room with a view

There are many reasons I am thankful for Washington. One being that it opened my eyes to God’s beautiful creation. Many people consider Western Washington "God’s Country" and now, having lived there, I might have to agree. Time and time and time again, Josh and I would find ourselves just in awe of vast snowcapped mountains, evergreens blanketing the sides of the highways, and crystal clear lakes that forced you to slow down and take notice of them. It is gorgeous there.

BUT, I am also thankful for our time in Washington, because we had to slow down, and enjoy the Creator’s portraits. We were removed from the comfort of our hometown, and given the opportunity get lost in a whole new place . . . and ended up truly appreciating what we were seeing.

And guess what? It turns out Southern California isn’t so bad either. Sure, since we have been here, we have experienced some pretty nice stormy weather, but for the most part, we have seen something like this at the end of our days, from our front porch.

Maybe its thanks to our new-found appreciation for the beauty of nature, or maybe its us having learned how to purposely slow down, but most likely it is our 2-year-old who has caused us to truly fall in love with where we live. Without prompting her, she has pointed out the orange clouds, the sunny sky, and the green "mountains" (which she refers to as Mistletoe Mountain, thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). In the chaos of moving and transition, her excitement for her new home has given us some much needed peace-of-mind that, yeah, God is providing . . . and tonight, he used the rainbow of a sunset to make us smile and remind us that He has His arms around us.

new home

Forty minutes till the library opens. Forty minutes to write a post before I dive into my homework. Now, for the update…

We left our home in Washington, knowing that we were feeling led back to California. All Abby knew was that she was going to see more of her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and good buddies, and that she would be able to go to a big beautiful library and swim in her pool (be it one at our apartment or Auntie Sharon’s). What we didn’t know was where we would live, and what would really occupy our time.

While it feels like months ago, we’ve been here only 3 weeks. We got to California on Tuesday, January 5th, and were instantly showered with love from our families. Josh’s mom (Grandma Dell) opened her home to us, better than any hotel we could have stayed at. Zack took this opportunity to push 3 new teeth through his tiny gums, so with him being the exception, we were very comfy and got plenty of rest. Oh, and then me and the kiddos caught a cold . . . ok, not so much fun. But, within the first week, we got to celebrate Christmas with both families, enjoy my dad’s tri-tip, Josh’s mom’s yummy breakfasts, and Josh’s grandma’s famous cookie tray. Pretty sure we’ve all put on a little weight since we’ve been here .

For a month leading up to our flight home, and throughout the first week, Josh and I had been hunting for a place to call our own, and were feeling pretty discouraged. The cost of living being higher here, and the uncertainty of where some of our income would come from, left me feeling pretty stressed. Josh has been blessed with an interim position assisting with the youth and music at our old church home, Camarillo Christian Church, but we would need to supplement with an additional job somewhere. However, talk about wanting to have AND eat our cake, we also were not interested in sacrificing our sacred family time for comfort’s sake. Enter God’s timely reminder that HE is bigger than monetary things. Within the span of two days, Josh was hired on at the Starbucks he pulled his first shot at, and we got the keys to THE PERFECT home. This is the best part…

On a whim, Josh inquired about our old landlord to a few friends of ours. We had rented a great condo, shortly after we were married, from one of the sweetest women we had ever met. This condo, which had belonged to her family for many years, was a 2 bed + bonus room, 2 bath place, just a stone’s throw away from the church, a Starbucks (and the angels sang), and Rolling Pin Donuts (drool). Josh called up sweet landlady and found out our old condo was vacant. Awesome. So, back in the day, it was rented to us way too affordably 8 years ago when we first moved in, so when we met with the owner, we planned on paying a LOT more. So, you can believe our relief (shock, peace) when she told us we would only need to pay the same rent we paid when we first lived here (and the angels sang again . . . only this time for real). What an incredible blessing at a perfect time.

So, since this post is getting so long, and there’s only so much I can say without showing pictures, here is what we have captured so far of our town, our move, and our house.

View of Camarillo from the Conejo Grade . . .

View from Josh’s mom’s driveway . . .

View from the Camarillo Christian Church parking lot . . .

Another iPhone sunrise . . .

View from Great Grandma Yolly’s back door . . .

The amazing moving men (and fabulous moving woman ) of Camarillo . . .

Don’t let their size fool you. Carter and Abbott also got in on unpacking the truck . . .

And without further ado, a really long video of a tour around our VERY VERY messy new home (yeah, hold on to your seats . . . this is almost exciting) . . .

departure

We’ve finally got internet, and now that I am sitting on my corner of the couch, ready to share the latest, I’m having a difficult time knowing what to share. There’s simply too much. There’s been a lot of joy and struggle, confirmation and doubt, rushing and waiting, and lots and lots of transition.

I guess I can always start small with our leaving Washington…

Our dear friends Andy, Geoff, and Jon let us stay with them during our last few days in town, and we felt so at home. We got a chance to visit with so many loved ones, and our friends from the band blessed us with some farewell fellowship and a precious book of memories. The blessings just kept coming as Andy, Matt, Erinn and Geoff helped to make our old house squeaky clean (pretty sure they are still recovering from all the work they did 3 weeks ago ).

We left for the airport in the wee hours of the morning on January 5, and the kids, from start to finish, were incredible.

Even our fuzzy kid was an incredible traveler (when under the influence of sedatives)…

We left on a gray Seattle day, to touch down in Burbank to some GORGEOUS blue skies. Oh, and it wouldn’t be a trip through the Bob Hope Airport without a little celebrity sighting. OK, I know its  a stretch, but does Hal Steinbrenner count?

Well, I’m gonna do the unthinkable and leave you all hanging before posting pics of our new home. Its nearing midnight and I’ve burned that oil WAY TOO MUCH over the last month. Stay posted and goodnight!

alive and almost well

I don’t have time to do a "real" post, but I wanted to let you know we are doing well, having all been a little under the weather . . . and God has been so good to us. We are still without internet at home, but as soon as I can, I will share what’s going.

Currently, I am at Starbucks, buckling down on homework that I am behind on, so I will leave you with this picture of me, wet from the Seattle-like weather we are experiencing, and sporting huge bags under my eyes, similar to those that I brought home with my newborn son. Love to you all, and can’t wait to share our story!

stuff

In the mad dash to move, we realized (along with a good number of our poor friends), that we had a lot of crap junk stuff. Have a feeling that come Monday (which is when our truck will arrive thanks snow in the Siskiyous), we will be doing some major purging when we unpack. But, there are some benefits to uncovering the treasures of months and years gone by . . . like being reunited with some old friends .

they came…saw…conquered

I have no words other than, we are thankful. Love you all and thank you for all you have done, over the last couple days . . . and years.

cardboard, sharpies, and tape guns

Packing is in full swing in our house. Josh and I had decided, before we began this process, that he would make sure that the contents of our household got moved, if I made sure the kids didn’t become part of said contents. Its going well. Josh and Andy are DA BOMB (and I’m da dork who still uses such phrases).

Saturday, a small army of loved ones will be coming over to load our truck. In our attempt to make this transition as easy as possible for our kids we are talking A LOT about the move and what’s in store for our near future…

auld lang syne

Happy New Year from the Wills!

where my girls at?

I have been blessed to have these ladies over at my house every Wednesday night . . . to eat, to laugh, to pray, and to be. I’m gonna miss them so much.

A bonus is that Zack has gotten some time with a cute girl, little Bristol. I think I see sparks .

christmas morning bedheads