Well, we moved!

This probably isn't news to many anymore...but, we moved!!

To Lethbridge! (well Coaldale for now ;))

Didn't see this coming, but we are so happy things worked out the way they did. Here's a quick summary of how this happened:

Back in the spring Tim and I were having many discussions on what we wanted to do since my parents were hoping to sell the house we were living in in Edmonton. We explored a few options, one of which was purchasing the house from my parents. We had considered doing this many times before. It seemed like the best thing to do. Seamless. Easy. Realtor free! Edmonton real estate was looking rather daunting, prices in the city are quite high, but we took a look at what we could afford and with only our one income, it meant most likely buying with the intent of having renters - which we have had our entire married lives. We haven't ever had a space that was just ours, and we both wanted that so badly. Don't get me wrong, living close to my siblings was wonderful, and I loved seeing them often, but over time we really wanted to have our own space, more privacy. So we ruled out that option - which left us to thinking maybe we could buy elsewhere in the city. It would mean most likely leaving the central southwest, which we loved, and going to a more affordable area. We didn't want to leave the ward, and that option just didn't feel right. So then we started to think - what IS right for us? Maybe we should start thinking bigger picture. Neither of us thought that we would end up in Edmonton when we first got married. To be honest, when Tim was in his avionics program I figured we would most likely move to Calgary for a while, and then probably to southern BC somewhere. I always told Tim that staying within close proximity to my family was important, and before Renne, Edmonton seemed close enough. After we had her though, I heart yearned to be closer to family. The Whiddens are so spread out, but moving anywhere south would be a step in the right direction to get to most of them. :) And I have quite a bit of family in southern Alberta. I loved growing up close to my grandparents and cousins. It was such a blessing in my life. 

Tim was really enjoying his job, but felt that he could find better. He had only been there a short while, but wanted to see what else was out there. So this led to him job searching over the next few months. A few he explored, but nothing really promising. Then one day we had this conversation: 

TIM: "Hey Ash, guess where they need a mechanical designer?"

"Where?"

"Nobleford"

"Huh? Where is that?"

"In southern Alberta! It's like 15 minutes west of Lethbridge."

"Hmm Nobleford. Haha. That's so random...WAIT, did you say Lethbridge?? You're joking!"

So after a last minute trip for the interview, and a few weeks of waiting (felt like a year to me!) he got an offer we were really happy with and we just knew it was right for us. We were officially moving...

I cried. Mostly tears of joy and relief, but some sad tears too. Edmonton was where Tim and I met. It's where we fell in love. It's where we both went to school. It's where we had built our life together. It's where we had so many memories and great friends. We had 4 wonderful years in our beloved Greenfield ward, and all of a sudden our life would be so different....

Buuuuutt then I would remember how amazing southern Alberta winters are in comparison to the last 7 I had experienced and those sad tears dried up pretty darn quick. Haha. Sorry Edmontonians, it's the cold hard truth. 

Hello chinooks. :) Yes, you are windy, but you are glorious and life changing!! Can you say "running outside year-round"?? Yes PLEASE!!!!

Our Edmonton house where we lived for 4 years. I'll miss this place and the memories. I'll miss the awesome Movie Studio just a walk away where Tim and I would frequently visit on our date nights. I'll miss being 3 minutes from a temple! I'll miss all our friends and our ward family. I suppose i'll miss the river valley and all it's glory. 

Well, packing up your house isn't very fun. Especially when you've only got ten days and your baby wants to be held all day. So I strapped on my baby carrier, and got busy while Tim completed his last two weeks at Jet power. It sucked. No other way to put it. But on the plus side, moving forces you to clean out closets and get rid of junk. Ok, last time I checked we aren't hoarders, but holy dina, how did we even collect all of that stuff in just 4 years?? Paint cans, old furniture, random junk left behind by old renters - it needed to get lost. Needed to give up the ghost and head to the dump. Feels great to throw things away. I'm a new woman. ;)

So with some help from some amazing friends and family, we got our truck and trailer loaded up, and we were off! It was so weird driving down our street, that street we had driven down a thousand times. But I was overjoyed to be moving. And so thankful to have a crew of men waiting for us at the storage unit to unload it all so I wouldn't have to. 

And now we are living the dream. Living with the parents with our baby!! Haha I still laugh when I say it out loud. I never thought i'd ever move home again! Never. I guess never say never. Tim and I are that couple - the couple I never thought we would be. Moving in with Ma and Pa. With a kid, no less ;) And hey, let's be honest, it IS the dream. Renne gets to spend all the time she wants with her Grandpa and Grandma, we are having tons of fun spending time together and we are saving some moola for our future house, which will hopefully be coming to a blog-post-near-you soon! 

But I know more than anything this move was right, and that Lethbridge is where we need to be. I'm excited for our new adventures here, and a new chapter in our life. Grateful to have an amazing boy to spend my life with and I am so glad I moved to Edmonton so I could find him.