Moving

Months in the making and it is upon us. Our move. To be precise, it has been years in the making.

In spring of 2006 we put our custom built home up on the market in an effort to expand our business outside of the state of Utah. We sold out house, had our sweet #5 Burger Baby and relocated to Denver CO and remained a renter  in "temporary mode" for a little over 18 months. Then came Austin Texas. We have nestled in here quite nicely. Austin certainly has carved out a place in my heart that will be there forever. It is a hard place not to absolutely love. After reflecting back upon the past few years it was fan to go back and relive some of our memories surrounding our move to Austin like this one and this and this and this. 

It has been quite the journey but it is also a great feeling to know you are right where you are suppose to be. Our story, interestingly enough is not that unusual. We have many a friends that were pulled here with ropes much the way we were. Just driving up and down the streets, walking into my kids schools I feel the spirit, I feel warm fuzzys, the peaceful, easy feeling that confirms and reconfirms this in home. After so many moves and years of "what the h*** are we doing" it feels like heaven on earth to KNOW we are home in AUSTIN for a long time to come. 

In April we found a house very close to where we live now that we really liked and now that it is ours, we love it even more. Our purchase is a short sale, meaning we are purchasing it for less than what the home is owed (= great deal), so the process has been long and at times excruciating... but it is done. Documents have been printed (woohoo) and after re-carpeting we move in next week.  We are thrilled and can hardly wait. To call a place ours again sounds almost too good to be true. I had forgotten what it felt like to own a home. Subconsciously, my mind set was been "oh, just put that there for now... it really doesn't matter". Being a long term renter has its advantages but certainly it's drawbacks. We can hardly wait to unpack for good.  And ode to Ogio again, remember this. These tough little boxes will have been through 4 moves, crossed state lines by the time all is said and done and I will be beyond thrilled to finally bid farewell.

So, there it is. Pictures will be posted soon along with the dozens more posts of the past few months. I am so far behind but oh well, life happens and life comes 1st! :)

Thankful Thursday - "I Can't. I am Mormon"

This Thursday I am thankful for being a Mormon (a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). I am thankful for all the knowledge the gospel brings to me because that knowledge I am happy no matter the storms in the sky. The gospel of Jesus Christ yields abundantly feelings of peace and comfort when I abide willingly to it's precepts. The precepts are simple and gentle.

I love this quote from CS Lewis. It is very much the way I feel about the LDS faith

"I believe in Christianity, as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. "

C. S. Lewis

We were watching the news the other night and heard that Salt Lake City is ranked the least "Stressed Out City" in the US (Austin #5 just in case you were wondering:). I thought that was peculiar because it is the "Mormon Meca". Interesting thought to contemplate. Is there a reason that people in 'Mormon Meca' are peaceful and able to manage stress better?  I tend to thing there is a common thread there.

This faith of mine is precious to me above all things. It is under that canopy that ALL other things precious to me are brought together.  I am grateful for my association with the wonderful people at the More Good Foundation and Mormon Woman, to whom I can proudly say I am a contributing volunteer writer for (when I have the time). They are doing SO many wonderful and inspired things. 

I have said it 100 times and will say it again... infinitely. I love this gospel and I love the priciples it teaches. I am so very happy and so very grateful.

A good friend of mine just wrote this and I thought is was pretty great! You should read it . Really. It is great. I love this shirt. I know of a kid my sons age that wears one with pride! I would too, if I had one. Very well thought out and a great post, thanks Michelle.

By the way. I am getting some heat about being so behind on our (blog) life and my cooking (sigh). So updates are coming soon and I will be in the kitchen again, I promise. Now that summer has adjourned, schools in session, we are now prepping for our move in just 3 weeks and are SO excited that it is finally happening.  So stay tuned and be grateful today, it is a great day!