the coming changes was knowing we need to sell our house.  Shortly after we made the decision to sell, a situation presented itself to us, and we thought we had sold our house before even placing it on the market.  It felt like all the “arrows” and “signs” were saying YES!

We were then surprised by the news two weeks ago that the deal we had been working on for about two months, fell through.  We were crushed, and that is where you heard from me last week.  I had sat on the news for a week, opened up to you, and then many of you all poured tons of love and kindness out to me in response.  I STILL have not responded to every loving message I received through emails, comments, texts, facebook messages, in person hugs, phone calls, and tweets.  I have felt supported and encouraged.  Thank you for caring for me and helping to carry me through.  Please know that I will respond to each and every message I have received.  You all have built into me, and I am forever grateful.

You might have seen this picture on instagram last week, if you follow me there.

A smile was on my face.

My Valentines Day present from Brin came in the mail, as I was processing what was next for us as a family.  Questions were racing through my mind like “Did the lost sale of our house mean a “no” to our plan?”   “Was it just a bump in the road that we had to over come?”  “Why did we have to go down this road for two months to drag out acting on the next step?”  I was emotionally drained and discouraged and then Brin’s package arrived.  I had never done a blogger swap until I signed up for this one and was paired with  Brin at Bold Butter Baby.  She way outdid herself on our Valentines Day swap.  See what I mean…

Her package came and it had lots of my favorite stuff.  The candy is amazing…does this girl get me or what?  Yes, candy does brighten my day.

I adore the coffee mug and all the bright-colored socks she chose for me.  Two of my obsessions are COLOR and socks…and she paired the two together. Amazing.

Did you catch that infinity scarf I am wearing?  She ordered that for me, and I am obsessed with it.  Brin WAY over did herself, and I was truly teary eyed opening her present and feeling the love pour out.

What I have seen modeled in Brin, as I have gotten to know her is strength.  Through the process of email, twitter, instagram, and lots of direct messages I have seen and heard how Brin and her husband have moved in the last few weeks.  They have a young active boy, Dexter, and Brin has been really sick.  She’s had a lot going on, yet she has reached out to me.  One day I literally was crying on my floor direct tweeting with her about my house and get this…some one stole my present to her.  She found the remains of the packaging.  I was crushed.  She deserves my present and so much more.  I wish I could send her another right now.  I will some day.

What surprised me is how in a dark moment, the person that was there for me and was lifting me up was a new friend.  Direct tweeting me hope and perspective.  It is moments like this (after being pulled out of them and can look back) that I see that I was not given the short stick. God has not forgotten me and is loving me by orchestrating an even better story for me.  I have found a new friend and I know I will always cheer her on.  Someday, I will meet this girl in person.

It is funny how circumstances happen in your life that you don’t get, you don’t want, yet something good becomes of it.  I have gone from feeling God’s plan was laid out for us to becoming more raw and accepting that although our path may be before us…we might have to work, struggle, and endure a little to get there.  Just because we sense God’s desires for us, does not make the path easy and simple.  I’m finding that it means we have the peace to continue on.

We have decided to put our house on the market with a realtor.  Exactly one week from tomorrow it will be up for sale.  We have been busting butt to get things cleared out, closets simplified, and pictures packed away.  It’s been busy and our house is currently at the “it gets worse before it gets better stage,” but we are making progress.

I am convinced now that we will see God’s might and hand in “our story” even more clearly than if that first sale had gone through.  Thank you for being a tool used to impact and encourage me.  Tomorrow, I will lay out what we have been doing and still have to do around the house.  On Monday, I will share WHY we want to move.

Thank you Brin for the amazing package.  Please visit Brin and say hi.  I highly recommend her facebook, twitter, instagram, and blog.  Today is the last day to enter her Cricut giveaway.  Enter it and check out the sweetest post she wrote about me.