Saying Goodbye to Texas

We had spent months renovating and remodeling our house to prepare it for the real estate market.

My days were unbelievably packed with commitments:
- running my art studio business and teaching 20 students each week
- coaching Sarah and Matthew's DI team for roughly 6-10 hours each week
- running my entertainment business and corresponding regularly with clients
- remodeling our home (painting, removing tile in most of the house, (ugh! That took forever!), repairing miscellaneous problems)
- fulfilling my calling in church- teaching each Sunday and making home visits to women
- add on the regular demands of running a household, caring for farm animals, and raising a family

I look back on it now and think I was certainly crazy for juggling so many demands. I see now that I was struggling, but at the time I was so busy trying to stay afloat I didn't realize how stressed I was. I think it was definitely an unsustainable situation. (And comparing it to my life now is such a contrast. When we moved, it was a clean break from all my commitments and businesses. I'm taking a year off from coaching, performing, and teaching so I can focus on personal enrichment. What a joy it's been!!)

 Our house sold in a somewhat miraculous way. Through word-of-mouth, an interested family found out we were going to be listing our house soon.

They asked if they could come see our home weeks before it was even staged for the market. We didn't even have the flooring completely installed when they came to walk through our place,  and there were boxes everywhere. The painting projects weren't finished, so walls were covered in areas of different colors.  But the family was in love with the property just like we were. The huge trees and land were captivating, and they loved the large fruit orchard we had worked so hard to create. The house with perfectly what they wanted.

The following day they placed an offer to purchase the house, with a closing date in just a few weeks. We never expected to sell so quickly! It was nice that we didn't have to stage the house for the photographs for the listing ad. However the timing of things was very tricky.

Nathan was expected to start his new job in Utah in just a few days, so I'd be packing and prepping for the move without his help. I was busy preparing for our huge trip to to Tennessee with the children for our Global Finals, and we had to be out of the house only 3 days after our homecoming.

What a whirlwind it was preparing to move with such short notice! I'll be forever grateful for the loving sisters from church who cheerfully came and helped me. A group of friends helped me finish painting-  laughing and chatting the entire time. I'll never forget what an answer to a desperate prayer they were. More friends helped me pack. Nathan flew back to Texas to help us load the moving van and drive cross-country. The day we loaded the van, we were surrounded with an army of friends from church and work. It was such a huge blessing to have so much help, especially since I was very burned out from the stressful demands of the previous two weeks. We had downsized aggressively for months, but still had too much furniture to fit in the moving truck. So the day of the move we ended up giving away a couch, bedroom sets, dining sets, and more. It was a blessing to some of our friends, who were happy to inherit new furniture. It was comical to see the creative ways furniture was lashed down onto car tops to ferry home!

(Quick note: I don't often mention friends by name, but I wanted to record the following stories so I don't forget their kindness.)

That night we enjoyed a soul-nourishing dinner at a friends' house. Sheryl and Doug Wardell had invited us to sleep at their home so we wouldn't have to stay in a hotel. We were SO exhausted, but they filled our little hearts with so much love it was rejuvenating. They were absolute angels, and were the perfect thing we needed that weekend. She made beds for the children in her recording studio- which they thought was such an adventure. (She's a talented screenwriter and creates videos in her home.) I needed to return to our house that night and finish the final deep cleaning, so Sheryl insisted on coming along to help. Oh heavens, what a blessing that was when I was so desperately tired after a long day! I didn't feel worthy of such a friend, and her cheerful service was the perfect balm for a struggling soul.

In the morning, Doug and Sheryl had an exquisite breakfast ready for us. They served it on their beautiful fine china, which made it feel a bit like a fairy tale. I learned a lot this weekend from them, regarding how to truly render service. They were so loving and generous with their time, and they gave their best efforts to whatever service they rendered. What a powerful lesson to me.

Funny thing- before we could leave town, we needed to attend church that morning. (I had to borrow Sheryl's clothing to attend church- I had forgotten to pack Sunday clothes in my overnight bag! I did remember to pack Sunday things for everyone else though.)

A week ago the bishopric had asked me to speak in sacrament meeting that Sunday, and I had foolishly agreed...thinking I'd have plenty of time to write a talk. A few days before Sunday, I had realized my mistake in accepting the speaking assignment. My sweet friend, Gail Berry, had asked how she could help, and she offered to write my talk. She's gifted with words, so this was a perfect service! Unbelievably, she wrote FOUR very different talks on the topic, so I could choose which one felt 'right' to me. It did draw  a chuckle from the congregation when I opened my talk by giving credit to it's real author. My favorite excerpt from her talk was this:

I am an artist, and my soul sings when I am able to focus on a single project, like creating a painting. There seems to be a divine spark in each of us which longs to be like our Heavenly parents--and our Heavenly parents are the ultimate creators. When I became a mother, I joined with them in this process. It's not only about creating babies; it's about creating an eternal family. If I were a world-class painter, I might create a work of art which inspired viewers for a thousand years, but if I nurture an eternal family --  if I feed and educate and mediate squabbles and strengthen relationships and listen and inspire -- I will bless generations throughout all eternity.

The moment sacrament meeting was over, we changed out of our Sunday clothing in the restrooms, said good-bye to whichever friends we found in the church halls, then left to pick up our moving van at our house. We said a prayer thanking the Lord for our friends and experiences in that place, said a tearful goodbye to our farm, and drove away.

I was blessed with so many friends answering my silent pleas for help that month. I will be always grateful for their love and service, and it was very painful to leave dear friends behind. Even writing this now- nearly five months afterwards- it makes my heart sting to think of the sweet friends I miss. Even though we are very blessed with wonderful friends in our new home, I think we will always have a piece of our  hearts left behind in Texas hill country.