Most of you already know from Ty’s previous post that he accepted a job as Senior Operator at a natural gas processing plant for Williams Co. in Durango, Colorado. July 1st was his official start date, so with that in sight June flew by as we tried to plan and prepare for yet another move!
Common topics of discussion were:
How quickly will we be able to sell our home here in St. Joe?
Where will Ty live while we’re apart?
Will we buy, build, or rent when we all move down there?
With these questions in mind we prayed for God’s grace and wisdom to be our guide and tried our best not to lean on our own understanding… easier said than done for a planner like myself. Day by day it seemed like God brought clarity and wisdom through the Bible. Proverbs 22 has a heap of practical financial wisdom. Philippians 4 is my constant go-to chapter whenever I start to feel anxious, overwhelmed, or fearful about the future. And finally, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds me to “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” I can honestly say I would be a heap of emotions and completely stressed if it weren’t for God’s solid-rock-truths from the Bible renewing my mind and showing me where I’m wrong, misdirected, sinful, and unbelieving. His truths don’t change with culture, with each passing generation, or with our ever-changing situations or circumstances… and what peace that brings for me as I am learning to “build my house upon the Rock and not upon the sand.”
So, there’s the window into my heart as we begin this transitional process from St. Joe to Durango.
On Saturday June 29th Ty and I hit the road bright an early for what would be 27 – 28 hours of driving time to get to Durango by noon Sunday to begin looking at houses with the Realtor!
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| We look pretty excited after only sleeping 3.5 hours! |
It was a whirlwind of a trip, as I said goodbye to my hubby at 5:30am Monday morning to fly back to St. Joe for the next month to 6 weeks. 🙁
So, as you may have guessed by now we did figure out an answer to the question:
Where will Ty live while we’re apart?
Turns out rental space is hard to find in Durango during the summer months. So, Ty is living in a
21ft. travel trailer (pictured above) we purchased here in Michigan just two days prior to his
departure. And a very sweet family in Durango is generously letting Ty park it on their property.
21ft. travel trailer (pictured above) we purchased here in Michigan just two days prior to his
departure. And a very sweet family in Durango is generously letting Ty park it on their property.
Thank you for providing Lord.
Next Question.
How quickly will we be able to sell our home?
Looks like we’ll be out of here by August 10th! We accepted an offer yesterday and things are set to close on July 31st!
We’re on a roll baby ~ Next Question.
Will we buy, build, or rent when we all move down to Colorado?
Okay, so this one isn’t so easy to answer 🙂 We are still needing wisdom and direction on this one, as it’s a pretty huge investment to buy or build a house but it also feels like wasted money to rent for very long. One thing we’re still trying to wrap our minds around is the incredibly inflated housing market there… homes start at $200/sqft and average about $230/sqft. Do the math on that and a 2000sqft home costs anywhere from $400K – $460K (that’s for a home without a view!… view homes are up in the 500K and 600K mark!)
So, one option we’re strongly considering is to purchase a piece of land that’s in a family-friendly neighborhood we really want to be in. We would then work with a contractor to build a house for us and do whatever finish work we can tackle on our own.
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| See the vacant land between the dark brown roofed house and the tan roofed house on the far side of the street? That’s the land we’re looking at. |
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| The view from the property |
In the meantime, while we must do life apart for the next month, we are thankful for all the little and big blessings along the way!…
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| The blessing of mountain biking… |
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| The blessing of puddles to jump in… |
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| The blessing of Nya & Elli’s going-away pictures to brighten daddy’s work space… |
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| The blessing of picnics at the park and sand to play in… |
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| The blessing of fireworks with friends on the 4th of July… in St. Joe… |
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| …and in Durango! |
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| The blessing of ice cream shops… |
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| The blessing of Lulu ~ our sweet neighbor dog that we get to have live with us for 2 weeks! |
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| … or maybe not… |
But we ARE having fun!
What beautiful pictures…and so exciting to hear what is in store for you next. I cannot agree with you more about His solid rock truths. Our belief in them is not about ability but about willingness, isn't it? Give those precious girls a hug from the Coon family whom they won't remember, but tell them they're loved anyway! (LOVE to see all the enormous bows and flowers in their hair! I keep trying to put them in Amaya's and she's just not open anymore ~ must be the brotherly influence, LOL). Love you guys 🙂
Sad to see you guys go but now we know why God did not want you go to go on that mission's trip. Wish you guys the best. One comment if you are going to say where the land is please put an arrow pointing to it because the picture is small.