All our bags are packed!

This summer has been a whirlwind of activity.  We spent a week camping in the Adirondack mountains, a quick road trip to Utah which included two weddings.  We also finished our backyard landscape work which included replacing two retaining walls, pouring a new patio and putting pavers and concrete steps in thanks to our landscapers.  Hyrum spent his nights and weekends replacing old deck.  All of this while getting our house ready to rent and trying to figure out how to get the seven us to and around Europe.  Add to that all the normal life things we have to do and I'm looking forward to getting to Europe because a lot of that falls away.

When we tell people about this trip we get strange looks and the question is always, "Why?".  For 18 months before graduating with his Ph. D., Hyrum worked for a company based in Sheffield, England and we seriously considered relocating there after finishing school.  After lots of thought and prayer, it didn't feel like the right thing for our family.  Over the years we've continued to talk and think about opportunities for our family to spend real time overseas.  Those conversations have always been met with the feeling that it wasn't quite time yet.

This past Fall, Hyrum was on a recruiting trip at BYU and talked with a colleague there about working overseas.  At the same, as I finally emerged from the fog of postpartum depression I was feeling a need and desire to "grab life by the horns" and do the many things we talk about doing.  Hyrum called during his trip and we decided it was finally time.  He made proper arrangements with work which consisted of getting their approval for him to work overseas for a few months and I made sure to get things in order with our house and the school.

Some friends of ours spent last year in Japan and so I contacted them to see if they would be interested in renting our house while we were gone.  They happily accepted the offer.  The kids' principal has been more than helpful in getting me curriculum maps and textbook isbn's for the kids' math books and helping us through the necessary paperwork so they kids will be able to jump right back in when we get home.  We're focusing on math and will supplement that with daily writing assignments and reading.  Charlotte and Spencer will be practicing their handwriting and their reading.

All in all, things have just worked out and we feel the hand of the Lord in this decision.  We feel like this will be an enlarging experience for our children and our family.  We hope it will be a trip that will touch their lives forever and hopefully make them more grateful and aware of the blessings they have.

So it's finally happening.  The bags are packed, housing is booked for part of it and our friends are here for the keys.  Let the adventure begin!