A very long update regarding our move to Glenwood Springs
This entire process of moving to Glenwood has blown my mind. If I wasn’t already a believer in God’s presence in this world, I would be now. Fo’ Sho’.
I want to try and convey all of the incredible little bits and pieces of this story but I don’t even know that I can. However, I’m going to try so this is going to be even longer than the last post. THERE ARE EVEN CHAPTERS. Remember in 3rd grade when you felt so smart because you were reading chapter books?
Chapter 1: This is Freaking Mindboggling
I explained in the last post about how this job opening appeared within the first few days of us checking. We were in Glenwood a couple weekends ago and Brian’s boss asked to take us to coffee because he wanted to meet me (which is awesome in itself. I mean, Brian hasn’t even started yet). He took us to a charming little coffee shop and we talked for about an hour. Did I mention he graduated from Whitworth in the 80’s? (Another wonderful thing to add to the list). We talked about Whitworth and shared our experiences and how we met our spouses and it felt like we were hanging out with an old friend; not a man I’d never met before that day. Then he went into a story about Brian’s new position and how it came to be. He talked about how it was a last minute decision to create this position and that the budget was tight and it was up against almost 10 other proposed positions within the company. No one thought marketing would beat out the other departments. After the proposal meeting, he was told his position was at the top of the list and his jaw dropped. He went home to his wife and told her he might get approval for a new position and that it was obvious to him there was a bigger force involved and that he felt like God was orchestrating this position into existence. He said now that he’s heard our side of the story, he was only seeing the tip of the iceberg of God’s plan. I got goose bumps (and still get goose bumps writing/talking about it). I mean, come on! Not only is this whole story amazing but how cool is it that we can sit down with Brian’s new boss and talk about how awesome God is??
Chapter 2: Where are we going to live?
We’re moving and we need a place to live. We decided to just rent until we get a feel for the area. We don’t want to buy right away and then realize we’d rather live in a different part of town- kind of like what happened when we moved to Westminster. Brian was looking on Craigslist daily and every place available said, “No Pets”. Well, that’s just great because we have three and I’m not going to ditch them just because we’re moving. I hate it when people do that; it’s absolutely not an option. The only place he could find that would accept pets was a tiny little studio with a twin bed. Um, rock-paper-scissors for the bed? As much as I love Brian, we’re not dating 20-somethings and I can no longer function in life while sharing a twin bed.
We were starting to feel like we had finally hit our first brick wall. I was praying like crazy and sitting at the computer the day before we were going up to look around and decided I would see what I could find. The first one that popped up was a 1,000 sq. ft. loft on Grand Ave (the main street). It didn’t say anything about not allowing pets AND there’s an exposed brick wall. *Moment of silence for exposed brick walls.* Brian called and the woman was incredibly nice and was willing to allow our pets to join us. Our windows face the main street and she said we can watch the Strawberry Days parade from our room while sipping margaritas. It’s above a tattoo parlor (who would’ve thought) and CMC is literally right across the street. How’s that for a morning commute for Brian? I’ve always wanted to live right downtown and I think it’s pretty neat that I get to get it out of my system before we really settle down. I feel God has gifted me with a desire I hadn’t even specifically asked for. Are you a believer yet??
Chapter 3: Selling Our Townhome
So now it’s time to put our house on the market. I’m pretty skeptical about the whole selling process since we were burned the last time we tried; but the way things were going, I found myself feeling pretty confident we would sell quickly. I was thinking maybe in a few weeks we’d see an offer come in and we were prepared to drop the price fairly low if need be. I spent my time trying not to let moving details overwhelm my thoughts because it was probably going to be a while down the road and I realized I need to stay present in my life here in Westminster or I would go crazy. However, here’s how it went down: We had pictures taken on Wednesday and the house was listed on Thursday night. We had 5 showings on Friday and 2 offers. TWO OFFERS ON THE FIRST DAY, PEOPLE. AND, THAT’S NOT EVEN THE END OF THE AWESOMENESS.
**They will pay cash, give us our asking price, and they want to close in 3-4 weeks. **
WHAT?!
