more details....

before starting this, i'd like to apologize to everyone who had to hear we are moving from the blog, a friend, or facebook.  we had so many people we wanted to tell personally, and the time crunch simply did not give us the time to do that.   

we have been overwhelmed by your love, support, and encouragement as we make this huge life transition.

thank you for the calls, messages & texts...

i apologize if i have been unable to respond to them- 

it has been a crazy week.

many of you have asked for more details on our move, 

so i thought i'd share how it all happened and where we are now.

3 years ago, i went on a trip with our then-kids connection team of mary, brooke, & jen.

we headed down south to check out 3 different churches' children's ministries.

the first two churches were nice, but not really 'us'.

then we went to rockharbor.

after spending the morning touring their facility and meeting with their team, 

i was in love.

i remember leaning over to jen in the backseat of mary's prius and telling her,

'that place felt like home'.

it is a church that we have always admired and respected, 

and seen as a place that held tightly to god's word.

there is a very short list of places/churches where jeff & i have said 

we would be willing to move.

rockharbor was always on that list.

but even when jeff came home and told me about the opportunity there, 

i truly believed in my heart there was no way we were leaving the well.

jeff left for israel and i spent 2 weeks just trying to keep 3 kids alive.

when he came home, we immediately left for pondo camp.

while at pondo, jeff met with a few people from rockharbor.

it really wasn't until after that meeting that the possibility of the whole thing even was on the table.

that was the beginning of july.

a few weeks later, we went on a quick overnight trip down.

jeff had the opportunity to meet with some key parents 

and preach at their 7 & 9pm (so late!!) services.

we absolutely loved the people, the staff, the church.

again, it felt like home.

needless to say, this sent my little head into a total tailspin.

the how? why? no way! started screaming in my head.

but then i decided to just pray.

i prayed in the shower, as i cooked, played with my kids, drove, laid in bed... pretty much constantly.

jeff did the same.

while the obstacles still seemed overwhelming, 

my heart, my mind was all confident that God was doing something new in our lives.

so jeff accepted the position of high school pastor at rockharbor church.

he will have the opportunity to be a part of their 7 & 9 pm services 

(i'll be sleeping!)

and get to preach occasionally... which he loves to do.

(and i may be biased, but i think he's pretty amazing).

we are so excited to join this new church family.

and the amazing weather, beautiful beaches, and disneyland so close doesn't hurt!

while we are excited about the future,

this month is so hard.

we LOVE the people here.

saying goodbye is not easy.

tonight is jeff's last wsm.

he has been here for 6 years and absolutely adores his students and leaders.

this sunday is my last day with kids connection.

it is so strange to close the chapter on such a huge part of your life.

we are currently attempting to pack up our home,

(seriously... packing with 3 kids is sheer silliness.  you pack it, they unpack it....)

prepare for the biggest yard sale ever

(august 20th... we are pretty much selling EVERYTHING!)

and then loading the uhaul the evening of august 24th.

august 25th we drive to our new home.

our new church.

our new life.

right now, i am feeling a little overwhelmed with how much there is to do.

my to-do list (which i normally love)

has stretched into several pages.

there are so many people we want to have time with, but the reality is... 

we only have 9 more days (counting graduation/yard sale/etc.)

i apologize in advance if we are unable to hang out.... 

packing/sorting is a full-time job right now!

know that we love each and every one of you.

you have impacted and shaped our lives, and we are forever grateful.

we look forward to continuing relationships... just from farther away.

in the meantime, please pray that we can sell our home here!

God has graciously provided a sweet little house for us in irvine to rent.

(i'll tell you all about it tomorrow!)

 but we definitely can't afford to have a mortgage and a rent!

if you know anyone interested in buying a home, here is the link to our listing.

it is a really lovely house!