Not all those who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien

Did you miss me?

To be honest, I had mostly given up on this little blog. After I started school last fall (which I am loving, by the way), I realized some things on my plate would have to slide off. With the kids getting older and us settled in our new home, things just didn't seem exciting enough to keep sharing them with the one or two people :) who might read this blog.

Not that things aren't exciting. Corban just turned 13 last week and, so far, I have *loved* having a teenager. He is so much fun to interact with and I love watching his personality become his own. And as each of the kids get older, we are just having so much fun as a family. Even when they are exhausting, the conversations I have with these kids just fill my heart. They think so deeply about so many things. I have to be on my toes! But I'm sure no one else wants to hear our half hour conversation on why some songs/shows/people are considered Christian and some aren't. And that's just the start.

But now we have more sort of big news and I've been asked by a friend (and cousin!) and by my husband to try to keep track of it on the blog. No. I am not pregnant. Nope.

We are moving. Well, maybe. And probably not for 2 more years. I know. Could that be any more anticlimactic? I doubt it.

I have gotten pretty good at giving the Cliff Notes version of our decision. Let's see how it goes typing it out.

Our hearts have always pulled us south. Usually whenever we stop for our first rest/food break on our way to Florida I just feel relief. I grew up going to North Carolina and have several friend that live there. It just feels like home. Mike hates the cold. I mean, like heater under his desk in summer, hates the cold. It got close to 90 the other day here and we turned off the AC, threw open the windows and celebrated. Our best option always seemed to be heading to Florida where most of Mike's family lives. But Florida just doesn't call to me at all. It's not the south. It's hot Ohio. You know what I mean if you've been there. People don't even have southern accents! I'm sure this varies depending on where you go in Florida, and we so love our people there; it just isn't home.

So out of the blue in February (after a mild winter, I should add. But we still felt like we were thawing out from the previous two winters) Mike asked if I would be willing to move somewhere between Ohio and Florida. YES. Yes I would.

So, the short version is that we have been doing research and we narrowed it down to 4 areas (Nashville, Augusta, Charlotte, and Raleigh) that we are interested in and that look like they have growing economies. You should see the spreadsheets Mike has created.

We decided we would visit each of these 4 areas during three trips this summer. Our goal is to narrow those 4 down to two by the end of summer and the revisit those 2 places this fall. Hopefully we'll know where we want to go by the end of this year. Then we'll (well, mostly Mike) will spend next year going down there and making contacts and trying to start up his company there while also keeping his company going here. The goal would be to then move in the summer of 2018.

A big part of this plan has been the camper. We realized that for what we would be spending on hotels and eating out we could buy a camper. The camper makes so much sense because it will also become like a home base. Once we know what direction we'll be heading we can find a good camp ground and leave our camper there and head there whenever we want. It will allow us to bring the dogs. It will also allow us to get to know people in the area. Hopefully that will help us find a church and help the kids find friends and give us a direction to look for a home before we ever actually move down there. It will also become our Ohio home base once we do move.

Many people have asked what the kids think. Well, they were pretty angry at us at first. They still have mixed emotions - as do Mike and I, for sure. I have promised them they would be able to stay in touch (via texting and social media, I am sure) with their Ohio friends. We have had them helping us on internet searches and planning our trips. When we move, Corban will be starting high school. That is so hard to wrap my mind around. But hopefully it gives them all some time to build some new friendships wherever we end up before they head off to college. Mike and I realized that we always wanted to someday move south. We were mostly here for the kids and for family. My family has said they would be interested in following us wherever we end up. That makes that aspect easier to handle. I know this will be so hard on the kids. But we realized wherever we live, they may go to college and never come home. At least if they don't come back after college, Mike and I should be where our hearts are calling us. And if the kids do come back? All the better. I just expect them to pay rent or find their own place. ;)

And of course, we don't want to take a step outside of God's will. So far, we feel we are walking confidently in faith. A bunch of funny little things have already fallen into place. If that stops happening, we will happily stay here, too. But for now, we are moving forward (albeit slowly, it seems) in faith.

And if you think of it, you can pray for us!

We already visited Nashville. I was going to post about it today, but this post is nearly a novel at this point. So, check back! I'll try to keep you updated.

For now, here's our home away from home: