Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Grand Adventures

Well hello again! Today's blog post is brought to you by some major family updates, super exciting stuff like we have never done before, stuff we have always wanted to do and talked about maybe doing, but this time, God has lined it all up!

As you might know, we sold our house this past summer and came to live with Mark's mom & dad for a time. With all the Covid restrictions and life-events that were cancelled or put on hold, we figured it was the prefect time to sell, spend time with them, and take advantage of Mark's working from home. It’s been beneficial for all of us, but we can’t stay forever. 


After spending SO many hours looking for houses here in Oregon, we decided to branch out a bit and explore moving somewhere we had both talked about before, a place that seemed to have events and people and an energy we wanted to be a part of. So, in September Mark began a long interview process with Ramsey Solutions in Franklin, TN. A few weeks ago we both got travel there for Mark to have his final interview, to check out the area, and for me to get any of my questions answered as well. 





The day after we got back home they offered him the job! He will be their new Director of Product Engineering. We had been waiting to make this announcement public until Mark gave his notice this past week, but now it’s officially out in the open. In fact, it’s so official, we just signed on a home that will finish being built in early March! We are still figuring out housing between when we fly out in January and that date, but we have some plans in the works.



It was an interesting trip. Traveling during Covid is weird and nice - the airports were sparse and no strangers sitting next to us! The weather was dreary one day, and snowed the next. My gut was pretty unhappy as I discovered I am probably allergic to ibuprofen the day before we left. Still, despite all that, we got to attend the church we had been tuning into on YouTube (Refuge Franklin) and the pastor and his wife there (and numerous others they have connected us with) have already been super helpful. We drove through neighborhoods, looked at the houses we could, ate at some amazing restaurants (I know, so taboo), and tried to make the most of the short daylight hours.


We don’t know how to navigate getting to see people before we leave, and since I am so great at good-byes (read my sarcasm there), it feels easier just to drop off the side of the earth and pretend it's not a problem. Of course we really would like to see people and say something, but I just don't know how to navigate that with holidays and Covid.


With all of these unknowns, we would love your prayers as we try to get all packed, live for at least 10 days out of suitcases here, then who knows what exactly after that. We are also trying to figure out taking the cat, which probably means getting mom & dad Armstrong to bring him to Delta and ship him cargo after we get at least a little settled in our first temporary place (wow, it's a good thing I am good at planning these types of things out). We would consider leaving the cat with Mark''s parents if they could stand him, or giving him to a good home, but the kids are 100% against it, and I don't know who would want a cat with such an attitude, who cries at you to come pet him while he eats, and doesn't like to cuddle... answer, only us! Ha!


Anyway, we are excited for this new and big adventure, and we know that God has been preparing us for this. Of course, we’ll be posting pictures and sharing how it goes along the way. Follow me on IG @joellen.armstrong or just tag along here on the blog. I will try to keep everyone up-to-date. It's been weird for me to be so quiet, but since I couldn't share much, I just didn't know what exactly to share. It feels SO good to have it out in the open!


I am excited to see what God will do with our family there. I honestly have no clue how our life may or may not change! I'm planning on still homeschooling and am getting connected with people there, but who knows what exactly is ahead. All I know is, God is totally worthy of my trust and I look forward to walking in His best laid plans.