Big News for Our Family!

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Before I dive right in with my news, there has to be some background information.  My husband and I met back in 2010 (we were itty bitty babies!) when we were both living in Florida.  I was living in Miami and attending graduate school at the University of Miami (it’s all about the |_|!) and he was living in Port Saint Lucie and teaching elementary school.  Shortly after we met, I accepted an assistantship at WVU to work on my doctorate and he decided to make the move with me.  I actually ended up leaving the program for many reasons, BUT, while we were there, we got engaged and then got married in my home state of Rhode Island.  After our wedding, we moved (literally… the next day, we moved!!) BACK to Florida where we both were teaching in the public school system.

We stayed in Florida for about a year and realized that as much as we love Florida, we didn’t want to stay there forever.  When we eventually had children, we knew we wanted to be near family.  We ran through our options…. there was Rhode Island, which was definitely appealing because it’s freaking fun and has a beach.  However, the cost of living is outrageous and neither one of us had any job leads.

Then there was Ohio, where Ben is from, which has great schools and a low cost of living.  There was also the job situation.  Neither of us wanted to teach in the public school system anymore and we also weren’t certified to teach in Ohio.  Ben expressed interested in going back into the business world (he did that before he taught) and the business scene in Columbus, Ohio was familiar to him.  He ended up having a phone interview that went really well and we thought it was a good shot, so in 2012 we packed our stuff and moved to Ohio.

We’ve been in Ohio for 5 years.  We’ve collectively had 5 jobs.  We bought a house and we’ve had three children.  Ohio, you have been good to us!  I have overcome my ‘meh’ attitude about the Midwest and have come to truly love our life, friends and family here.  So it is with very mixed emotions that I tell you guys that…

WE ARE MOVING TO RHODE ISLAND.

It’s been a crazy, whirlwind of an experience that started about a year ago.  We both love new adventures and discovering new cities.  As a native Rhode Islander, I have always had a tug on my heart to go back.  When my husband started to get that feeling as well, we knew it was something to consider.  About a year ago, we began looking for jobs/looking at houses.  Obviously, my husband was looking at jobs and I was looking at houses lol. You guys, the job market in New England is CRAZY and they do not like outsiders!!  I’m sure a million recruiters saw his resume and thought, “Ohio? Where is that anyway??”  It was fine though because we kept praying like crazy that God would not open any doors that wouldn’t be a good fit for our family.  He definitely listened, because a LOT of doors were closed.

A few weeks ago, Ben applied for two jobs and we said this is it; if these don’t work out, we are done with this journey of trying to move because it’s too mentally exhausting.  Of course one of these companies gave him a job offer.  Not only did they offer him a job, but it has the flexibility we are looking for.  He can work from home a few days a week, and they are even letting him work remotely while we sell our house and finalize the move.  I just have to say that I am completely blown away by how faithful God is… we prayed, and he answered that prayer.  We doubted, and still, he came through with every one of our requirements.

9 years ago I packed up my little 2 door Saturn and drove to Miami with my mom.  I had no idea what my future held and certainly no clue that I would be rolling back to the Ocean State 9 years later with a mini van with the most amazing husband in the world and my 3 munchkins inside

Logistics

Ben starts work 9/11 and I will be in town that week looking for a house.  Then we will return to Ohio and he will work remotely while I pack everything up.

Our house goes on the market 9/8.  That’s ten days from now. Don’t fall over laughing hysterically.  I CAN GET IT DONE!  I survived newborn twins. This will be cake (However, if you wanna come over and help me clean and hide toys, I’m not gonna tell you no)!

The market here is hot right now and our realtor thinks that our house will sell fast.  So if we can find a nice, pretty little house while we are in RI that week, the timing should work out perfectly.  However, there is a possibility that we’ll end up renting short term if we can’t find anything, so there’s that.  I keep telling myself that we don’t need the perfect house, we just need one that fits our needs.  No house is 100% perfect, and no matter WHAT, it will become our home.  (Someone remind me of that when I’m complaining silly details of every house we look at!)

I’m guessing that once we negotiate closing dates we will move sometime mid-October (just in time for Winter lol).

Soooo.  There’s our news.  I know if you live in RI you must be thrilled, and if you live in Ohio, it must be sad to hear this news (even though if you look on the bright side, it’s a perfect place to vacation to, and you can stay with us!!) and if you just know me as a blogger you don’t care at all.  Whatever your feelings are, I’m going to start a new page on my blog that’s all about our family updates and I’d love for you to follow along on our newest adventure!  I’m sure I’ll have plenty of tips on how to pack up an entire house with 1.5-year-old twins and a 3.5-year-old.

Thanks for reading,

xoxo

Caitlin