As some of you already know, from May 2015 to May 2016 Spencer and I were living in two separate states. Two separate lives really.  Besides a few weekends and summer break, it was like dating all over again.   He was offered an opportunity to follow his dreams and run a 1200 cow-calf operation.  This was not only a huge decision for us, but a huge leap of faith.  Something we didn’t take lightly.  Not only did we talk about it, we prayed a lot too.   As he took the job in May of 2015, I stayed in California that next school year to make sure the move was the right one.  To say it was the longest, most challenging year of my life would be an understatement.  There were tears, excitement, fear, hope and so much more.

For a long time Spencer and I had talked about moving out of California.  We knew if we ever wanted to really be able to follow our dreams, home needed to be somewhere else.  Our hearts longed for a slower pace of life.  We craved old ways and authenticity.  We needed a change, and so it came.  The bravery and courage it took for Spencer to make that first step, is something I will never be able to thank him enough for.  

So out in Nevada he went.  Like I mentioned, I stayed back for the following year, just to make sure it was somewhere we truly wanted to be.  Long story short- it was!  The community, people, lifestyle and area was more than we could have ever prayed for.  In June of 2016, I made my way over permanently too!  It was not the easiest decision to make, nor has it come with out nights of tears and sadness.  But I can honestly say, for the first time in years, I finally feel at home.  We don’t live in a place we own or have all the conveniences we once had.  But home feels more like home now.  More than it ever did in California.  The past year has been a period of soul searching, growth, and challenge.  It hasn’t come without sleepless nights or frustrations, sadness or excitement.

I can easily admit that the “missing home” feeling has become less and less.  The appreciation and love for where we are now, and the opportunity we have, is much greater.  I didn’t really realize how much I missed out on, until I took a step back.  We often get so busy in the day to day, that we forget what truly makes us happy.  I forgot how much joy I got out of being able to do barn chores in the morning.  Or what it felt like to have an afternoon to go to an arena and ride, or enter a barrel race.  I soon began to realize how I was so caught up in everything else, in work, in the hustle and bustle,  that I forgot what really warmed my heart.  I forgot what reading a WHOLE book felt like- (More to come….. if you haven’t read The Magnolia Story, do it RIGHT NOW).  Or what watching the rain and snow sounded like.

 Life was all about surviving.  Making it from one deadline, just in time to the next.  That my friends is not living, but drowning.

So 2017 is all about this new place called home. It’s all about living.  Nevada is our new home.  It has taken a while for that to roll off the tongue, but I can comfortably say, home is where you make it.  And home is right here with my husband, critters, and me!