Moving Recaps: Our New Place

Just to review a bit:
The drive across Tenneesse
Our last week in Missouri

Tuesday morning we decided to sleep in a bit.  That way we could miss rush hour traffic, plus get some much needed rest.  Our caravan of the moving truck with the car dolly, my car, and my parent's SUV took off north for our new town.

It was only about 4 hours there.  We picked up the keys from the rental place and arrived at our new house!

The unloading was pretty quick and painless thanks to help from our parents.  Soon the truck was out of our driveway and we were getting things out of boxes and set up.

Here is a little tour of our place.  We have a nice two bedroom duplex.

The outside.

Through the front door into the living room. There is nice crown molding and a chair rail.

Past the living room is the kitchen

Much bigger kitchen with lots of cabinet space.

Laundry is through the double doors and a pantry in the single door.

There is an eat-in kitchen with a door to the back patio.

We have a nice big backyard.

And the back patio (don't mind the recycling - we had a lot of boxes!)

There is even a decent sized storage shed attached to the house.

Hallway (living room on the left, extra bedroom ahead, master bedroom directly behind the camera)

Hall bathroom is off to the right side.

Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom/Office

So there it is! Please don't judge me on the clutter.  Those pictures were taken that first week we were there and not everything has a spot yet. Heck, things still don't all have a spot.  I still have two boxes in my kitchen and all my home decor sitting on the ground in the living room.

It is a work in progress right now and when it is all cleaned up and put together I can show you the final project!

Moving Recaps: The Last Week and Goodbyes

Okay I am finally ready to share all the moving details.  Ready? Okay let's start with the last week in Missouri.

That Saturday our friends planned a fun get-together/ going away party.  We met up with some of our closest friends at one of the best local restaurants in Columbia, Flat Branch.

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We had a great time just chatting and chowing down on some serious good food and drinks!

Afterwards we headed back to our friend's place and played some games, ate some dessert, and had a all-around good time.  Of course followed by a few tears and some goodbyes.

Although we were moving in less than a week, we went back to business as usual on Monday.  Both Nate and myself worked for the next couple days, and packed at night.  I had the company of a few friends helping me pack up my kitchen - and to go get yogoluv, only the best frozen yogurt place ever!

It really was overwhelming how much stuff I still had to pack so a much needed break was nice.  Still, even through the packing I don't think the idea of moving was really setting in.

That Wednesday was my last day of work.  I spent the whole week making sure to wrap things up and that the transition was organized and ready for the next person.  I literally worked hard until the very end.  Well actually until the last hour.  The ladies in my office had a going away party for me with cake and presents.

They gave me a cooler and bag full of snacks and drinks for the road.  Plus a pickle apron, a bracelet, and lots of other goodies.  It was bittersweet to leave.  I loved working there, despite all the frustrations, it was a great job.  However, I just focused on how exciting this new journey was going to be.  It was great to say goodbye to all my colleagues.  

Then later that night our normal Wednesday night bible study got together for a special steak dinner, plenty of laughs, and some pictures!

We spent the rest of the week getting all our stuff in order and ready to move on Saturday.

Saturday morning we got up ready to go drop off our cable stuff and to pick up our truck.  Our friends showed up ready to go.  Like champs they got the truck stacked and packed in two hours.  We breaked for some Jimmy John's subs then finished cleaning up.  Lots of hugs and see-you-soon's were tossed around before Nate in the truck and me in my car, took off.

We only had a small 3 hour drive over to his parent's house in southern Illinois, with a short dinner stop at his aunt's along the way.  At his parent's place we rested up that evening and the next day for our long journey to North Carolina.

The many places I call home

Planning a move to a different state isn't anything new for me.  I have had quite a few moves in my short lifetime so far.  I would like to think that I am an expert at packing boxes and fitting everything into a tiny little car.

I was born in Kentucky, but I experienced moving even before I was even born.  My parents found out they were pregnant right before they were going to be leaving Cleveland, Ohio.

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Well technically they didn't actually live in Cleveland.  They lived in the suburbs outside of the city. But since we have family all over the Cleveland area it is much easier to refer to it as Cleveland.

