Some of you know where Jon and I have been, and where we are now. Some of you know every detail of our adventure to the West and some of you probably still think we live in Michigan. Some of you have visited our new home for yourself, and many of you are wondering about our new pad. So here it is...an update about where we've been and the news that we've made our wildest dream come true, plus you can check out some pictures of our new pad.
Our new home.
On our fourth date Jon told me that it was his dream to move to Seattle, Washington. I was upset at this, until shortly after, Jon asked me to come with him and of course I agreed. Ever since that day in January of 2006, we have been working to make this dream come true. After a lot of hard work, drama, emotion, pain, time, effort, money, and more we are finally here, but it was a long road.
We took a week long vacation to Seattle to see if I liked it in July of 2006. I did!
Jon began job searching in the Fall of 2006, and through the winter I obtained my Washington State teaching certificate, and then in the Spring began applying for teaching jobs. I thought I was through working for the church, but St. Matthew's seemed to be different, it seemed to be about what I believe in and what I want to work for, and they seemed to mean it, not just say it. So I accepted an interview with them the first weekend of June, and they flew both Jon and I out to visit. It was a great fit for everyone, and about a week later I accepted the position. This was a tough decision for us, but we really believed it was worth the risk, and a job would come along for Jon. We started making preparations...had a garage sale, resigned from my job at St. James, spent lots of time with family and friends. Jon job searched 24 hours a day and that's not an exaggeration. It was miserable. Our engagement on July 12, was truly the highlight of our summer, and I was elated to have something happy and certain to look forward to. Mid-August arrived. We put our condo up for sale. I finished my last day of work, and I sold my car. We frantically started wedding planning, taking advantage of the days before I had to leave. Panic set in, and we started to form plan B, which we were dreading having to put into place, but we had no choice. Jon leaving Michigan without selling the house or having secured a new job wasn't an option.
On August 30, I packed three suitcases, and flew to Washington, where I started my new life in Renton, Washington, a suburb just southeast of Seattle. My new roommate, a stranger I found on Craigslist who agreed to rent me a room with a futon, picked me up from the airport and dropped me off at the car dealership where I leased a car. I began working at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church (www.smlc.cc) on September 1st and some how managed to survive my first three weeks in Washington without Jon. Life was not complete without him, and although I knew I liked it here, I knew it would never be right without him. We feared he would never be able to come and I would have to quit, come back to Michigan, and start over. Jon came to visit the last week of September, and mentioning that he'd be in the area landed him three job interviews, one of which came through with an offer. Jon accepted a position with Sound Ocean Systems Incorporated (www.soundocean.com) as a project manager and engineer designing custom marine equipment. We had to say good bye one more time as he returned to Michigan to work two last weeks at Nissan, pack our entire house, and then make the drive across the entire country. Jon's mom graciously helped with packing and accompanied Jon on the long drive. I feverishly searched for a new home for us. It was so nice to know Jon was really coming, but didn't make the wait seem any shorter!
We took Jon's Mom to the stop of the space needle.
Jon finally arrived in Washington for good with his Mom on Friday, October 12. Luckily he approved of the house I had found to lease. It's really a steal of a deal, and we totally love it. Our condo in West Bloomfield finally leased in mid December, so we are out from under double house payments. Hooray! We spent the first four nights in our new home sleeping on the floor and awaiting the moving company's arrival, doing the tourist thing with Jon's Mom in the meantime. Jon began his new job on Monday, October 15, and the truck finally arrived on Tuesday. Jon's mom worked incredibly hard helping us clean and unpack like crazy, and our new home was set up in no time.
The kitchen.
The Backyard.
The Living Room.
This was a truly risky, long, and painful journey, but we've already almost forgotten how difficult it was. Jon and I absolutely love Washington. The city, mountains, oceans, and lakes are everything we hoped for and more. We feel like we fit in with the slower pace of life out here, and we love having so many places and things to explore together. We think our home is beautiful and already feel like it's ours. We are both getting settled into our new jobs and overall feel like they are full of good opportunities and new challenges. We are making new friends and have become a valued part of the church. We have even hosted our first guests, as my best friend Anna showed up with three of my other favorite friends last weekend for three days packed full of Seattle fun. Jon and I are happier than we have been in a very long time.
We hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing that your life is full of the same joy, love and adventure that we have found here near Seattle. Please make plans to come and see our new life and Seattle for yourself soon.
Forgive me for being cheesy...but don't give up on your dreams. It may be a risky, long, scary road, but from what I've seen, it's totally worth it in the end.
My little brother Neal had the chance to come to Seattle on a quick work trip last December, so he spent a night with us and explored downtown with me for an afternoon. We did lots of shopping!
Our good friends Jason and Erica made a trip to Seattle to surprise Jon for his 30th birthday! 
Jon's moms and little sister, McKenna joined us for 10 days in April! We showed them Pike Place and all the other downtown highlights, plus spent a day taking the ferry to Whidbey Island. You can see us here at Deception Pass. Such a gorgeous place, just an hour from the city!
