Our Next Chapter

I’ve been keeping a secret. Something really big is about to happen for our family and I just didn’t know how to announce it. So I guess I’ll just come out and tell you. We are packing up and moving to Arizona. It is an incredibly bittersweet time for us right now. We are sad to leave behind family in the Midwest as well as the friends who have become family, but we couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter that awaits us.

It doesn’t quite feel real yet because it all happened so fast! But at the same time, its a conversation we’ve had off and on for years. It never felt like quite the right time to move across the country, but now, the timing just feels right.

OUR NEXT CHAPTER

I was born and raised in Iowa [Ted here in Illinois] so always envisioned raising my own family in the Midwest. Exposure to all four seasons, a small-[ish] town feel, but big cities within driving distance and a good wholesome upbringing. It just made sense to me. Honestly, I didn’t even give it a second thought.

I mean…we’ll vacation in the warmer climates, I thought, but I never really thought of going very far. With my grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins in Arizona, it has always been our family’s vacation spot since I was a baby. And now with my parents there as snow-birds, we enjoy our Spring breaks and an occasional Fall visit over the last 8 years with the boys. Ted’s youngest brother also lives there and we have a quite a few friends we make plans to see while we’re there, too.

But that was all it ever was to me, a place to visit.

Fast forward a few years, a couple moves [Chicago to Indianapolis and back to Illinois] and a few kids later, we began talking about our long-term plans. And not just retirement plans, but like, what is the plan for now?

Ted’s job moved us around the Midwest every 2-5 years and after settling here in this house for a couple years, he made the decision to to leave the company. After that, we realized we were now in control. We could make our own decisions of where to live, where to raise the boys and where we ultimately want to spend our time enjoying life. After taking a job in Chicago, we thought we were going to stay put, at least for 3-5 years. 

Then COVID happened.

Ted began working remotely for the first time ever as we also learned to navigate our way through eLearning and life with a rambunctious 2 year-old at home. We had our ups and our fair share of downs. The biggest hit was when Ted was laid off 2 weeks before Christmas last year. Now it was really time to do some soul-searching. We packed up the kids and flew down to stay with my parents in January without a return flight booked.

Why not take advantage of the warm weather and sunshine while the boys were still remote learning and Ted was looking for a job?

We truly had the best month ever. Early morning zooms for the 2 older ones and then afternoons at the pool for us all. They ran around in the backyard at *recess* and played baseball and golf before the sun went down at night. We had cocktails on the patio taking in the sunsets, played tennis, went on family golf cart rides and took in all the mountain views every chance we got.

We knew then we were living our best life. All 5 of us.

It was then that we started to throw around the idea of a move. 

Ted found a job where he’ll remain 100% remote and so we began house-hunting. If now wasn’t the perfect time to go, then when would be? The kids are young [all still in elementary school, with Winston not even 3 yet] and we both work from home. Plus with the housing market so hot, we decided to list our house to see what would happen.

Well, we sold it and found a new one in Arizona all in the blink of an eye!

It still doesn’t feel real yet. Illinois has been the only home our family has ever known. We brought 2 babies home to our last house and this house is the first place Winston called home [see his Nursery here]. Chicago is our home city – the place we both decided to call home after college. Our friends are here, some of our family is here, our firsts were here and now some of our lasts are on the horizon here.

I can’t really describe the emotions I feel everyday knowing how close we are to leaving. We’ve started packing boxes and selling furniture. Our first pod is scheduled to arrive in less than 2 weeks. We’re planning goodbye dinners, making “before we move bucket lists”, scheduling final playdates with the boys’ friends and making trips to see family in Iowa and Illinois while we can still drive there.

I know its going to be a huge change for all of us and especially difficult leaving my sister in Chicago, Ted’s parents in Central Illinois and his brother and our nephews in Western Illinois. Although many of them have said they can’t believe we haven’t moved before now, it’s still going to be tough.

Our boys are pumped. It’s the topic of conversation when they wake up in the morning and again before they go to sleep at night. We’re looking forward to the warm weather [let’s be honest, the heat!!], the views, outdoor activities [Pretty sure Ted has zero objections to year-round golf 😉] pool parties, family within 10 minutes and making new memories along every step of this new adventure.

We have a ton of family and friends there to welcome us to the desert in one of the hottest months of the year ha!

But we are ready!!

I think it’s time for an updated full family porch photo before we leave! #thatbeardthough

I have so much more to share about our next steps and everything that awaits us this Summer, but one thing I’m excited to share with you is a final look at our current home [see all of my Room Reveals here]. Tomorrow I’ll be posting a Farewell Home Tour to give you one last glimpse [who knows, maybe you’ll still see lots of this house for awhile longer this Summer since its going to take me awhile to get the new one up and running!] of our house before we pass the keys on to the next family.

You can see the goodbye tour of our last house from 5 years ago here.

This is a crazy time for us, but we’re taking it all in and trying to enjoy each day here amidst the chaos of moving. There are boxes starting to pile up and things don’t look so put together, but its part of the process! I’ll share more behind the scenes of what life looks like right now in my IG stories, so come over and follow me there if you’re not already.

Thanks to all of you who have been here on this blogging journey with me these last 7 years. I can’t wait to share this next chapter with you, too. I hope you’ll stick around for the ride.

Love you all!!

To see all my home and décor related posts, be sure to check out my Full Home Gallery here.Our home will have a whole new look and feel soon, so stay tuned.