Tuesday morning I crammed all this stuff into a duffel bag, loaded it up in the back of my moms car and started the 5 day trek to find a home in Las Vegas.
The trip was stressful, but successful indeed. I (with the help of my mom and sister) found a fabulous home for our family in the Spring Valley area of Vegas. At least thats what I think its called. Its in a gated community called Rhoades Ranch, complete with a pool, water park and playgrounds. I love it. Pictures to come soon.
So craziest thing. I am moving next week. I knew it was coming, but today it is actually NEXT week. Not a 'few weeks' or 'the middle of May', but next week. It is still surreal and I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I am actually leaving Pocatello. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to start this new adventure, but I'm still a little scared/nervous. I have a million different emotions running through my head and much like when I was pregnant with Beckett, I am having a hard time sorting them out.
So I know there is a handful of you that read my blog that have moved from away from family. What is your biggest piece of advice? What are your words of encouragement? What have you learned? I am dying to know!
12 comments:
Stace I'm so excited for you and your new adventure! I think Vegas would be an awesome place to live. I don't have too many words of advice for you. Living away from Pocatello and family is definitely a new experience! It is hard at times, but it has been an amazing experience for "our little family!" We have strengthened our family and have loved starting our own new traditions! Hope this helps!
im sooo excited for you guys.
lets be honest... i have moved a lot, but its only been for a few months at a time and then i end up in pocatello again. so i dont have tons of advice except for; take advantage of all of the fun things around you. being in vegas you are sooo close to sooo many cool things. take advantage of your weekends and just have FUN! life is about FUN! shoot maybe thats wrong... but so far it is working :) good luck with everything!
So you're moving this week?? Wow! That was crazy fast. So glad you found a place. It sounds like it will be a fun place to live. Good luck!! I have no advice for you, but I know you will make the best of it and you will find fun things for you all to do! Hopefully we get to see you before the big move!
Cling to your husband. The strength of your marriage and family will grow in ways you will not understand until you have been gone a little while. Live it up and enjoy the adventure. You can always see family.
holy cow! This past month seems to have gone by too fast. I cant believe that its actually happening!
We are going to miss you so much!
I havent moved but, If I did I would try to be more outgoing! Your awesome at making new friends so Im sure you wont have a problem making it home:)
Moving away really is such an emotional process! First off, it sounds like you are going to be living in a great, safe place which is very important. Especially when you have kids and need to get out of the house during the day!!! I would say do your best to make yourself comfortable in your ward. We all want everyone else to do the work of introducing themselves, etc. and I am sure people will, but do your best to make friends and then make plans with people. The first month is always so busy with unpacking and learning the area, so I think it doesn't get really hard until a little bit in. Make sure you Skype with your families a lot and if possible always know the next time you are going to see each other, whether you are going home, they are coming to visit you, or you are meeting up with them somewhere else. I think that helps to keep you looking forward and enjoying the time there because you know you are going to see them again no matter how hard a day is here or there. I would also say to take advantage of the fun things to do locally and that aren't too far to travel to. There are always so many family friendly activities in big areas and if you just do a little research you will find them. And finally, lean on each other! It can be hard at times, but just having each other (and maybe a few close friends) when times get tough really makes you realize how important one another are. I have gone through a lot living away from my family, but I have always felt loved and supported by my husband, friends and even ward. I hope you guys have a great experience! And if all else fails, just remember the weather is always better than in Poky :)
Best of luck!!! :)
I don't have much to add than what's been said, but I just wanted to say that Skype has been a huge blessing. I felt guilty when we moved to be taking my kids away from grandparents who they adored, and who adored them, and Skype helps them maintain a relationship when they're to young to hold a real 'phone' conversation. Moving away I've also gained a huge testimony on the importance of relief society. There is already a group of women there who will love you and be there to help whenever you need it, that's the beauty of being a member of the church. Good luck!!!
So that last comment was by Traci, I'm logged into my husband's account for come reason. I didn't want you to think some stranger was stalking your blog :)
ok I'm way late and i didn't read any of the other comments, so i'm probably a repeat . . . but I'm so so excited for you. I really really dreaded moving so far from home, but I can't believe how much I have learned and grown in the different places I've lived. The Lord takes us where we will develop into the person we are supposed to be. Being away from home (especially my mom!) was and still is hard. I don't think its ever not hard, but there are lots of perks too.
For me, the biggest piece of advice I would give is to consider Las Vegas "home". It was so hard for me when we first moved to Tennessee, because I kept thinking "I just want these two years to get over with so we can go home." It took we a while to come to terms and decide that Tenn WAS home, which is good, because then we moved to Michigan! ha! But now I 100% consider Michigan home, and when I come to Idaho, I consider it visiting where I grew up. Maybe thats just me, but I love "home" being where I am with my husband and daughter, where I am raising here, where we are active in our ward.
Oh, and love your ward! Someone probably already said this, but the church provides insta-friends who are in the same situation as you. And if its like our ward, you won't be the only new ones, so try to go out of your comfort zone and be on the one to introduce yourself (that was insanely hard for me, but it has helped a lot in michigan).
ok, novel. But lastly, the thing I love the most about living "away" is how much stronger it has made my marriage and our identity as a family of three.
and it makes going back to poky to see your parents extra extra special :)
good luck!
Stacey, you will do awesome!
This will be such a great experience. As far as advice goes---set up Skype with your family if you haven't already so you can talk via web-cam. (Makes a big difference, I promise)
Get involved in the ward!!
And, try something new every week. Whether it's visiting a new place or trying a new recipe, I found it's nice to have something to keep my focus on the "learning experience" part of living away from family.
(if that made sense)
I am really excited for you, good luck with your move!
I second, (third?) the WARD is your family. It is an amazing experience when you are in a ward where everyone is 'away' from home and their family is their ward. It is a wonderful experience and you will make some of the best friends. I find is easy to make friends with someone who is also somewhat new to the area that can explain the 'regional' differences to you. That can be a real hoot! I really do hope all goes well. We will have to come visit, but I didn't notice a guest room!! What's up? :) Good luck!
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