They also want our couch, our dining room set, our hall tree, all the window coverings, our bed, our dresser, and our night stands. At first I was thinking, “Aw nuts. I love my furniture!” But then I realized I was pretty stressed about getting all of that down the stairs of our townhome, into the truck, and up the stairs at our new place. This way, we don’t have to move any of it and we can buy new stuff and have someone else deliver it and move it up the stairs. SOLD. Their offer is still the higher offer even factoring in what it would cost us to repurchase all our furniture. This also means that I will be able to join Brian about a week or so after he moves so we won’t have to live apart for long. Granted, the buyers can still change their mind up until August 8th but I feel God’s hand so involved that for once in my life, I’m not planning for the worst. I’m getting sick of using the words “awesome” and “amazing”. Let’s see…I’m flabbergasted at how incredible this has been. Thanks, Thesaurus!
Chapter 4: My Reflections
When we first started praying about this, I was reading a devotional and it focused on 1 John 5: 14-15 which goes like this:
“And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.”
I remember writing that verse down in my journal as a way to remind me that if this didn’t happen it’s okay because it wasn’t the right thing for us to do. But then, it turned out that everything we asked for has been given to us and not just half-assed. God has given us what we asked for but raised us our request and brought it forth in a manner even grander than we could’ve even thought to ask for. I can’t even begin to find the words to express how amazing and awesome living that verse has been (there are those pesky words again).
It reminds me of a story I read in college about a little girl who longs for this fake/toy pearl necklace so she saves up all her money so she can buy it and then she wears it all the time. Every night her father comes to tuck her into bed and asks if she will give him her pearl necklace. She cries and tries to give him other toys; anything but her toy pearl necklace. After about a week, her dad comes in and she is crying and hands him her toy necklace. He hugs her, thanks her, and gives her a real pearl necklace that he was waiting to give her but only if she was willing to let go of the fake one she had.
Brian and I decided to give up everything we know and have (almost literally with leaving all our furniture) and God has taken it and is replacing it with a life we could’ve only dreamed about. I am so stinking excited about getting to live this story. Friends and family get ready because this is a story I will tell ad nauseam for the rest of my days.
I promise more pictures will be involved once we actually move up there. I know it's an overwhelming amount of words right now and I appreciate those of you who have made it this far and for all the kind words of encouragement I've received. I do want you to know that I'm sad to leave all of the great people in our lives right now- you are the reason this is bittersweet and not entirely a piece of crumb cake.
And now, I’m hoping Chapter 5 will be about the miraculous way I find a job. To be continued...
I want to try and convey all of the incredible little bits and pieces of this story but I don’t even know that I can. However, I’m going to try so this is going to be even longer than the last post. THERE ARE EVEN CHAPTERS. Remember in 3rd grade when you felt so smart because you were reading chapter books?
Chapter 1: This is Freaking Mindboggling
I explained in the last post about how this job opening appeared within the first few days of us checking. We were in Glenwood a couple weekends ago and Brian’s boss asked to take us to coffee because he wanted to meet me (which is awesome in itself. I mean, Brian hasn’t even started yet). He took us to a charming little coffee shop and we talked for about an hour. Did I mention he graduated from Whitworth in the 80’s? (Another wonderful thing to add to the list). We talked about Whitworth and shared our experiences and how we met our spouses and it felt like we were hanging out with an old friend; not a man I’d never met before that day. Then he went into a story about Brian’s new position and how it came to be. He talked about how it was a last minute decision to create this position and that the budget was tight and it was up against almost 10 other proposed positions within the company. No one thought marketing would beat out the other departments. After the proposal meeting, he was told his position was at the top of the list and his jaw dropped. He went home to his wife and told her he might get approval for a new position and that it was obvious to him there was a bigger force involved and that he felt like God was orchestrating this position into existence. He said now that he’s heard our side of the story, he was only seeing the tip of the iceberg of God’s plan. I got goose bumps (and still get goose bumps writing/talking about it). I mean, come on! Not only is this whole story amazing but how cool is it that we can sit down with Brian’s new boss and talk about how awesome God is??
Chapter 2: Where are we going to live?
We’re moving and we need a place to live. We decided to just rent until we get a feel for the area. We don’t want to buy right away and then realize we’d rather live in a different part of town- kind of like what happened when we moved to Westminster. Brian was looking on Craigslist daily and every place available said, “No Pets”. Well, that’s just great because we have three and I’m not going to ditch them just because we’re moving. I hate it when people do that; it’s absolutely not an option. The only place he could find that would accept pets was a tiny little studio with a twin bed. Um, rock-paper-scissors for the bed? As much as I love Brian, we’re not dating 20-somethings and I can no longer function in life while sharing a twin bed.
