changes....

it seems that my motto for the year "I can DO hard things" was truly inspired. as i have overcome personal, physical and emotional challenges this year, there was one challenge left to conquer. in November as i was dealing with my sadness and grief with being released from yw's, my husband was busy looking for new employment opportunities. one day a recruiter called him with great interest. 2 weeks later there was a job offer...not just one, but there were 2 others as well. 3 in all!

unfortunately none of these opportunities were in arizona. we had some lengthy conversations, emotional moments, stressful times, anxiety, peaceful visits to the temple and HUGE decisions to make over the Thanksgiving holiday. as options were weighed, the answer was obvious. HERE WE COME UTAH!!

scott has taken a job with adobe in utah. now comes the crazy part...he will commute 3 days a week for a year and then for 6 months he will be in utah 4-5 days a week. this week was the start of our new crazy life. i will be adjusting to single parenting and scott will be adjusting to living at my parents. many have asked why we are doing this. this will allow jensen to graduate high school early as a junior and alec will be able to finish 6th grade. the company is willing to allow scott to do this and we felt our kids would transition easier at these stages.

i never thought i would be moving back to utah. this came as a complete shock and i am still adjusting to the idea. scott is thrilled and has a great job with adobe. i am excited for his career and so proud of him. it is with great sadness that our family prepares to tell arizona goodbye. we love it here and call it home. alec was born here and has never lived anywhere else. he has no idea what is in store for him. this kid is use to wearing flip flops and shorts in december. oh, boy!

once again i find myself saying..."i can DO hard things." this truly is a hard thing. this year has taken its toll on me. november was quite the roller coaster ride and there are still some moments when the tears flow. through it all i have learned so much about myself, become stronger, leaned on my heavenly father, gained an appreciation for regular temple attendance and realized that i can do hard things!

there is a reason we need to be back in utah. it will be a challenging year and a half for our family as scott commutes, we get closer to leaving az and the kids and i learn to be on our own. i now know that i needed to be released from my calling because my family needs me now.

what a year it has been! i never imagined that 2010 would end this way and our life would be taking us on this new journey. for now it is time to enjoy my little family, christmas and our time home together.