Chnages, Changes, Changes

I haven't blogged since back in October, and man has life changed since then.  I'll try to cover it all, but it may be tough.  I'll also be as brief as I can while covering what I want to say.  How about bulleting so you can pick out the main points if you don't feel like reading the whole thing.

• I returned to work on Monday, October 24 for Teyma USA, which is a firm that is partnering up with another firm or two to design and build a $1.2 billion solar plant in the Mojave Desert.  I am a buyer which means that I am constantly doing RFQ's, performing analysis and negotiating contracts, many of which are multi-million dollar contracts.  Since the office is located in Victorville, this meant a 73-mile, one-way commute to work each day, five days a week.  On the bright side, it meant a regular paycheck and benefits that just kicked in January 1; the first time we have had health benefits since November 2010.
• Getting a job that far from home meant selling our house and beginning a house hunt of our own for a new home to rent in the high desert are of Victorville-Hesperia-Apple Valley.  We made multiple trips up there to look at houses and meet with our realtor, who I went to high school with, Bryan Bagwell.  He was great to work with and did a great job of helping us look at places.  He just moved up here last summer so he  has gotten fairly familiar with the area and real estate market up here.  Now, house hunting, as we had forgotten, is not all fun.  It was frustrating as a few houses we wanted to rent were rented before we were able to apply.  However, the one we are in now is great and we are thankful for this find.
• As for the new house, it is much different from our house in Whittier.  It is just over double the size and significantly less expensive, which is good because of the pay cut I took to accept the job I have now.  Also, the back yard is huge, although all dirt (which is very common) and the front yard is nice with some landscaping.  We have a three-car garage with a pull through into the back yard (for one car)  We went from 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom to 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms plus a bonus room.  Needless to say, we like the house very much although we do miss Whittier.  At least we are only a little over an hour away.
• After having lived in our house for 10 and a half years, it was interesting to move.  It was a little tough on the emotional side because we loved our house and are only moving because my job is too far away to do that commute every day.  We are very fortunate to have friends and family that are so supportive and helped us move.  We probably had around 10-15 people each day of moving activities.  On New Year's Eve, we packed up the moving trucks, which went surprisingly quickly, about 4-5 hours I think.  On New Year's Day, we made the physical move to Victorville with a caravan of 5 or 6 cars.  Moving in took longer and was a little more complicated since a number of items had to go upstairs.  Fortunately things we pretty smoothly and there were no injuries (that I know of).
• During moving, I was sick, which is always how you want to feel when you're moving.  I was extremely miserable the night of New Year's Eve and was contemplating going to Urgent Care even though benefits kicked in the next day.  However, I fought through and felt better the next morning for moving.  However, by the next day, January 2, I was just as miserable and decided that since we now had benefits, there was no sense in feeling that bad.  So off to Urgent Care I went.  Two hours and four medications later, I was one the road to recovery.  I was fighting a throat infection it turns out, so, as I mentioned, I was prescribed 4 medications.  They were (for): antibiotic, pain, cough and congestion.
• One fun note about the move: Skyler lost her first tooth on the day we moved in.  She was very excited and so were we: the first big event in our new house!  Good thing we have good connections with the Tooth Fairy as (s)he made the visit to pick up Sky's tooth and leave her a little cash.
• One of the worst parts of the move, in my opinion, is having the girls change school mid-year.  That is one thing I absolutely did not want to do.  However, they started their new school this week, and let's just say that we miss Orchard Dale.  I'm not saying they are at a bad school.  I'm just saying it is not Orchard Dale.  Skyler has had a substitute all week since her actual teacher is pretty sick apparently.  Courtney seems to be doing fine.  Some differences from Orchard that I am not impressed with: Courtney had one sheet for homework for the week, which is like what she had each day before, Skyler has had no homework (although this may be because of the substitute) and Courtney's teacher did not leave a good impression when we met her Tuesday morning for the girls' first day.
• One great thing about this move is that I appreciate my family a lot more than I did before.  It was almost like I tool them for granted before, but now I truly appreciate what God has blessed me with.  Since we don't have family nearby, we have each other and therefore spend more time with each other, which I have enjoyed for the most part.  
• Another huge benefit is that I get an extra 2+ hours more each day with my family thanks to my 5-minute (2.5-mile) commute to work.  You cannot put a price on how precious that time is.  Actually, the girls have to be at school before I have to be at work.  I'm supposed to be there around 8:00 and their school starts at 7:40.
• Searching for a new home church is another challenge we are facing currently.  I have a feeling we will not find a church we enjoy as much as WACC, but I know we can find a church that will meet our needs.  We've been to one so far and it has left a great impression on us so far.  We do plan to visit a few more to see how some others are, but I don't think we would have any problem returning to that church.  Plus the girls loved it and Skyler wanted to make that our new church as soon as we picker her up from her Sunday School class.  (That's a very good sign!)

So, you can say that we are making the adjustment as well as we can. It will be a long transition process since we lived in Whittier for so long and that's the are where most of our family and friends are.  It also doesn't really help knowing that we will probably be moving again in about 3 years (or less) since the project I am working on is supposed to last for about three years. 

Despite all the worries I have and the guilt I feel for putting my family through this, I am grateful that they have been so supportive and willing to go on this adventure together.  God is changing our lives in a way that is out of our comfort zone, and sometimes, that is when God does His best work.  So we continue on this adventure as a family, learning and growing along the way, waiting to see what God has in store for us.