We were starting to feel like we had finally hit our first brick wall. I was praying like crazy and sitting at the computer the day before we were going up to look around and decided I would see what I could find. The first one that popped up was a 1,000 sq. ft. loft on Grand Ave (the main street). It didn’t say anything about not allowing pets AND there’s an exposed brick wall. *Moment of silence for exposed brick walls.* Brian called and the woman was incredibly nice and was willing to allow our pets to join us. Our windows face the main street and she said we can watch the Strawberry Days parade from our room while sipping margaritas. It’s above a tattoo parlor (who would’ve thought) and CMC is literally right across the street. How’s that for a morning commute for Brian? I’ve always wanted to live right downtown and I think it’s pretty neat that I get to get it out of my system before we really settle down. I feel God has gifted me with a desire I hadn’t even specifically asked for. Are you a believer yet??
Chapter 3: Selling Our Townhome
So now it’s time to put our house on the market. I’m pretty skeptical about the whole selling process since we were burned the last time we tried; but the way things were going, I found myself feeling pretty confident we would sell quickly. I was thinking maybe in a few weeks we’d see an offer come in and we were prepared to drop the price fairly low if need be. I spent my time trying not to let moving details overwhelm my thoughts because it was probably going to be a while down the road and I realized I need to stay present in my life here in Westminster or I would go crazy. However, here’s how it went down: We had pictures taken on Wednesday and the house was listed on Thursday night. We had 5 showings on Friday and 2 offers. TWO OFFERS ON THE FIRST DAY, PEOPLE. AND, THAT’S NOT EVEN THE END OF THE AWESOMENESS.
**They will pay cash, give us our asking price, and they want to close in 3-4 weeks. **
WHAT?!
They also want our couch, our dining room set, our hall tree, all the window coverings, our bed, our dresser, and our night stands. At first I was thinking, “Aw nuts. I love my furniture!” But then I realized I was pretty stressed about getting all of that down the stairs of our townhome, into the truck, and up the stairs at our new place. This way, we don’t have to move any of it and we can buy new stuff and have someone else deliver it and move it up the stairs. SOLD. Their offer is still the higher offer even factoring in what it would cost us to repurchase all our furniture. This also means that I will be able to join Brian about a week or so after he moves so we won’t have to live apart for long. Granted, the buyers can still change their mind up until August 8th but I feel God’s hand so involved that for once in my life, I’m not planning for the worst. I’m getting sick of using the words “awesome” and “amazing”. Let’s see…I’m flabbergasted at how incredible this has been. Thanks, Thesaurus!
Chapter 4: My Reflections
When we first started praying about this, I was reading a devotional and it focused on 1 John 5: 14-15 which goes like this:
“And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.”
I remember writing that verse down in my journal as a way to remind me that if this didn’t happen it’s okay because it wasn’t the right thing for us to do. But then, it turned out that everything we asked for has been given to us and not just half-assed. God has given us what we asked for but raised us our request and brought it forth in a manner even grander than we could’ve even thought to ask for. I can’t even begin to find the words to express how amazing and awesome living that verse has been (there are those pesky words again).
It reminds me of a story I read in college about a little girl who longs for this fake/toy pearl necklace so she saves up all her money so she can buy it and then she wears it all the time. Every night her father comes to tuck her into bed and asks if she will give him her pearl necklace. She cries and tries to give him other toys; anything but her toy pearl necklace. After about a week, her dad comes in and she is crying and hands him her toy necklace. He hugs her, thanks her, and gives her a real pearl necklace that he was waiting to give her but only if she was willing to let go of the fake one she had.
Brian and I decided to give up everything we know and have (almost literally with leaving all our furniture) and God has taken it and is replacing it with a life we could’ve only dreamed about. I am so stinking excited about getting to live this story. Friends and family get ready because this is a story I will tell ad nauseam for the rest of my days.
I promise more pictures will be involved once we actually move up there. I know it's an overwhelming amount of words right now and I appreciate those of you who have made it this far and for all the kind words of encouragement I've received. I do want you to know that I'm sad to leave all of the great people in our lives right now- you are the reason this is bittersweet and not entirely a piece of crumb cake.
And now, I’m hoping Chapter 5 will be about the miraculous way I find a job. To be continued...
SO awesome, Jaime! I really hate to see you leave, I've always wanted to get to know you better, but it is so wonderful how everything is working out for you. Good luck with the rest!
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