I haven’t posted anything for a while. I have been pre-occupied with moving. First it was just the idea of having to move. Not knowing where we were going to end up left me feeling paralyzed. I still don’t know why. Being stuck in one place has always made me feel trapped. I have moved around a lot because it has given me a sense of freedom. But my little girl is starting kindergarten next year. I want to stay put for a while. I want stability for my kids.

Knowing that we wouldn’t want to move again for a while we started talking about the area we currently live and revisited the idea of moving away. We both really feel like this is the last chance to move back to my home town or elsewhere. We tried and tried to move back to my home town. At one point we even considered my husband vanpooling 80 miles each way! That is how bad we wanted to move there. Eventually we came to our senses that unless God provided my husband a job close by it wasn’t meant to be. Then I cried. A lot. And then worked on surrendering myself to what was clearly revealed to us as God’s plan for our lives. We are just supposed to stay put. Maybe I will write about that next time.

But the house we were renting wasn’t working long term for us so we still needed to move. Of course, the instant we stopped trying to leave the 5 mile radius of our house the most perfect place ever opened up and was handed to us. A short walk to school, walk to parks, running trails, and friends were some of the benefits. So we moved.

It has been painful and relieving. Once I opened myself up to the idea I have seen all of the reasons we are supposed to stay here. As much as I felt like my intentions for moving back home were good ones, God knows better than me and I have to trust Him. Even though we moved about 2 miles down the street I feel like we have a whole new life ahead of us. I am working hard to fully settle in before the holidays.

Over the last several weeks I have drafted a few different posts and continued to take pictures of my food. I just never got around to finishing any of it. Struggles and packing, moving, unpacking, trying to understand the meaning of life. It is all big stuff for an emotional girl like me.

Last month my husband and I ditched the kids with the grandparents and boarded a cruise ship for 3 days. It was awesome. Except for the whole 50mph hour winds on the open seas waking up rolling out of bed part. But those same conditions do make for a relaxing time in the hot tub.

We went on this little cruise as part of a marriage retreat with our church. It was great to get some quality time with the husband as well as actual kidless time with a bunch of friends. We ate a ton too. It was a little more difficult on this cruise than the last one I went on but we managed it. Even if we had to eat at one restaurant then hustle on over to the other restaurant. Yep. Did that. More than once!

On the morning we arrived in Victoria the boat was enveloped in fog. It was a beautiful morning. In the afternoon I was alone at the top front of the ship and suddenly all of the fog lifted. I couldn’t see a thing then I could see everything. The buses taking people to the town, the boardwalk out to the lighthouse that had a steady stream of people, and the beautiful buildings that make Victoria a great town to walk through.

Next we went deep into an inlet to a small town called Port Alberni. Sometime I want to go back. Shouldn’t be too hard. Drive across the border and take a ferry to Nanaimo and drive an hour across the island. They have an old steam train. I want to see it.

We left around sunset on a beautiful day.

Then we went home. It was so good to get some quality time without kids and it was so good to come back to them. I miss them terribly when I am away.