Endings and Beginnings

This is the first post of a new chapter in our lives.  We are at the beginning of a dream of ours to live abroad with our family.  

Last Spring an Expedia London job fell into our laps.  Matt saw a posting, followed through on it, and the job was extended within a week.  We felt thrilled and excited that this was the right path to follow.  And then it completely fell through.  The timing would not work with their need to fill the job, visas, and Matt's availability based on our new baby's arrival.  We were discouraged and disappointed, and most of all confused.  Why had we felt so sure about accepting this job opportunity?

Well it lit a fire in our desire to pursue an overseas job.  When Amazon reached out to Matt in the spring, and mentioned UK possibilities, we decided to follow it through.

It was a long process, and in September we found ourselves weighing out two very different job opportunities.  One would keep us in Seattle, and one would take us to London.  It was a very difficult decision with much study, pondering, analysis, and prayer.  Ultimately we felt inspired to take the path to London.  The job decision had been made, but now there were a myriad of other decisions to be made.  What to do with the dogs?  Sell or rent the house?  Property manager or not?  Sell or store the cars?  Where to live in London?  Where will the kids go to school?  Will we have a car?  What to do with our extra stuff? How will we get around?  When will we go?  And on and on and on . . .  Each day for the past few months decision after decision has had to be weighed out and finalized.  It has been exhausting to say the least.  

But now, as I sit in our temporary London flat, listening to the rain outside, I am humbled reflecting on all the tender mercies of the past year that have brought us to this point.

Because we did not move to London in the spring . . .

• The kids have had much longer to process the change and move and are more comfortable and excited about it.
• We were around when Matt's grandpa unexpectedly passed away in June and able to participate in family gatherings to honor his memory.
• The summer was spent focused on the arrival of baby James, and all our family was able to support us as we adjusted to baby #4.
• We were able to welcome my sister's family when they moved from Texas to Washington state.
• We had more time to savor the northwest summer and enjoy a couple more camping trips and a trip to Mt. Rainier.

As we've made decisions, things so often fall into place making it clear that the Lord is guiding us ...

• We reached out to family friend's in Manhattan about living in the city with a family.  Instead of just advice, they connected us to several LDS families who live/have lived in London who were an immense resource as we began making decisions. 
• We found an LDS family with young kids to rent our property.
• Matt's uncle and my sister's family were able to buy our vehicles.  
• Family members willingly took and cared for our dogs, and even though the unexpected death of Daisy was heartbreaking, Chris, Stacey, and Paul were able to focus on her so tenderly those last days and the trip to take her to Colorado enabled me to introduce James' to his uncle and aunt.
• We were able to get one of our favorite house's in London at a price lower than we expected.
• There was not room at the school closest to us, but the next closest school, with outstanding ratings, was able to accommodate Danny and Kaylee so they will attend the same school and start right away.
• We found out a family from our new North London Ward attends the same small school.
• We found out the next door neighbors have two daughter's the same age as our girls.  And go to the same school as us (not necessarily the case in UK since schools are all done by application).

And during the entire process, we have been so blessed by the support and love of others  . . .

• Childcare and meals while Matt was working in London.
• Childcare while Matt and I searched for houses together in London.
• Borrowed pillows, chairs, bedding, and towels.
• Handy hands sorting, cleaning, organizing, painting, and fixing things to prepare our home for renters.
• An army of cleaners coming to our house to help polish everything before our tenants moved in.

In one of my favorite talks by President Uchtdorf titled Fourth Floor, Last Door  he shares the following: 

Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does—every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds—is for our eternal happiness.

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With this kind of faith, though we may not understand why certain things happen or why certain prayers go unanswered, we can know that in the end everything will make sense. “All things [will] work together for good to them that love God.”9

All will be made right. All will be well.

We can be certain that answers will come, and we may be confident that we will not only be content with the answers but we will also be overwhelmed by the grace, mercy, generosity, and love of our Heavenly Father for us, His children.

When we were unable to move to London in the spring, I felt confused and disappointed and did not understand why we had felt so good about the decision to go.  Yet as the year unfolded, I have seen even more greatly the Lord's hand in our families life and truly have felt overwhelmed by the grace, mercy, generosity, and love of our Heavenly Father for us..

These past weeks have not been without tearful endings as we say farewell to family and an area we love so dearly.  Our friendships, traditions, and memories run deep in the Pacific Northwest.  But we are confident that as we begin this new chapter, and continue to trust in God, all things will work together for our good.