one year

One year ago today Ben and I packed up our few things and moved our growing family to Arizona. It took a lot of prayerful thought and consideration. It was difficult to leave familiarity, our families, and our friends. It seemed like too much of a grown up decision for us. We were moving on complete faith, with not even a job or insurance to pay for Macee's delivery. Looking back on that decision, I can confidently say that the Lord was directing our lives. He had a plan for our family. Ben and I could not have done this alone. We have come to love Arizona. We love the scenery of the desert, with the warm weather. We love the community we live in. We are comfortable in, and absolutely love, our ward. We love the relationships that we have built with my family members living close. Both Ben and I have jobs with security that we enjoy. Ben was able to get an amazing education which will continue to help him in his career. Ben and I have grown closer during this stage of our lives. We have learned, and are continuing to learn, stronger communication skills. We have learned to lean on each other for every support that we have needed. We quickly learned what real life was without our parents. And among many other things, our testimonies have been strengthened in the Gospel. Don't get me wrong, there are many days where I wish with all of my heart that I could be sitting in the living room with our family watching them love on Macee. There are many times when I wish that I could be there this minute to see what they are doing or to be more involved in their lives. It does hurt at times to know that we may miss fun or important moments in our family's lives. But, I do know that this experience is irreplaceable.

We are looking forward to Ben reaching his many goals within the community, including teaching at the community college, continuing therapy, coaching wrestling, and serving in the Elder's Quorum. I am looking forward to raising Macee and becoming the best mother I can to my beautiful girl. We obviously hope that we will continue to get many visits from family and we hope to continue to visit them often. Our family and friends are still extremely important to us, but it has been a wonderful experience to know that Ben and I are growing and developing our own family that will be strong together. The future may bring different moves to our family again, but for now we are loving where we are and are recognizing our many blessings here.