We're Moving...Again?

It's been a very hectic past five weeks. David and I have been figuring out where we're going to live once we get married. But, you might be thinking, didn't I just finish building a house with my mom and move in last summer? Yes. So...why?

Well, to make a long story short, five weeks ago, my mom announced that she wants to move. Because of my dad's advancing Alzheimer's and his inability to be cared for at home, my mom wants to move to a retirement complex closer to where he is in Surrey. So, that means that since we both own this home, and David and I can't afford her share of the house, my family needs to move. That's not exactly what we were planning on; but to be fair, nor was my mom planning on my dad's health deteriorating so quickly.

So, the last five weeks David and I have spent discussing our next steps, finding out our options,  discerning where God wants us to be, and making big decisions. The two driving factors of our decision-making process have been family and church. We were looking for a place where we could afford a home that would satisfy our needs for raising our family long-term, and a place which had a solidly biblical church. Maple Ridge, we found out, was too expensive to live in for what we were looking for, so that eliminated that option.

A few weeks before my mom even brought this up, we had learned of a church we were especially interested in, but figured it was too far away to be feasible to attend. It was out in Chilliwack. But now with this forced move, we investigated both the church and the area's real estate market. Both factors were what we were looking for.

So, after much prayer, extensive research, and wise counsel, we are moving to Chilliwack at the end of May, a mere three weeks after we return from our honeymoon!

This house sold within a day (!), and we just removed subjects on a new home in Chilliwack. Whew! What a whirlwind! While there have been challenges along the way, we have clearly seen God at work in arranging countless details to make all of this happen so quickly. We are so thankful and give Him the glory!

As an interesting side-note, David was actually born in Chilliwack and lived there until he was nine. So, this is kind of like coming home for him in a way. It is a beautiful area, and has a strong home-schooling community, so we're looking forward to putting down our roots there.

While we are excited for this new, though unexpected, chapter, we are very sad to move away from so many close and wonderful friends. We are committed to keeping those connections and nurturing those friendships in whatever ways possible. (Even the ladies from my widows Bible study are willing to come all the way out there for our once a month meetings!). While Chilliwack is only an hour east of here, we know it won't be the same. But we trust that God has given us this opportunity in Chilliwack for a reason -- for His purposes and plan.