7 years

Tyler at 22 months
This week marks 7 years in Austin/Round Rock. I was 8 months pregnant with Matthew and Tyler wasn't even 2 yet when we moved into a NEW apartment just down the road (I emphasize new b/c the place we lived in DE was a "hole").

Michael just got his Master's Degree from the University of Delaware the previous July, and in order to get a real job, he had to take exams in the state he would be living. Having spend a stint in Colorado, and living in the east, we thought we'd end up in one of those two places. We looked around at jobs and housing and thought and prayed about the feasability of it all. Neither one of us planned to come to Texas. Mostly because I grew up here (and wanted a new adventure) and Michael had a stigma against it (he is still working on that, but he's come a long way). After researching Colorado, California, Oregon, and a few spots on the east coast, it was quite disheartening to realize A) Physcial Therapist didn't make what they used to, the market was saturated, and it seemed to start at a teachers salary B) We wouldn't be in a home for several years, and it would be small and old (nothing against it, but not what we planned). I started to look in Texas, just to see. I really didn't want to go there. I have that independant spirit that seems to want to clear my own path and I thought that Texas would be going against that. The more I looked, the more I felt impressed to pray about this thought that kept nagging at me. I did, and it was undeniable. I hadn't brought it up to Michael until I really felt strongly about it. He was more open minded than I thought he would be, then we together prayer (over a period of time) and felt this was the place we would go. We thought maybe 5 years, then onto another adventure in another state. Hopefully Colorado someday.
Once we decided that, we had no money to "wait it out" till he got a job, so we bunked with my parents for about 6 weeks. Not my first preference (rememeber, that independant spirit) but they were more than willing to have us there. They were already coming for Michael's graduation at the end of July, and when I told them our plans mid July before they came out, I think they had to supress their shrills of excitement. Important to note that Tyler was the only grandchild at the time. I proposed a plan to them, that became our reality.

After graduation, we packed up and I flew to Texas with my mom and Tyler. Michael and my dad drove our U-Haul from Delaware to Texas in a remarkable period of time. Michael studied for a month solid going to the library for his exams. I hung out with Tyler and my mom at their home. Remember--7 months pregnant. Michael took his test, and we had about 2 weeks to wait for the results. Michael built a huge playscape in my parents backyard to pass the time. Also during that time, we looked all over the state of Texas for potential jobs. My parents were in Houston, and though they tried to lure us there, we knew we wanted to be elsewhere. We looked online at jobs in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. We even drove out for a few interviews and to see what we felt about the areas.

Hangin' at my parents house wasn't so bad...I got to laugh at my dad wearing Bob the Builder hats and enjoy my mom, dad, brother Kirk, and Michael play with Tyler while I watched big and pregnant on the couch.
My mom was usually taking all these pictures....
When we came to Austin, he interviewed with Healthsouth and though they liked him, they didn't usually hire straight from grad school. We looked at an Austin/Far West location Cedar Park location and a Round Rock location. Michael liked the Round Rock location best, and I guess they were impressed with him, when they offered the job, he got to choose his location. Round Rock it was.

I was on the internet and phone calling around for apartment complexes. We knew we wanted to eventually buy a home, but wanted to get a feel for the area first. The Enclave at La Frontera is where we got an apartment on the 3rd floor, but with a parking garage that we didn't have to climb up and down steps each time we came home.

Passed the exams. Got the job. Found a place to live. Call ahead to our future ward and asked if some Elders could come help us move our stuff in. Too bad the moving truck couldn't fit in the parking garage--all our stuff still had to be carried up steps to the 3rd floor. Fortunately at that point, we didn't have a ton of furniture.

2 guys that came to help us move (Jessen and Denny) stayed after to chat with us. They both had 1 child each, the same age as Tyler. They invited us to join their babysitting swap, a concept we had never heard of, but sounded brilliant! This is a picture I found that I don't love of myself, but hey, its in the past.

This was the next day, our first day of church. I remember I wore that white eyelet maternity shirt and meeting the wives of those 2 men (Linda and Tracey). One of which became one of my dearest friends whom I spent many "stay at home mom" days for 4 years. Though she moved away 3 years ago, we talk nearly every week on the phone. I look back at this time fondly. It helped that her son, Evan, was Tyler's age and they became best buds. 10 days after we moved in, Matthew was born (3 weeks early) and this friend, Linda, took Tyler for us in the middle of the night as we rushed to the hospital. A scan from my scrapbook page.

In the past 7 years, we have come to truly love the area in which we live. We felt guided here, and here we've met people who have blessed our lives, and we have had the opportunity to serve others as well. I can't imagine my life withouth the experiences I've had in the past 7 years, living here in Austin, in the great state of Texas.