La Quinta how we love you.

We've officially been in our home for 4 1/2 months. Never has a family on planet Earth so appreciated 2350 square feet. For the first month I literally thought four or five times a day "wow, so much room!". For FHE we could be in the living room . . . the dining room . . . at the kitchen table . . . . outside on the patio . . . the options seemed endless. And unlike our last space, each option was really a different location, not all the same five square feet.
This house was hard earned. It represented our family of 4 (+ dog) living in an upstairs apartment of an OLD FOLKS HOME for three years while we saved and saved and saved for a hefty down payment so we could be in a beautiful home and still within Dave Ramsey's budget guidelines. This home is my castle, it really is. I am so proud and so grateful for it. Words don't really capture how much I love my house.I spent hours upon hours slowly decorating and ordering rugs and curtains. Then I got frustrated and ordered every color of curtain at once to just get it over with (and return the wrong colors). We have made it our own, and I truly love every inch of it.

I love the backyard with it's GRAPEVINEs that hang over and shade the veranda. The white lights we've strung for the perfect evenings sitting out on our new patio furniture. The 18 foot high lofted ceilings throughout. The separate room and bathroom right off the front door for my teaching. The fully fenced backyard that lets the kids roam in and out without me worrying about anything. The lime, lemon, pomegranate, peppercorn, and two types of orange trees that are blooming year round next to the exploding bougainvilleas. The master bedroom that has a ginormous master bath and walk in closet. The floor plan, and how the kids rooms are right next to ours. I love the double doors that open into the master bedroom. I love our location, across the street from a huge neighborhood park and literally seconds from all the amenities. Bed Bath and Beyond. Home Goods. Lowes. Home Depot. World Market. Target. Grocery Stores. All within two miles. I love that it's a safe, family friendly neighborhood with kids that walk their dog and ride their bikes. Sigh. I love that it's 6 minutes from our barn. I love our barn. I love that it's just five stop lights away from family that we love. Brooklynn literally died and went to heaven when we moved here and were able to see, sometimes several times a day, her cousins. We had instant friends in family. We have people to go out with every weekend, and you have no idea the glow I felt moving into the ward as the third Thatcher Wife. I love it. Living close to family has been a game changer in quality of life.

So you can imagine my surprise when things didn't quite pan out like we thought they would in Brent's new building. It seemed like the perfect fit, but when it was all said and done, it just wasn't. So when another opportunity arose, I thought "oh, this must be the Lord's way of helping Brent feel needed and wanted and will be a great thing for us to turn down." But when Brent called me after the interview, I heard something totally unexpected in his voice, and my gut took a deep sigh. The offer was just too good. I knew we were going to move.

Lots of prayers and fasting later, I have come to terms with the decision. Santa Rosa is a beautiful community completely dedicated to the arts. The European feel of the Napa Valley is so endearing that even wanting to not like it there, I feel completely in love. Everything seemed to fall into place and within a few days I went from buying curtains to returning everything I could. We found a short term rental for an unbeatable price until we can find something more permanent. The cost of living is astronomical up there, so its a blessing in disguise that we can (hopefully) rent our home out and make some money on it to go towards cost of living in the Bay Area.

We'll miss family dearly. But we're trusting in this next step, and like every other step we've made, we're grateful we're doing it together.