I made it.
I am alive. And I finally have Internet access.
Here is a little time-line to point out the whirlwind the last two months have been (and to record this insanity for my posterity):
June 21: Matt gets his new job offer. We negotiate and ponder for a few days and decide to accept it, contingent upon selling our home in Minnesota. I begrudgingly accept the possibility of moving to Utah, but only if our house is sold first.
Beginning of July: Contacted by relocation team with realtors, inspectors, movers, etc. All a little overwhelming, but things get rolling. We work like crazy to get our house in great shape to go on the market, including painting, packing, garage sales, storage unit, landscaping, small repairs throughout, etc.
July 16: FOR SALE sign goes up and house is officially on the market. I take the kids over to my mother-in-law’s house to sleep (so our house stays CLEAN).
July 17: Drove two 11-hour days to get to Atlanta (where my parents live) so that we could spend time with them and the house would stay clean for showings. Matt drove with us, we got a flat tire and had to replace all our tires. He flew back to return to work (which he was not allowed to quit until our house sold).
July 23: Our house sold. What?!! The first people that came through for a showing put in an offer. Negotiations made and accepted by both parties. I was shocked. I probably need not describe the current market conditions and what a miracle it was. This is the part where I realized that God was totally in charge, and He had plans completely independent of mine.
July 28: I leave the children with my parents and fly to Utah to house hunt. I look for 3 days and then Matt joins me. We find a house in an area I had not considered at all. (Matt found it online and I finally consented to go see it after crossing it off the list several times and being annoyed at his lack of focus in the housing search.)
July 31: Put an offer on the house. A few days of negotiations, then accepted by both parties. We feel really blessed that we were able to find something we both liked at a really great deal. I went back to Atlanta, and Matt went back to Minnesota.
Week of August 1: House inspections, mortgage initiation, lots of paperwork, more negotiations, hundreds of cell phone minutes logged. Matt puts in his notice at work.
August 6: Matt flies to Atlanta, and we all begin the drive back to Minnesota. Two more long days in the car.
August 11: Moving company arrives and packing begins. (Yes, that quickly. And no, I could not have done it without packers. Thank heavens.)
August 13: Moving company loads up the van with all our items. The house is left empty, and we head out of town by 8 pm.
August 16: We finally roll into the Salt Lake Valley after 4 days of travel that included all of the following: 3 children, two cars, a trailer in tow, 3 nights in hotels, thousands of Sturgis bikers on the roads and in the hotels, loading and unloading all the contents of our 2 vehicles every night (except for Matt’s toolbox which I accidentally left in the hotel closet in Rapid City, SD), altitude sickness at the Continental Divide and pulling over several times because I thought I was going to faint, children with short tempers and leg cramps and even some fever, and finally, an overheated truck resulting in 2 hours at a truck stop and the rest of the journey with no air conditioning. Bet you wish you could have joined us. Next two nights spent sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags at our new house waiting for our stuff to arrive. I also registered the kids for school.
August 18: Moving truck arrives with our stuff. Hallelujah. Next few days spent unpacking box after box after box.
Today: Still unpacking, starting to feel settled in the house. Haven’t ventured out much yet because there’s still so much to do here. The children are all irritable and naughty, which given the circumstances is no big surprise. I’ve been pretty darn irritable and tired myself. Matt starts work next week and the boys start school. Hopefully we’ll fall into a nice routine soon. And hopefully that routine involves naps for me.
Lessons learned: Even in a world full of billions of people and turmoil and mind-numbing events, Heavenly Father is still aware of us as individuals and families, and somehow manages to find the time to put His hand in the details of our simple lives and make things as they should be. And though insignificant by comparison, He lifts us through our trials and struggles and helps us survive them all. Maybe even better off than we were before, but that remains to be seen. Trusting Him goes a long way.
(I’ll slowly fall back into the blogging routine, maybe at a new pace. I’m so sorry about the neglected GCBC; I’ll try to pick up where I left off soon.)
Diapers and Divinity 
Well, you’re a veritable pioneer! And now you’ve landed in Zion. At least you’re not living out of your wagon box.
Welcome to Utah!
I love the last paragraph of this post. You are such a talented writer.
I am happy to hear you are Finding Joy in this new Journey and hope that you feel welcome to our neck of the woods.
