End of an Era

There she goes!! Dana's beloved truck has been sold and taken away!!! Let's just say I'm beyond excited for that almost decade old lawn ornament to be gone.

I know Dana had a LOT of great memories in that truck... the amazing sound system... the great mileage, yada yada yada... but I don't have any fond memories of it... just dragging from one move to the next. It has been off the road since Dana and I met!! (In 2004)

Well this is all part of the purge to be ready for the next adventure! :)

But what about.....

Well Dana was offered an amazing opportunity to join his mom's real estate team in PA. We have been feeling a call for a change in our lives for a couple months now, and Dana felt that this was the change.. Real Estate.. So now what??

That's exactly what my first questions were: So now what? and what about... a,b,c.... x,y,z

Having been born and raised in Massachusetts, the thought of moving out of state is a little daunting. Ok but let's be serious, we're obviously not the first family to ever move out of state, and we most definitely are not the last! 

Some of the serious questions we needed to ask ourselves were somewhat obvious but still never the less needed to be asked. 

How is this income thing going to really work?

What about health insurance and our retirement funds?

What will I do for work?

Will we need to look/pay for childcare for Hailey?

Will we send her to public school for Kindergarten?

Should we send her to the school district we'll be starting out in?

 But how long realistically will we be there for?

What about our church community? 

We will NEVER find anything like what we have already established in MA..

Will we be able to plan vacations?

What is the long term goal in terms of this move?

What do we do with ALLLLL of this stuff?

Are we taking it all? 

Selling it? 

What do we need? 

This consequently had me feeling very overwhelmed! Let me be clear that I do not have any regret about this being a bad/wrong decision.. just overwhelmed with all of the details! Being a Jesus Loving, God believing woman, I know that everything will work out, but I also know I can't just sit around expecting it all to be taken care of for me. We need to do the some of the work ourselves.

Throughout these beginning stages, my spiritual journey has really strengthened. And I am in awe of what is still to come! Have you read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young? If not, I highly recommend it! 

Anyways, the devotional for March 24th was transforming for me! The opening sentence reads: "This is a time in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions, of control." (emphasis is mine) It continues.. but boy what a promise, what a relief, what an obvious truth! But I needed to hear it, and I needed to finally believe it! And I do! Yes, I'm human, and will still have my worries.. but all of these details are not mine to figure out! T.T.L!! (Thank the Lord) God has his plan for our life and for this transition, and while aspects of it are unknown and thus scary... I know I don't need to stress about it! 

Now that this news is "public" I am reminded of all the friends and family we have between here and PA. Which means we have a lot of help and support throughout this move and transition. Once again, I am thankful and humbled by how BLESSED my little family is!! :-)

Just another adventure

Well here I am sitting in the ER waiting for test results... severe, steady abdominal pain that's lasted for more than 24hrs has prompted a trip to the ER.

I tried sleeping it off.. just tossed and turned
I tried waiting out.. but the chills came on.
Tried to rationalize that we didn't need to spend deductible money... but your health should always come first.

Around 5:30am I finally sucked it up and woke Dana up. He jumped up and said alright let's go... so off to the ER we went.

After the typical vitals and registration, they took some blood for labs.. had me give a urine sample, and then all set up with an I.V. they've done another pelvic/pap test cause some blood is present. Waiting on those results.

Man, what a pain. I know its not my plan.. but seriously why?? We were all set thinking we're fine with health insurance for this move cause we have a health savings account with money put away... but now after all of this I'm sure that little amount is all gone :/

There is a reason for everything, just curious to see what this is about.. prayers appreciated!

We've Got News!

 Have you been hearing some whispers, chatter, or gossip??

Well let's clear the air...

  YES the Parker's are moving!

{gasps, screams of horror}

The short of it is at the end of April, we will be moving down
 to the Lancaster area of PA. 
My motto throughout all of this is: 
SHORT TERM SACRIFICE, LONG TERM GAIN

While the news is still settling in for me, lots of you have similar questions so here are your answers.

Questions we have been hearing:

• Is this a good thing? 
• YES, IT'S A VERY GOOD THING! Dana and I have been doing a lot of praying and searching and at the beginning of the 2013, both of us have felt a calling for a change. I personally thought maybe a different college, Dana felt a complete career change.
• What will you be doing?
• REAL ESTATE! Dana's mom, Ruth, is a successful real estate agent in PA. She is part owner of a Keller Williams office, and at that office she is the lead trainer! Ruth has been begging Dana for years to come join her team, and while he's always been intrigued, the timing was never right. Well, now apparently it is! :-)
• Dana will unofficially be Phil Dunphy
• Where will you be staying?
•  Ruth and Randy (my in-laws) have built their beautiful dream home about 7 years ago and have graciously offered for us to move in with them temporarily! The house has plenty of space so we won't feel like we're on top of each other. Hailey will have her own room too! 
• What's the time frame?
• Dana's last day at his position will be Friday, April 12th. He will then use the last 2 weeks to sell, organize, toss, donate, and pack our house! Be on the lookout for Yard Sale details ;-) 
• My last day will be Friday April 26th. This allows me to finish my Early Childhood curriculum course, and wrap up this busy month at CKH. 
• The last weekend of April we will be loading up a truck, having a send off service at North Street Community Chapel, and make the journey to our next adventure.
• Do you have a job?
• I will be looking for work in the education field. I already have a couple of leads for some Special Education agencies down in PA. However, there is an involved process for getting 'Teacher Clearances' and transferring my certifications from MA to PA. (I'll be sure to post all about that)
• The beauty of my direct sales business is that we have NO TERRITORIES! So my business is able to travel with me no matter where we go! So keep those orders coming ;-) or if you're interested in the same flexibility let me chat with you about some details!
• What about Hailey?
• She is very excited for the move. Not that she really comprehends all that is involved with relocating, but she's happy none-the-less. 
• Hailey is at the perfect age for this type of transition! She'll be starting Kindergarten this fall, so this will be the perfect time for her. Yes, we will miss all of her friends here in New England, but it will be great watching her find and meet new ones. 
• Gymnastics- we have been doing some preliminary research for some of the gyms in the area, and will look into some summer camps or just wait until the fall to get her back in the gym.
• What are the churches down there?
• We're about 25mins from New Holland Church of the Nazarene.. Since I've always gone to church wherever family has gone, we're going to use this opportunity to church shop and see where we best fit.
  
• What about Jake (the dog)? 
• Jake (momma's boy) will be coming along for the adventure. While R&R aren't too thrilled with having a dog in the house, they too are accepting the short term sacrifice for the long term gain! I'm sure he is going to love the space, and fresh air of living in the country!

Do you have any other questions for us? Post them below and we'll be sure to answer them!