Ready or not...Here we come!

That's right. Brad and I loaded up (with the help of our wonderful family) and moved to Tennessee! We want to keep in touch with all our family and friends so a blog seemed like a perfect way to keep you updated on all of our adventures in The Volunteer State.

So how did this happen?

I'll try to make a long story short. Sometime in September or October, Brad and I were at church and a verse really stuck in my head. I kept thinking about it and I wrote it down on a dry erase plate in our kitchen. "Don't worry. I have it all planned out. Plans to take care of you, not abandon you. Plans to give you the future you hope for." Jeremiah 29

I knew God had a plan for us, but I prayed that He would clearly show it to us and help me be still and listen.

Not long after this, Brad's job in Fort Worth sent him to Tennessee to work on a project for a couple of weeks. Brad really enjoyed the people and the work. They really liked him too and offered him a position in their TN office. Brad and I had a lot of reservations because I had a great job in Texas. His company flew me to TN in November and we had an incredible time exploring the Smoky Mountains. We decided that this crazy idea could only work if I were able to transfer to TN with my job. Brad travelled to TN several more times over the next couple months. Brad recently went back to TN for 2 more weeks in January and his company made him a final offer. We finally started to realize that God couldn't make this any more obvious. We knew what we had to do. Brad accepted the offer and I turned in my 2 weeks notice at work.

My head is still spinning from all of this! We frantically packed up our house that we loved and we didn't have much time to say goodbye. Brad's incredible parents helped us pack and even made the long journey to TN with us. Somehow Brad and I have managed to accumulate so much stuff. We rented the largest U-haul thinking that would take care of it. Of course that would be too easy! We ended up with the huge U-hual , a slightly smaller one, and our 2 vehicles. So picture a 2 day caravan with Brad driving the biggest U-haul, I was right behind him in my car, Brad's Dad was behind me in the other U-haul, and Brad's Mom was at the back with Brad's car. Thank goodness for 2-way radios and creative trucker names to keep it entertaining.

Brad, aka Sasquatch

Alicia, aka Short bus/Squirt/Ricky Bobby (Thanks Lana)

Carter, aka Jack Bauer

Yvonne, aka Mother Goose

We drove from Fort Worth to Birmingham, AL and stayed with my best friends Stephanie and Todd. They were kind enough to let us hog their driveway and stay in their beautiful new house. We made the rest of the trip this past Saturday. It was such relief to all make it here safely. Brad's wonderful boss and coworker had decorated the outside of the house with posters, streamers, and balloons to welcome us. The best part was his boss showed up with a car load of the best BBQ we've ever had! So here we are. Brad and I are living out in the country with the most gorgeous mountain views. His Mom stayed for awhile to help us get situated and organized (this deserves another post, but she has introduced me to the world of labeling...awesome). And just so God could show us that we were doing the right thing, I was unemployed for less than a week! My company ended up rehiring me in TN! God is good!