Monday's Memory 5

On this date, our family celebrates two things.

It is our 13th wedding anniversary! Yay!

Also, we drove up in the big U-Haul truck to our first place in Minnesota on this day 11 years ago. Unbelievable!

(This is Joshua at 6 months of age with his great grandma and great grandpa. Pretty sad that this is the only picture I have of our move...we stopped overnight at their house.)

So, today I write about why we moved to Minnesota.

Since the beginning of our marriage, Mike had been trying to get a job at a home office somewhere so that he could be a part of their Actuary program as he attempted the very difficult Actuary exams. He worked for the St. Paul companies so naturally their home office was in St. Paul Minnesota. A position opened and Mike applied. We had agreed beforehand that we could only move for a certain amount of money. We were set up very nicely in Colorado and so did not want to give that up. Mike called me at home one day and said they had made him an offer and of course for much less than we thought we could live on. We agreed that we would turn it down and hung up the phone. I immediately felt sick. I started pacing and my stomach was turning. I knew we had made the wrong decision. I quickly called Mike back and said we have to take it. Peace instantly came over me.

I didn’t know why we needed to be in Minnesota but we would find out soon enough. If you have not read previous Monday memories…our move here saved Joshua’s life and in another couple of years would also save Matthew’s life. Joshua was 6 months old at the time and had not started passing out yet when we accepted the job. The move went SO smoothly. We sold the house before it ever went on the market. I thought I would hate leaving family but that peace stayed with us and made it all ok.

We had just a few weeks to spread the news about our move and be on our way. EVERYONE said why are you moving THERE? It’s so cold and their state bird is the mosquito. Come to find out, most of those people had never even been here before. We were ready for an adventure and we have loved it here. Mike loves that there are actually 4 seasons. I remember the first spring here I said…Oh, that’s where the saying “April showers bring May flowers” comes from. It is beautiful AND, I’ll have you know that the mosquitoes have been so much worse in other states we’ve visited than they have ever been here. The cold is not so bad. Maybe it’s just more tolerable when I remember WHY I am here. I’ll be a little chilly for a few or 9 months a year if it means I still get to hug ALL of my children and see their smiles every day.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Happy Monday to all and Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband, Mike!