A few months ago, you wouldn’t have been able to convince me that I would be sitting on my front porch in a brand new house in a new state, halfway across the country from our last home. 2022 has certainly surprised us. But we are so very happy with where we are at!
My birthday was in March and I couldn’t shake the feeling that my 28th time around the sun had big things in store for our family. I even remember telling my husband that day that deep in my heart, I just knew this was going to be the best year yet. It was a very bold statement. Especially since so much has happened in the last 10 years with getting married and adding five kids to our family.
Then, in April, I shared a blog post interviewing my husband on life, fatherhood, and our future. What I thought were near future plans suddenly turned into immediate future plans. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me take you back to the beginning of this adventure of moving from Colorado to Tennessee.
Trust the Magic of New Beginnings
For the last few years, Aaron and I were feeling stuck. I think 2020 reminded us all that life is never guaranteed. We didn’t want our lives to feel like we were just getting by, we wanted to thrive as a couple and as a family!
My heart began preparing me for the idea of moving out of Colorado. This was hard because not only was Colorado the place where I was born and raised, but it was also the place where we chose to start our own family as well. I had no idea what was next but we spent 2021 reducing our debt, improving our credit scores, and decluttering our home in preparation for when the next best thing would reveal itself.
While looking all over the United States, we considered Oklahoma, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. But after comparing the cost of living and income opportunities for Aaron, Tennessee quickly became our number one choice. My brother spent some time in Tennessee last summer after moving a couple of friends to the area and couldn’t stop talking about the people, the places, and how beautiful the state was. Hearing first hand from a family member whose opinion I trusted really solidified our decision for us.
“Where You Movin?” And I Said, “Onto Better Things.”
When a house around the corner from us went on the market, I couldn’t believe the price people were willing to pay for a Colorado home. We had been hearing for years how competitive and expensive the market was. But because we bought our house eight years ago, we turned a blind eye to the issue.
Thankfully, we had a dear friend that is also a trusted realtor that walked us through the next phase. Before we knew it, our house was going on the market and we were working with lenders, realtors and employers in Tennessee. It was becoming so real so fast!
We accepted an offer on our house after the first weekend of showings and few days later, we were under contract on our new house in Clarksville, Tennessee. We were thrilled that everything seemed to be falling into place almost effortlessly. Until the following week, when inspections issues arose on both houses. We spent more money than we anticipated on repairs and had to walk away from the house we were under contract on.
That was a tough week emotionally for me. I remember second guessing whether or not we would be able to pull this off. We so desperately wanted this to work out but I couldn’t help but think this was maybe a sign that we should abandon our plan.
But with encouragement from our closest friends and our realtor, we kept pushing forward. I was reminded that nobody’s moving journey comes without speed bumps and that I had no control over this part of the process. I’m so glad we didn’t cave at the first sign of resistance because a few days later, we were again, under contract. But this time, in the small town of White House, Tennessee.
Tennessee Bound
We spent the next two weeks saying goodbye to friends and family and packing our entire life into a moving pod. I had no idea how hard it would be to walk through our home one more time completely empty and with an unfamiliar, eerie echo. We locked the doors behind us and were off!
The 16-hour car ride with five kids and two dogs actually went surprisingly well. After having a June bug fly into my ear the first night we got into Kansas, I briefly questioned my decision to move from a state that didn’t have a lot of bugs. But ultimately, the excitement overcame my fear and we made it to our destination safely after that.
While we waited to close on our new house, we had to spend a couple of weeks in a hotel. The very first night we got to Tennessee, we started a week long battle with the stomach flu. Everybody had it on a different day so by the end of the week, we were ready to break out of our room and do some exploring.
Our kids weren’t the only ones that had to adjust to our temporary housing situation. The dogs had a lot to learn about hotel living, too. They weren’t a big fan of being leashed to go outside, riding elevators, or sharing grass with other animals. Thankfully, for the most part, we flew under the radar with hotel management.
To wrap up our hotel adventures, we spent the last three nights in a room with a broken air conditioner. It also happened that week was the hottest week Nashville had seen so far this year. The only thing that kept the kids in good spirits was the hotel pool and me promising that this would all be worth it in the end.
Home Isn’t a Place, It’s a Feeling
We closed on our new house a day earlier than expected and I’m pretty sure we left the hotel so fast, our tires squealed against the pavement.
The last of the surprises was our moving pod being delivered a few days late. The air mattresses got old fast but at least we working air conditioning! When the moving pod was dropped in the driveway, we all took a big sigh of relief. Everyone and everything had finally arrived to our destination safely.
It has been about a month since moving in and living here still feels like we are in a dream. Not only do we have more space to live in, but we also have more friends in the neighborhood that we enjoy spending time with. Our kids finally understand what it means to play until the street lights come on. Tennessee has exceeded our expectations. Aside from the humidity anyway.
I’ve always heard that the greatest things come when you step outside of your comfort zone. Even though it has only been a month, I am blown away by the blessings we have received for simply taking a chance and having a little faith. I said it on my birthday and I’ll say it again now, 2022 is certainly proving to be the best year yet!
