sold.

A few months ago I mentioned packing and moving and left it at that. I've become my own worst nightmare--being secretive, yet still letting a small part of the cat out of the bag. I've mentioned it time and time again how annoying it is when someone says some great news, but then reiterates with, "I can't really talk about it now, maybe later I'll explain." Really? Why did you even bring it up?

I digress. I have totally become the poster boy for my own pet peeve.

In my defense I did hold out on the exact details of our now looming move because  we've been in this weird dance with our life where it is leading and we are blindly following along trying to learn the steps along the way. In short, we knew a move was on the horizon but we didn't know when it would occur. I've also been a bit of a worrier about jinxing any good luck that we may have so I thought by keeping hush for awhile that we would be able to channel that good fortune back our direction. 

So here's the scoop...

A few months ago John got an amazing promotion/position change at work. Basically, it was one of those types of career moves that catapults someone to new levels. We had always known that a career move would happen and our best guess was that it would take place in the next three or four years, so when this change occurred in February our lives were put into a whirlwind  that started to take a fast tailspin. 

To be honest, the new job has had a lot of ups-and-downs. There has certainly been a drastic change within the personal dynamics of our family. Not to mention an overwhelming  amount of responsibilities and time commitments placed on John's back. While he has done a good job separating his work life from home there have been some subtle differences in his behavior that have been noticed. And I am sure if you were to ask him he would note a difference in my behavior and stress level as well, but let's just chalk that all up to the pregnancy, eh?

John's job also requires him to drive over 100 miles a day and spend nearly an hour-and-a half in the car. He says he doesn't mind the drive, but the sharp canyon roads he has to drive twice a day make me worry.  Frankly, we've been living in polar opposite worlds for the last few months. With no husband around it seems like the day-to-day needs of the home as well as all the parenting has all been placed on this pregnant chick's shoulders. While at the same time John has noted how many small parts of Brecken's life he seems to be missing due to his crazy work hours.

However, this job is a blessing, a true blessing, and an amazing fit for John. He has always seemed to flourish when challenged and I have noticed a change in his demeanor that seems to radiate a new level of self-confidence and contentment.  So while there have been a few rather stressful moments, the blessings that we have accrued from this opportunity cannot be measured.

Furthermore, as a stipulation of the new position it was always understood that we would move to Ennis as soon as possible--a decision we were planning on taking anyway just to help our family and alleviate some of the burden weighing on John.

With a new baby on the way our decision became when to move. We battled with the idea of moving before the baby so that we would be settled. But then after contemplating the string of misfortunes that happened with my previous two pregnancies we decided that the safest option was to stay near Bozeman in case an emergency.

As with any move we also struggled with what to do with our home in this economy. Because let's be real for a moment--it's not really a sellers market our there right now. So we battled with our options: Would we sell our house and buy in Ennis? Would we rent our house out and rent in Ennis? Would we sell our house and rent? The decisions all seemed perfect, but there was still a nagging feeling of uneasiness that overtook my body every night when I went to sleep over what decision would be the best.  

After lots of consideration, prayers, and number crunching (because if you're married to an accountant you know that any decision is best met with a good set of bean counting), we decided to sell our house and for the time being return to the life of renters (again).  

So began the process of slaving away. Over the last month I have de-cluttered every room, gutted the basement, and sold a plethora of random furniture and junk on craigslist. Luckily for me nesting was in full-force so cleaning didn't seem like that much of a prison sentence. Once the to-do lists had all been checked off and my house was at a point that I deemed photo worthy then came the time to list the home. I had originally planned on having the house listed right after Easter--just so I could remain said during the Wallace Family Easter Extravaganza, but after meeting with our realtor we decided to put it up on the market a week early.

 The yard sign was up for a few days before the listing went online and during that time a few individuals called our realtor with an interest in the home. On the day that the listing went live, and in an almost surreal chain of events, the very first couple that toured fell in love with it and put in an offer.

When the offer came through John and I were in shock. Then my mind began to race again--I needed to find a new home. We needed to pack. We needed to clean. We would need to unpack. We needed to have...a baby. A few Tums and some Prilosec were then required...

I remember laying in bed that night and mentioning to John, "Why do we keep having kids? Each time we do we move." His response, "Well, make the baby come early again so someone else can do the packing for us." I kindly reminded him last time that happened we didn't find his winter jacket for eight months because someone decided to shove it inside the ice cream maker...

Seriously...

After coming to terms with our new reality I have found our given situation to be a real blessing. We've found the perfect condo that is close to the hospital, our buyers were gracious enough to push back closing until after the baby was born, and I've found a new rejuvenation for de-cluttering (again) and only moving the necessities to our new home--a fresh start that I am so ready to make.

As the time now comes for the baby to arrive (round of applause) I find myself excited for our new adventure--even though I am trying to mask my screams of terror of having a newborn. And more than anything I am excited to see my husband on a more consistent basis, spend more time my with rough and tumbly two-year-old and settle into a simple routine with a chubby-faced bebe girl.

While we are still not out of the clear yet on the house (code for: home inspection and appraisal) the packing has started once again. Now who's ready to help? Any takers?