Official Announcement
It has been lurking on the edges of my blog posts and conversations for the last seven months. It has been central in my mind for most of that time. This has made it difficult to post sometimes, when all I can do is think about something I'm not supposed to talk about. And now I am finally allowed to speak freely about it.
We are moving. Not just across town, or out to our property by the gun range. No. We are moving to Arkansas. As soon as our house sells.
Many of you know this already, but have been sworn to secrecy. Okay, the secret's out! You can stop changing the topic whenever anyone asks you about it!
Jason didn't want too many people to know about it, so word wouldn't seep back to his boss and co-workers before we were certain it would happen. However, his little trip a couple of weeks ago had the end result of a stamped and approved work visa for him, so that means we are going.
What are we doing? We will be going down to work for, and eventually take over (assuming our green cards go through) my mother's business, Wells 5 Star Equine Products. These are the products I have been selling on eBay for the last three and a half years at www.wintersdistributing.ca.
People keep asking me if I am excited. In all honesty, no. This is a big move, and although we know that this is what God would have us do, it is not what we would do if we could just obey the cry of our hearts. Some of our dearest friends are here. We are beginning to become better friends with some people we have wanted to get to know for the last two years. We don't know anyone in Arkansas other than my mom and Mike, and the few of their friends we can call our acquaintances. (Well, there are the people at 5 Star's shop, too, I guess.) While we only get to see our family a few times a year right now, that number will be going down to an average of once, maybe less for the first couple of years.
Moving is a lot of work, and this is by far the biggest move I will have experienced. While I know a few wonderful Americans, I am not excited about living in the United States. I am fiercely proud to be a Canadian, and I worry about my kids growing up without a strong Canadian identity--not to mention a Southern drawl! I'm sure every parent wants their children to speak like them, so although I know it is somewhat inevitable, it still saddens me.
If I felt like we had no roots tying us here to the Peace Country when we moved here, how much less will we have to hold on to when we are in a foreign land where none of our previous generations have walked? My great-grandparents lived in the States for a short time, but not so far south. At least here, we are still in Alberta, a place where our ancestors had a hand in forging it--some of my relatives even lived here in the North for short periods of time.
I have had "mourning moments" in increasing intensity, the closer we get to the actual move. Sometimes it is hard to remember why we are moving in the first place. I've started crying over the stupidest stuff--I've thought of sending thank you cards to the owners of the drug store that carries the soap I like, as well as the cod liver oil I like, and the apiary owners where we get our honey. Silly stuff like that, because I just know that it will be work when we move to source that stuff out again. At least my mother has already found a good source of raw milk and grass-fed meat, among a few other things. The health food store there is small, in a little old farm-house, but she actually carries a pretty impressive selection of stuff.
Today is one of those days where I am having a hard time finding the positive in this, but I will try, so those of you reading this don't think that there is absolutely no good reason for us to go there!
Reasons to move:
But still...
I ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few months (or longer!) It is only by the grace of God that we will get through this.
Thank you, friends.
We are moving. Not just across town, or out to our property by the gun range. No. We are moving to Arkansas. As soon as our house sells.
Many of you know this already, but have been sworn to secrecy. Okay, the secret's out! You can stop changing the topic whenever anyone asks you about it!
Jason didn't want too many people to know about it, so word wouldn't seep back to his boss and co-workers before we were certain it would happen. However, his little trip a couple of weeks ago had the end result of a stamped and approved work visa for him, so that means we are going.
What are we doing? We will be going down to work for, and eventually take over (assuming our green cards go through) my mother's business, Wells 5 Star Equine Products. These are the products I have been selling on eBay for the last three and a half years at www.wintersdistributing.ca.
People keep asking me if I am excited. In all honesty, no. This is a big move, and although we know that this is what God would have us do, it is not what we would do if we could just obey the cry of our hearts. Some of our dearest friends are here. We are beginning to become better friends with some people we have wanted to get to know for the last two years. We don't know anyone in Arkansas other than my mom and Mike, and the few of their friends we can call our acquaintances. (Well, there are the people at 5 Star's shop, too, I guess.) While we only get to see our family a few times a year right now, that number will be going down to an average of once, maybe less for the first couple of years.
Moving is a lot of work, and this is by far the biggest move I will have experienced. While I know a few wonderful Americans, I am not excited about living in the United States. I am fiercely proud to be a Canadian, and I worry about my kids growing up without a strong Canadian identity--not to mention a Southern drawl! I'm sure every parent wants their children to speak like them, so although I know it is somewhat inevitable, it still saddens me.
If I felt like we had no roots tying us here to the Peace Country when we moved here, how much less will we have to hold on to when we are in a foreign land where none of our previous generations have walked? My great-grandparents lived in the States for a short time, but not so far south. At least here, we are still in Alberta, a place where our ancestors had a hand in forging it--some of my relatives even lived here in the North for short periods of time.
I have had "mourning moments" in increasing intensity, the closer we get to the actual move. Sometimes it is hard to remember why we are moving in the first place. I've started crying over the stupidest stuff--I've thought of sending thank you cards to the owners of the drug store that carries the soap I like, as well as the cod liver oil I like, and the apiary owners where we get our honey. Silly stuff like that, because I just know that it will be work when we move to source that stuff out again. At least my mother has already found a good source of raw milk and grass-fed meat, among a few other things. The health food store there is small, in a little old farm-house, but she actually carries a pretty impressive selection of stuff.
Today is one of those days where I am having a hard time finding the positive in this, but I will try, so those of you reading this don't think that there is absolutely no good reason for us to go there!
Reasons to move:
- The opportunity to own our own, well-established and successful business, which will help us achieve the financial freedom we need to accomplish our other goals, like regular short- or long-term missions trips
- Thanks to low housing prices (comparatively to here), our "get-out-of-debt" plan will continue, except we will be living in an actual house, not a garage, while we work our way through the "Baby Steps."
- An eleven-month growing season. With our debt-driven North American lifestyle, it seems only inevitable that the economy is careening toward a major crash. When that happens, it will be those without a debt load, and who can sustain themselves from their own resources, that will weather it with the most ease.
But still...
I ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few months (or longer!) It is only by the grace of God that we will get through this.
Thank you, friends.