So, that was Move #1 - Cleveland to Florence, KY.

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Yes, that is a water tower that says "Florence Y'all".  No, I have never actually, seriously used the word "Y'all."

My family lived in Florence for 13 years.  I spent most of my adolescent years in Kentucky.

We had two houses.  So I guess that would be Move #2 - House 1 in Florence to House 2 in Florence.  Not a big move, but I think it still counts.

At the beginning of 7th grade, my Dad went job searching and accepted a job in CT.  At the end of the school year we moved there, after spending the whole year building our house.

Move #3 - Florence, KY to Middletown, CT.

We were not in CT very long before my Dad, unhappy with his job, went looking for another.  He found one in Rockland County, New York.  It was half way through my 8th grade year that our family moved to New York.

Move #4 - Middletown, CT to Goshen, NY.

While in Goshen, I finished up middle school and went to high school.  However, before I could finish high school, my family relocated again.  Since my dad was in charge of the company, he made the decision to move it back to Kentucky at the end of my junior year.  Lucky for me, my parents were willing to negotiate with me, and allowed me to stay for my senior year of high school.  I moved in with a friend the next town over, while my family went back to Florence.

Move #5 - Goshen, NY to Middletown, NY.

At the end of my senior year I moved back with my parents before I started college.

Move #6 - Middletown, NY to Florence, KY.

I only was in Kentucky for the summer.  That fall I started college at The Ohio State University.

Move #7 - Florence, KY to Columbus, OH.

There at college, I didn't stay in the same place my whole 3.5 years.  I moved almost every year.  I lived in 3 dorm rooms, 1 apartment, and moved back to my parent's house during a few summers.

At the end of college, I moved with my then fiance to Missouri where he was going to graduate school and working as an graduate assistant athletic trainer.

Move #8 - Columbus, OH to Columbia, MO.

This brings us up to present times.  We have lived here for almost two years, the longest I have stayed in one place in quite some time.  Now in a month we are headed to Wilson, NC.

Move #9 - Columbia, MO to Wilson, NC.  This is hopefully what our new place will be.

Yesterday our application was approved and we are almost ready to sign a lease!

Sometimes I think about all the moves I have made in my life, and how each time I grow more and more as a person.  It really is a great learning experience.  You meet new people, explore new areas, and adapt to new circumstances.  I know that am I the person I am today because of the lesson I learned from moving.  There is no real place that I call home.  Just many places that have shaped my life in a multitude of ways.

I can't wait to see what this upcoming move holds for our future!

And the big news is ....

You know when you have such exciting news and big changes, and you want to tell everyone you know?  That is how I have felt for the past two weeks.  Thus my absence from blogging.

There really has been a lot going on in my life, just nothing I could talk about yet.  But now I can!

 This past weekend, the hubby sent in his signed contract for a new job.  And we are now planning our move to ......

North Carolina!

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Our location will be in Wilson, NC.  If you look on the map above you will see it just northeast of Raleigh.  We are excited, nervous, and stressed all at once.  It really is a crazy feeling to know we are just going to pick up everything we own, and move 16 hours across the country.  We are very luckily to have very supportive families who are excited for us, and wanting to help.  That will make the move much easier.

All along we were hoping to end up somewhere in North Carolina.  While the hubby applied to jobs all across the country (literally), in the back of our heads we were thinking wouldn't North Carolina be great!  We know it will be an adjustment in many ways, but that is part of the adventure.  Wilson is a smaller town than I am used to, but there is plenty of shopping and restaurants to keep me happy.  Plus we will be less than an hour from Raleigh, which means we will be living a lot closer to a big city than we are now!

Right now we are in the middle of securing a place to live.  The plan right now is to move the last weekend in July so that we can be moved in and settled before the hubby starts his new job in early/middle August.  It is much harder trying to get a place without seeing it first, so this process is a little frustrating.  We do have a place in mind so keep us in your prayers that this place works out!

I can't wait to share more things with you all as we plan this move.  I promise I won't keep stuff a secret and disappear for this long again!