Packing, Shopping & Planning...A Hectic Time :)

So, I have a quick minute to jot down the latest for everyone (not sure if many people besides Meghan read this -- but if not, then it is a fun way to keep her updated!) We have plans!!! We haven't updated anyone, because things have changed a few times. In fact, all of our plans are resting on the hope that Andy's replacement will get through training. We have faith :)

As long as everything works out with the new guy, Andy's last day at work here in Oklahoma City will be the 11th of December...2 weeks from tomorrow :) His 1st day in Oregon will be the 16th. As you may already know, we found someone to rent our house as of Dec. 1st and are ecstatic to be relieved of that bill. This move is going to be expensive...After trying to find extended stay hotels that would accept our dogs without charging ridiculous fees...we have decided to leave at separate times. Andy's mom, Carolyn has offered to fly out here late on the 3rd, and her & I, along with the 2 dogs will be driving Andy's truck to Oregon. We will be there by the night of the 6th...quick trip. Andy will be leaving on the 12th and driving the big moving truck, towing my car behind it. I will have exactly 1 week in Oregon to find us a place to live! We are hoping to "downsize" & "down grade" from our current rental. This will be easy to do since this house is AMAZING. I will miss it, but I am going to LOVE paying off the move and our other debt. Then we can start working on other things...like hopefully growing our family. All in God's timing of course.

So...we are excited, nervous, stressed and hopeful! We will be living somewhere in Eugene, OR now...not Roseburg as we had expected. This will be beneficial to Andy's passion for glassblowing and our shared passion for art. We will be in a very "artsy, fartsy" location!

Please pray for us to: -have safe trips, -have calm weather during our drives, -find a safe place to live, within our budget, and to not stress too much (a major problem for me.)

Thanks everyone!

With Love,
Mandi

Adios Oklahoma...Oregon, Here We COME!!!

Okay, okay, okay. So...apparently I'm not so good at keeping up on this whole Blog thing. Haha...I promise (ahem, MEGHAN, ahem) I will try much harder to keep it updated. I was never one to write in a diary, so this is kinda like those diaries that I started and so quickly quit on :)

So -- backing up, Andy moved out here to Oklahoma in July, and I followed in August. We didn't last very long. Don't get me wrong -- we like the city. There is a TON of shopping (which isn't very beneficial to us since we are working on finances.) For those of you that know me well, you will know that it has been a HUGE accomplishment for me to not go shopping for myself! I didn't even buy shoes! I have been extremely homesick since leaving. I thought it would be just as easy as moving to Georgia had been for college. I forgot that I was there to be a part of a team, so I automatically had 18 friends. Andy works so much (70 hours a week) and I just haven't been happy here. I haven't really made any friends...I didn't connect with the church that Andy liked...and I hated not having more family around. I just wish we were within driving distance!!! I take full blame -- I didn't try very hard. I was sort of "depressed" about it all and felt comfortable staying home by myself. About a month or so ago, Josh and Karen (our only family members here) let us know that the company was moving them again. This time to Boise, Idaho. We were pretty bummed as you can imagine. Excited for them (they love Idaho, and it's closer to family), but bummed for ourselves.

Josh had been joking with Andy that there are openings in Oregon, knowing that we wouldn't want to pick up, pack, and move again this soon. We really considered it, but the job was a night shift and it just wasn't right for us. I researched different stops in Oregon and became interested in Roseburg. I googled Roseburg and it looked beautiful. So I mentioned it to Josh and he let me know that it wasn't very likely that it would be available soon. You see, it's a 1-driver team and the driver they had seemed pretty content. He would either have to be fired, or decide to quit before a position became available. We weren't too upset at the news because we have a 1 year lease and weren't expecting anything anyways. I just continued to pray for God's will and our happiness like I do every night. And wouldn't you know it -- about a week of prayers and God starts opening doors for us again. Andy tries to be sneaky, but he isn't very successful :) One night, while watching tv, he asked me if we were to have the opportunity, would I really want to break our lease and pay for a move right now. My answer was a solid yes. But, you see... I am ALWAYS the one to ask these types of questions. Andy is more of a "go with the flow" person and not much of a planner. I, on the other hand, have a general plan for the rest of our lives :)

Long story (a little) shorter...the driver in Roseburg wants out! So we looked into everything, talked with our families...etc, etc and WE ARE MOVING!!! I could not be more excited. It is stressful though. We don't really have a date. We know that we will be there by sometime in January, at the latest. We are really hoping to be there before Christmas, although we bought tickets to Cirque du Soleil's show here on Dec. 23. 3rd row tickets...and we didn't buy the insurance plan. But, again, we are trusting in God to choose the best time and help us get there. So, for now Andy is continually working and I am packing as much as possible that we will not need in the time being. We would love prayers from everyone...specifically that someone will want to rent our house out asap, since we have to pay rent until it gets filled. Also, prayers that they would feel so inclined to return our deposit :) We need ALL the help we can get. This is definitely going to be a big setback in our quest to reach 0 debt (via Dave Ramsey's teaching.)

That is all for this post...I will try to post about some of the cool things we actually did in our time here!!

And here's a pic of Scout and Walt watching me while I pack.

Until the next time...which hopefully won't be months away!!

Mandi

And He's Off...

Well, Andy left this morning. He is going to try his hardest to make it to Albuquerque, NM. I am a blubbering fool, but I know these next 3 weeks will fly by. I am praying that he will have a very safe trip out there. I know he is very excited to see Josh and Karen and the kids, as they are also excited to see him. Hopefully we will hear back on the house we applied for. It will be great once we secure a place to live :) This next month will be very emotional for me...as I have to say goodbye to work friends, friends, our church, my family and the beautiful Central Coast. Hopefully I can stay busy and keep my mind off of everything :)

Almost Time...

Well...it's almost time. It feels so real now! Andy is leaving for Oklahoma early Saturday morning. We've been busy packing and now that we have a 22-foot Penske taking up our driveway (during the fair), it has started to sink in. I can't believe we are moving. The good news is: I truly believe that we are following the path that God has chosen for us. Andy is moving into a secure, promising job. I am in the process of lining up my first (and hopefully ONLY) job interview at an AMAZING salon. We are waiting to hear back on a house that we applied for (rental.) God just continues to bless us everyday.

Till the next time :)
Mandi