Next Stop: Idaho

One thing is for sure, I never thought I would be writing this post.  This announcement to the world that, indeed; we are moving to Idaho.  It is still completely surreal and I am not sure I have actually wrapped my head around it.  We are going to be close to family.  Like really close to family.  Like we could drive there and back in one day.  We are thrilled.

To understand how this all came to be (and trust me, I am still trying to understand it myself) we have to go back nearly 6 months.  We were feeling a little unsettled here in Billings and wondering if this is still where we should be.  We weren't necessarily unhappy with our lives or Ryan's job, but I think we were just having a little crisis about being where we should be and doing what we should be doing.  So we very casually started looking at practices.  We found a couple that we were interested in, but only one really caught our attention and got us started on the path of thinking outside of our life in Montana.  This practice was located in Jerome, Idaho, with a second office in Kimberly.  Twin Falls is directly in the middle of the two small towns, so naturally we became interested in what it would be like to live there.  After speaking with the owner of the practice we decided to make a trip to Idaho to check things out.  We felt like our visit went great and we were really excited about the practice.  However, they were interviewing quite a few candidates so the ball was really always in their court.  We left our visit feeling very positive about our chances of getting the job, and somewhat excited about the possibility of moving closer to our families and into a practice where we could see ourselves long-term.  During the few weeks we waited to hear the decision we felt good, but not completely convinced that it was going to happen.  We wanted it to happen, but we also felt comfortable in staying in Billings if things didn't work out.  Well, things didn't work out.  The three doctors who were already at the practice decided to go a different way, and really that was the end of it.  We were disappointed of course, I think more so than we expected to be, but we also felt confident that this was what was supposed to happen.  We don't believe in coincidence in this life, and due to previous discussions with the owner of the practice we truly believed that their decision was inspired.  It didn't mean we sort of wished it was a different decision, but I can honestly say we felt peace in knowing that something else was waiting for us.

Fast forward five months to last Monday morning.  Obviously we had completely put this practice out of our minds, and really had stopped looking for anything at all.  We were starting to feel very comfortable and happy with our time in Billings, and a couple of months ago we even considered buying our first home.  After looking into that option for a while it was evident that it wasn't the right thing for us.  We didn't understand why, but we moved on from that idea.  Soon after I started my job, Ryan's job was improving in many ways, and we were finding ourselves truly enjoying our lives in Billings.  We were literally having conversations about how good we felt about things.  Well, then Monday morning happened.  Out of the blue Ryan received a message from that long forgotten dentist in Idaho.  One of their long standing doctors was unexpectedly leaving the practice and they were looking for someone.  He wanted to know if we were still interested and to have us get back to him soon.  Ryan quickly forwarded the message on to me and then called to see if I had received it.  I was still half asleep, but woke up pretty quickly after I read the news.  We were completely shocked, but curious.  After a long discussion with the doctor that night we were told the job was ours if we wanted it.  We weren't sure.  We told them we needed a few days to talk about it and make our decision.  And talk about it we did.  I probably could have (and did) talk this thing to death.  We analyzed every aspect of picking our family up and starting over once again.  In the end the opportunity and location were too great to pass up, and after much discussion, prayer, and temple worship we made the decision to accept the job.

If you would have asked me 6 months ago I would have told you it really wouldn't be all that hard for me to leave Billings.  Now, I can see, it is going to be very hard.  It is going to be hard to leave so many wonderful people we have grown to love.  Telling some of our friends the news was so bittersweet.  Sweet because they are great friends and so supportive, but bitter because we know we won't be seeing one another often enough anymore.  It is going to be hard to leave our jobs.  We gave our employers our notice today, and it was hard.  I truly love my job and could not ask for a better situation.  This was only reaffirmed as I broke the news to them today and received only genuine support and kind praise in return. Their light-hearted offer to fly me back to Billings so I could work once a week sounded pretty good to me!  Ryan's experience was much the same, as he is sad to be leaving such wonderful people and a place that allowed him to grow into his role as a dentist.  I am not sure why I thought it would be so easy to leave.  Change is never an easy thing.

We have already found a great home to rent, and will be living in Twin Falls not far from one of my dearest friends.  The fact that I actually know our new landlords already shows that Idaho is going to feel like home very quickly.  We will spend the next four weeks trying to pack and organize our lives, while still working,  playing, and vacationing.  It will be crazy, but we are going to do our best to enjoy every second.  We will move our things into our new home the first weekend in September, then Ryan and I will ditch our girls and head out on a previously planned trip to Mexico.  After Mexico I will stay in Twin and do my best to start putting our lives back together and allow Stella to start her beloved pre-school and dance classes.  Ryan will return to Billings for a couple more weeks finish working and, I am sure, fit in a little hunting and fishing as well.  We feel overwhelmed, excited, and humbled by this opportunity.  We are not sure why things happened this way, and we probably never will.  But we believe our family was led to this point by an all-knowing, very loving God.  We owe all our blessings and good fortune to Him, that is for sure.  

But really, 1.5 hours from Pocatello? 2.5 hours from our friends and families in Logan and Plain City?  Bring on the baby blessings, Aggie games, and weekend getaways.  Idaho, here we come.

The day after we made the decision to take the job, this little gem showed up as the first post in my Instagram feed.  Amen to that, Tina.