A Relocation Story

It began on the way home from our road-trip to Washington state last summer.  We had gone to be with our daughter and her family for several weeks, hoping to lighten their load during the pandemic and enjoy being with them after months of being separated.  As we said at the time, the distance between Huntington Beach and Seattle didn’t feel that far before Covid19, when we could get on a plane and be together in half a day.  Now that it involved a 2 day drive one-way, we were feeling the distance.

Finally an in-person picnic-game night with grandson after many years of Skype Picnics

We moved our family of four to Huntington Beach in 1995, and we quickly came to feel very at home there.  The coastal climate made us happy, we developed many close relationships and enjoyed being close to the beach.  But as we talked on our drive home from Seattle last year, we realized that while we loved living in California, our hearts were drawing us to do what seemed unthinkable; relocate to a colder and rainier climate so we could be closer to and more involved with our family.  And so we made the decision to put our condo on the market this past April and (hopefully) make the big move sometime this summer.   

Breakfast bar... temporary offices during moving

We knew the housing market was crazy, but we also knew that John not being able to travel to Nigeria before fall would make a move more doable for us.  So we went ahead with our plans, praying all the way.  I had a scripture on our bathroom mirror during this time that I focused on; 

“And remember your journey… when I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness.”  Micah 6:5 

 And while the process was even more involved than we anticipated, it was also less stressful that we expected as we watched things fall into place each step of the way.  We accepted an offer on our condo six days after it went on the market and there were no problems closing escrow… we were able to line up a moving container during a time when movers were saying they had maxed their capacity… and we made an offer on a townhouse a mile away from our family that was accepted the day after escrow closed on our California condo!  The later was especially surprising and amazing given the limited availability of housing in the area we wanted to be in. 

Unloading the Units moving container

boxes-boxes-boxes

On 22 July we moved into our new townhouse; now for a year of unpacking 137 boxes!  What an amazing, encouraging and yes, at times tiring seven months this has been.  We have been so thankful for the prayers of many as we have embarked on this big adventure and are deeply grateful for the Lord's provision and care for us each step of the way.

We are thankful for many friends in Seattle who were ready to help us move-in

 

We love the west view from our townhouse windows