Big Changes

I’ve been trying to find time over the last couple of weeks to sit and write a blog post, but time has flown by. I can’t even believe the whirlwind of events that have taken place since mid-July. On July 18th Doug and I flew down for our trip to Vegas not knowing that we would be returning to Yelm with big news and big changes. That Monday we received the call that we had been expecting for over a year, that Doug was being offered the position at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. We’ve been anticipating him getting this position for quite some time, but had honestly gotten to the point where we were moving on with our lives in Yelm. I know to some, this move came as a big surprise. People have been shocked and have said that it all happened too fast. For us, this move has been on our minds for 3 years. It all started when we spent the summer down in San Antonio 3 years ago. It was then that we even began to consider living anywhere other than Washington. We felt at home in Texas. We loved the people, the culture, and the activities and yes, even the weather. Well, maybe Doug didn’t love the weather, but the rest of us really enjoyed lots of pool time and lots of sunshine. Doug also loved being at headquarters. He loved the challenge that came with being there and loved thinking about all he could accomplish there if given the opportunity. To go back to getting back from our trip to Vegas….we immediately jumped right into the moving process. First on the list was telling the kids. Then we started telling friends and family. We also started tying up loose ends with all of our commitments. Most of you as our friends and family know that we are so involved in so many areas of our lives and ending all of those commitments has been difficult. We said goodbye to the Enfield clan, which was very hard. We have also been getting our house ready for new people to live there and went on a house hunting trip to find our new home. This last week we had packers and movers in and out of our home and we have said more goodbyes than we can even count. There is so much we are going to miss about our lives in Washington. We are going to miss our family. Having our kids grow up with so many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents has been such a blessing. They are better people because of all of you! We are going to miss our friends, who we also consider family. You have all loved us and supported us and have helped our children to have such wonderful lives. We are going to miss having cows in our backyard and living in a town with only 5 stop lights. We are going to miss going into Walmart or Safeway and always seeing someone we know. We are going to miss our baseball, fastpitch and basketball teams. We are going to miss Crossroads and all of our church family there. We will miss seeing Mt. Rainier all the time and we will probably even miss the rain. We are going to miss our house. That house has been an amazing home for us over the last 10 years. We have made so many memories there. The children have grown up there, we hosted small group there, numerous parties and get togethers and of course had the annual 3rd of July party. Saying goodbye to the house was hard, but as I reminded the kids, the house is only sticks and wood and paint, what matters most is the memories we made there and those we take with us. As long as we are together as a family, that is what counts. With all of that said my favorite thing to say this last week was I’m so ready to stop saying goodbye and start saying hello! We are getting ready to say hello to so many new wonderful people and things. We are looking forward to a new neighborhood with new neighbors and a pool! We are looking forward to learning more about our new church and making friends there. We are looking forward to exploring a new area and learning what it’s like to live in a city. We are looking forward to what living in a city will offer the kids as far as sports and theater and swimming and other fun extracurricular activities. We are looking forward to LOTS of sun. We are looking forward to finding fun new hang out places and finding our new favorite shopping areas. We are looking forward to making so many new memories in a fabulous new place. In closing I want to say that our home is always open! I know that this move has been hard on us and I know that it’s also been hard on those we love. There is an open invitation to anyone who wants to come and visit. Our lives would never have been the same without all of you and we would love to see you again!

On the road again...

Time to dust off this Blog again.  I think everyone knows by now that we are leaving the Pacific Northwest and heading out for Texas!  I got a job opportunity and we decided that this was the right move for our family.  Over the last month we have cleaned and gutted (furniture) to our Yelm home.  We have renters moving in shortly.  We flew down to San Antonio and bought a house in Cibolo, TX.  The packers are at our house right now shoving all our wordly possesions into boxes as I write this.  My wife and kids will be flying down there and staying with friends until I get there.  I will be driving the truck and travel trailer down there with the dog.  LONG trip, but this is really the best way to do it.  More to come through our adventures!