The question we get most, is why Texas? Well, here's a rundown of the road God took us on to get us here:
January 2005: Brent and I got married and moved to Seattle, my hometown. We knew then that we would eventually move closer to his family in Missouri.
July 2007: I was in the middle of a very stressful job that was literally making me sick. We went to my grandparents' home on Whidbey Island to get away from everything and just relax. As I sat outside in the sunshine, reading a book, staring out at the water, I realized why people chose to escape suburbia for land and a slower pace of life. I made the decision that we'd start looking at places to move.
August 2007: After a lot of deliberation and research, Brent and I decided on North Texas. It was only an 8-hour drive from his parents, land was relatively inexpensive, Dallas was a short drive away, and there were plenty of universities for me to pursue my master's degree.
October 2007: Brent and I flew to Dallas and stayed in Commerce, Texas. We met with our real estate agent, Doug Franklin, who we found online. He showed us around the area, and we viewed half a dozen properties. In the end, we left without making an offer, but loving Texas!
December 2007: Doug kept sending us properties to view online after we left. One of the properties he found for us was a 35 acre spread in Jacobia (12 miles west of Commerce and 10 miles north of Greenville). We put in an offer, but the sellers wanted more than we were willing to pay. We decided that it must not be meant to be, so we kept looking for something else. Two weeks later, the sellers came back and accepted our offer.
January 2008: I lost my job at Harbour Homes due to the housing downturn. Thankfully, we had already signed our paperwork, and closed on the property.
February 2008: Now that we were officially moving to Texas, I chose to pursue job opportunities in Texas, rather than Washington. Luckily, Texas A&M University-Commerce had just posted an opening for a publications writer with the marketing communications department. I applied, and waited.
March 2008: In an effort to actively pursue a Texas job, I flew to Greenville to attend the city's career fair. I made some connections, and chose to drive to A&M-Commerce to introduce myself. I'm glad I did. I met Christan, Ken and a few of my other future co-workers.
May 2008: I still hadn't heard back from A&M-Commerce, and gave up on that job. I chose to pursue another job opportunity from the career fair, and scheduled another flight to Texas for an interview. A week prior to my flight, A&M-Commerce called and said they were ready to interview me. They asked if I wanted a phone interview since I was in Seattle, and I let them know that I was going to be in Commerce. It was a HUGE God thing. The interview went fantastically well, and I was offered the job a few days later. By May 31, I had arrived in Texas.
Septemeber 2008: For four months, Brent stayed in Washington while I was in Texas. He had a good paying job, and we were trying to sell our condo. I started praying that Brent would be in Texas in time for the holidays. Be careful what you pray for. Brent lost his job due to the Boeing strike, packed his bags, and moved to Texas leaving our condo and Seattle life behind.
Now, our big Texas adventure begins...together.
