Big Thanks

For those of you who may not have heard, we moved to Utah this summer. We have been meaning to post this little bit of news for the past month or so, but it's been difficult to find time as life has been very much a whirlwind lately.

So, let me paint the whole picture by rewinding to the middle of July when we were still living in Danville, I was 33 weeks pregnant and Steve was still working at the local hospital as the facilities director. We were living life and preparing for the baby when a job opportunity in Layton, Utah unexpectedly popped up. It was a very good opportunity, Steve was intrigued by the position and we were thrilled to think we could return to live in Utah closer to our siblings (and Ethan to his cousins). Still, it wasn't an easy decision; while Danville wasn't the greatest of places, and certainly not somewhere we wanted to settle down and raise our family, we really enjoyed the slow paced lifestyle and especially enjoyed living close to my Mom, Frank and John!

After a few days of much prayer and fasting we decided, with only 7 weeks until the baby was due (which ended up only being 4), to pack up and head out West.

Steve received an official offer July 16th, and drove away in the Uhaul four days later! How is this possible you may wonder? I wondered the same thing myself...

As soon as my mom found out that I was trying to pack up the entire house in 4 days at 33 weeks pregnant she changed her weekend plans and and she and Frank packed their bags and arrived in record time! Frank packed our entire kitchen, while my mom organized and packed up bedrooms and bathrooms, and made sure the house was spotless before we left. They also took plenty of time to play with Ethan which was the greatest help of all! And as if that weren't enough, they took great care of me and Ethan for a week and a half while Steve did more dirty work!

Meanwhile, out West my sisters were ensuring that we had a soft place to land when we arrived!
We used Lorri's expert eye to choose one of the three houses we found online for us to rent (and I might say that she chose the perfect one)! She took time out of her busy life to fight traffic and scope out the Layton area for us!

Alissa was quick to ask how she could help, and when she found out I was most concerned with finding a good Dr. she got on the phone and set up an appt. for me with her obgyn. This greatly reduced my stress level!

One of my least favorite things to do is to ask people to go out of their way to pick me up from the airport; Janell immediately offered to pick us up (she must be sick of it since she lives close to the airport); but her willingness meant so much as I know it's not an easy thing to do with two kids and such a busy schedule!

My bothers-in-law Marco and Josh also fought traffic after a long days' work to help Steve empty the Uhaul (which was not an easy task considering the monstrous piano we recently inherited)!

My awesome little brother, John, transported Ethan and me 3 hours one way to the Chicago airport; and he didn't just drop us off: he parked, helped us carry in all our stuff, and made sure I made it safely through security before he embarked on another 3 hour drive back to Wisconsin! Then, when I lost my cell phone in the airport, he was the one to call, and call, and call until someone finally picked it up. If it weren't for him I'd still be phoneless!

My sister-in-law, Jenni, offered to help unpack and came down to keep Steve company while he was here for a few days by himself.

And last but definitely not least, Steve, being the sweet and hard working husband that he is made the 27 hour drive by himself twice! After he arrived the first time he unloaded everything that he could unload by himself from the Uhaul and unpacked our entire house (and made sure it was clean for when Ethan and I flew in from my mom's)! Then he returned to IL to finish up one last week of work before making the drive again (only this time he drove straight through the night arriving at about 4:00AM so we could finally be reunited after the two longest and craziest weeks of our life)!

And that is how a cross-country move in four days is possible!
We literally could not have done it without all the love and support of our family and friends. I feel so blessed to have such a great family and wish I was better at expressing how much I really appreciate all of them. Thank you so much!