The Moving Post

Well, I suppose, after three weeks, it would behoove me to write down some thoughts about THE MOVE.

(Behoove is one of the coolest words ever, and we should all work together to bring it back into daily use.)

Back in late April, we loaded up a Pod - in order to make our house in CA appear clutter-free, and on May 14th Mark and our oldest kid drove to our new home in Eagle, ID where said Pod eagerly awaited them. This was a grand idea because the two of them were tasked with all the duties that come with moving into a new house - making beds, setting up the kitchen, making sure all the water and plumbing and INTERNET are running properly - I was a big fan of this plan from the getgo. :)

On the flipside, this left me with all the "final days" duties, (which stink, FYI). Boxing up the house turned from color-coded tape, with coordinating Sharpies, to "just put it in a box!" reeeeeal quick. If not for my insanely awesome, hardworking, task loving, A-type personality best buddies I don't think I would've made it out of that week alive - let alone smiling. My dear sisters - truly are the best of the best.

This was also "The Week of Goodbyes" and that was difficult, to say the least. There had been a gradual goodbye here and there since April. Then BAM! You have one week left in the land you've called home for thirty-something (late something) years and it was A LOT, ya know? Saying "see ya later" to my framily (friends and family combo) isn't a walk in the park (though many of the goodbyes were literally a walk in the park, go figure).

Nevertheless, Mark and Ben came home to a house juuuuuuuuust about ready to move out of.

It was time.

Anyone who has moved knows no matter how well prepared you think you are - there are still no less than one thousand more things to do on moving day (or so it feels). I can't even begin to describe the gratefulness we have for our Home Fellowship Group  - ney, Small Group- from our church. They've moved us out of this house before, ya know, and then moved us back in, and now here they go, moving us out once again. (I suppose that's another post...)

****Can I just stop for a sec and put in a plug for getting involved in a small group? (Yes I can, because this is my blog...) GET INVOLVED IN A SMALL GROUP!

 Just do it - if you go to Compass Bible Church DO IT THERE WITH THOSE PEOPLE! If you go, live next to, have heard of, or drive by on occasion a solid Bible preachin' church: do it, get involved! Because these become the people that SHOW UP. They have been in our home on days when we were ready and days when we weren't. Days we were 'feeling it', and days we weren't. Days we were pretty and days that we weren't. They were THERE. They prayed. Studied God's word, laughed, and cried, and prayed some more with us. And even though the easy thing to do is to never invite anyone IN, we  - the Fitzpatrick family - would simply not be the same if it weren't for the steadfast love and fellowship from our small group family. So there. Get one of those, STAT.

Ok, back to moving.

Tuesday, May 22nd, we finished packing the moving truck with friends, my parents, and our small group as steady rocks. That's the day when my sweet sisters knew better than to ask me "where should I pack this squeaky toy thingy?' and just made decisions my brain was incapable of making. Truest of friends.

At 7PM the moving truck drove away, and arm-in-arm our precious friends prayed for us and sent us off on this great commission. Of course, there were tears, Mark was bawling of course, (jk, jk) -There was excitement and joy!

Isaiah 55: 12-13

“For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

 The last time the kids and I had been to Idaho, if you'll recall, everything was brown, and bare, and dead. But spring has sprung and the Treasure Valley has been transformed into a lush, emerald, thriving land, full of baby animals, afternoon thunderstorms, and evening rainbows. Unlike having to explain the concept of "winter" back in February, spring speaks for itself now. And pulling up to our house -after driving 14+ hours - was a symphony of color and life. 

We couldn't believe this. is. HOME. 

My parents arrived the Saturday after the Wednesday we moved in. I highly recommend this for anyone moving far away, except use your own parents, not mine (though mine are pretty great.)

 This was awesome because when we said goodbye the day we left California we knew we'd be seeing them in a few days, so it lessened the blow. :) Not only were they so sweet and fun, they were also super helpful to have around! 

After my parents left we've had a pretty steady flow of visitors staying with us for a few nights or stopping by for dinner. This fills my hostess-shaped-heart! The best is when people we don't know from Compass come and hang with us, people who are considering moving here and be a part of the church, we LOVE this!! We love telling people God's story of how He got us here, but we also love showing them all around the Treasure Valley and watching them fall in love it with for themselves. 

It helps that Mark makes an excellent tour guide, and since he is already licensed in Idaho as a real estate agent he makes all the house seeing desires a reality. (Can you even imagine what being driven around by Ron Swanson for hours is like?? The BEST!!)  

The hardest times are Sundays because I want to wake up and drive 8 minutes to the place where my people are. Where my kids can check themselves into the classes they've grown up in. Where it takes us awhile to leave because, like I said, our people are there, and I'm chatty. I know Sundays like that are on the horizon, and it truly is exciting to think about what's to come, but, if you're wondering if it's been hard at all?  For me, yes. For Mark? Not one iota. :) 

Sunday afternoons through Saturday nights are pretty dreamy though.

And watching Mark mow our grass riding on a big ol' mower is like watching a kid in a candy store. 

And days are looooooooooong and slow(er) and sweet. 

Storm watching WAS one of my favorite things to do until a lightning bolt hit the house next to us (They're fine). Now I hide and sing "these are a few of my favorite things" with the kids. They're still pretty cool though, and they last like 5 minutes, so it's not like I'm hanging out in the bathtub for long. (Isn't that where one hides during storms? I don't know, I'm new.)

It's really, really, really beautiful here. Is it prettier than the beach? I don't know about that... but it's really beautiful. 

There is a lot more I could write... like the awesomeness of having Compass people already up here! 

Bless Matt Chrichton. I leave jobs for him to do for whenever he and Karis stop by. 

They are so dang cool. I love those kids!

Or how cool it is that the family my parents have been besties with since before I was a twinkle in their eye now live 7 minutes away from me. And the fact that Troy and Addison have already made some sweet friends who will likely be in their classes at school in the fall. Let's not forget to mention the fact that we adopted the CUTEST black lab... 

We went to the library and got library cards, so that's pretty legit. And I've met a few of our neighbors, which is special... one of them texted me at 11 o'clock at night to make sure we were all okay and handled that night's thunderstorm alright, so she's a gem in my book!

We have a lot to learn, and a lot to do, and we're ready. Burn the ships, we are all in here.