I hope things settle down quickly. That your kids find new friends. That you find that Utah Valley is actually a nice place to be (I grew up there, never living anywhere else but happy valley until college and I loved it!) I hope that all in all the adventure is an adventure to remember and live with fondness and joy. Good luck with all.
That was indeed a whirlwind of craziness! I’m glad it’s finally slowing down for you and I do hope you get lots of naps in the weeks to come! You deserve them!
I knew I felt a different feeling in the state, over the past few days. 🙂
Wow–isn’t it wonderful when your house sells quickly. (Trying to sell (keeping it spotless is so difficult–actually next to impossible with children around ; )
So glad it all worked out and you had such a great trip.
Enjoy.
Woooooo! Girl, that is quite the story! What a crazy couple months. I’m happy we will get to see you this decade since you live closer. love ya! Tonya
Stephanie:
How long did you live in Minnesota – in my ward and I didn’t even realize you had a website! I enjoyed reading about your move. I’m glad you, Matt and the kids made it ok. Don’t forget us! We won’t forget you!
Judy
Good luck with the settling in. And that was an incredibly FAST move! Well done.
Woah, woah, woah. That is a LOT to happen in (exactly) two short months. Wow! I know you have a lot of adjusting to do but I’m glad you are ready to get settled and find a semblance of stability. And I’m so glad you’re in Utah so we can maybe hopefully actually meet some day. Congratulations on a two months well done.
Welcome to Utah!
What an exhausting two months. Wow. It made my last move sound easy and simple. (Although really it wasn’t. We had to drive through the Sierra Nevadas in a snowstorm.)
So, did you already buy your appliances? I was surprised people were recommending electric dryers because I heard the opposite when I was getting my dryer, and we went to some lengths to modify for a gas hookup. I think my gas dryer works noticeably faster and better than electric ones I’ve used in the past. It’s also true that clothes come out of a front-loading washer less wet than from a top-loader. I LOVE the large capacity and efficiency of my front-loader, although I don’t necessarily recommend the exact make and model I have (a Whirlpool–I have a few quibbles with it).
For fridges, I’ve been happy with my side-by-side freezer/fridge, but I know a lot of people hate them, and the preferred thing these days seems to be the freezer drawer on the bottom with french-door fridge on top.
I second the recommendations for an electric oven with a gas range.
See, this whole time I thought you already lived in Utah. I blame the picture of the Salt Lake temple on your blog. Shows how much I know. Welcome to the West! I hope things settle down for you soon. We moved cross-country with little kids twice (Utah to Maryland, then Maryland to Idaho.) I feel your pain.
I just caught up on the last few weeks of your posts and really enjoyed them. I especially loved the Dear Abby posts. I loved your commenter Mary’s thought about Heavenly Father missing us, and the wonderful quote you found about learning to love what Heavenly Father loves, and your insights on contentment and motivation. These are all things I hope to apply in my life.
Also, BRAVA on heroically fishing the child out of the shark pond! I hope I’d have done the same–I hope I wouldn’t stand there and watch a kid drown, while wondering who was going to help them.
Never would’ve guess you were in Minnesota; that’s so far away. I’m glad you’re settled enough to blog because I have missed you.
WOW!!! What an adventure! Hope you fall into a routine soon! Thanks for the testimony builder!
I have a friend who just made the decision to move across country, and within 3 weeks she’s gone.
Crazy how fast stuff moves, but I appreciate your testimony that God cares about each single person. It’s such a nice feeling to know that.
Is it sad that this post made me miss you??? It’s just that, even though Minnesota was far away from North Carolina, it wasn’t THAT far. I am grateful that you are trusting in God’s plan for you, as always, because it sure helps me to trust more in his plan for me. Which, apparently, is to stay here in the humidity and green, despite what we might have planned when we came.
Miss you too, Becca. And the green.
Wow. What a journey! When it’s right, it’s right, I guess! Welcome to Utah!
I’ve fallen off the face of blog reading. I stopped by and got a kick out of the lady and the tramp post and totally missed that you MOVED.
You latest comment clued me in. I’m sorry I wasn’t around to encourage you. What a huge change! And I’m sad you’re far away and that there wasn’t a MN blog conference until AFTER you moved! Perhaps I’ll come to the EVO conference someday and we’ll get to hang out.
Hang in there…moves are hard, even when there are so many good things happening.