Saturday, February 11, 2012

5 Years Y'all!

A little over 5 years ago I emailed this photo (believe it or not I did not have a blog yet) to notify our family and friends that we were moving to Texas!

So we packed up our home in Southern Oregon (we lived there for nearly 2 years) and headed on our long road trip to Texas!

And on February 7, 2007 we arrived to Texas. We moved here in hopes that it would be a place our family could prosper.

Our first meal out was to the Texas Roadhouse. After driving over 2050 miles and 30+ hours in the car, Stephen was happy to get a Texas size beer.

My dear parents made the long trek with us and drove our 2nd car. They stayed a few days in the hotel with us until we found a rental home we could move into. Madeline was 3 years old here.

We ate out those first couple of weeks until the movers brought our stuff and we got settled in our new home. We wanted to check out the best spot in Texas to see the sunset, 
so we went to the Oasis.

The skies certainly seemed bigger here in Texas and the sunsets are gorgeous!

James happy that we are finally settled into our new house.

James was 4 months old when we moved here. So a couple of weeks after we arrived James tried baby food for the first time. Now he is 5 and starting Kindergarten in August.

A few weeks after we moved into our home Stephen's Mom flew out 
to help us unpack and get settled.

We didn't know if we would like Texas. We didn't know if we would like Austin. Turns out, we love it. It truly does feel like home.

And our dreams began to unfold and our prayers for prosperity began to be answered. We were able to purchase our first home here in 2009. Stephen landed an awesome job with Hertz. And I landed a very cool job with New Era / Gallery Direct.

In the 5 years we've been here, we've made lots of milestones. Madeline started Kindergarten at an elementary school just down the road from our home. She's had wonderful teachers and so far a great school experience, which we are happy and thankful for.

And though we may no longer live by the beach in Southern California. And though we may no longer live near the beautiful trees and mountains in Southern Oregon...we have found the beauty of Central Texas and the Hill Country. The beautiful lakes and rivers. The green hills and flat farmlands. The uniqueness and fun cities that surround us. We have been blessed and are thankful to God for all that He has given us. Happy 5 Years to Us!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy 5 years! You have been through a lot! I'm glad to see you guys are really enjoying it and it feels like home to you.

Erica Lane said...

Yay!!! Good for you!!! I think only super smart people pack up their families and take the Texan risk ;)

Thank you for being my trailblazer in so many eays!

Erica lane said...

Congratulations!!! Only smart people pack up their families and move half way across the country to Texas! Thank you for being my trail blazer in so many ways!

Allison said...

Yes! Congratulations. We have stayed in the same spot for nearly 18 years - we moved a lot pre-children but never with the boys. Good for you. And how beautiful you have grandparents who support and love you so much!

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you are enjoying life in Austin!

We considered moving there for a few months and I was so nervous to leave the Northeast. Now it looks like we'll be staying here, but seeing all the awesome stuff you guys were doing made it a bit easier to think about a big move.

You guys are living such a blessed and wonderful life! Praying for 500 more years of happiness and love for your family!