Oh hey! We moved.

It's only been 1 month since I last blogged, but it turns out 1 month is enough time to change everything.  Everything. 

Around the time of my last post, Clark had an interview with a company in the Chicago area.  It was someone who had interviewed him before over the phone, but then they changed what they were looking for, and so things didn't pan out.  A couple months later, they had an opening for an engineer, and immediately flew Clark out for an on-site interview.  It went well. 

A week after the interview, an offer was made.  After much prayer and consideration, the offer was accepted.  Coming from unemployment means you want to get started right away.  You want to get started yesterday.  So we sat down and looked at the calendar, to see how fast we could possibly do this.  2 weeks was what we came up with.  So in 2 weeks we found a place to live, listed our house, packed up all our belongings, and moved to Illinois.  To say it was crazy doesn't even begin to describe those 2 weeks. 

We had so many offers of help from our good friends in Midland.  Our kids were well taken care of, we had extra hands to pack and clean, and we even received dinners most of the nights that last week.  In the whirlwind of activity, I almost didn't have time to think about the magnitude of this decision. 

Almost.

In the quiet hours of the night, when I should have been sleeping, I spent a lot of time thinking on the past 3 years in Michigan, and how much I loved it there.  I thought about all the friends we had made, all the friends my girls had made.  I thought about how much we loved our house, and how heartbreaking it was to have to sell it.  I thought about all the places we had discovered and the fun experiences we were able to have as a family.  And I cried.  I'm still mourning the loss of our lives in Midland, actually.  We had it good.  I knew this would be coming, I'd known since January when Clark lost his job, but when it actually happened, when reality set in and I knew I'd be leaving one of the most precious places on earth to me, it felt a little like the sky was falling, and I'd never be happy again.

Of course, this is false. A little factoid about me: I can't be unhappy for longer than a few hours.  My soul just can't take it, so I always find a way to pick myself up and hunt for the silver lining in all things.  The grand paradox of my life is that I'm such a worrier, and yet I'm supremely optimistic.  It's cyclical, I guess.  Anyway.

We are here in IL!  The boxes are all banished into storage, life is starting to calm down finally, and we are settling into a routine.  Now we just need our house to sell.  Seriously, friends, pray that we sell it quickly or we'll be in BIG trouble. 

More to come soon.