Note:

THIS SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

(Just like the rest of our life)

Please visit again soon! Renovations almost complete! :)

Above: Unloading at our new home in Santa Barbara, CA!
Just a glimpse of the GIANT TRUCK, not a fun ride for 2,00o miles!!

Thanks for helping us unload Ryan & Eli!!

EVEN BIGGER thanks to the packing/loading crew back in Chicago...don't have those pics yet and that will deserve a post in and of itself!!

Above: Brant & Pagoda

This Pagoda belonged to my Grandma who passed away a couple years ago. Meaning, it traveled farther than any of us!!!! I now have a family heirlom in my lawn--- it all the way from New Jersey to California!

Also, our parents were so awesome! We are so grateful they have been able to be along side us for the move! My parents followed our PENSKE truck in our little Honda Civic and also took part in dog watching, hotel searches, and desperate gas runs! Hey, it was a road trip! Jon's Mom flew out and was here to help us unload. Dad P. is in Africa... c'mon, what kind of excuse is that!! ;)

Tribute to Dad D.... he was in his glory and was such a great help! He really should be a groundskeeper, nothing makes him happier than some good yard work, hosing down a house, cleaning outdoor windows, and "cleaning dirt". He bought us a hardy supply of yard tools, I think so they will be here for him to use when he comes to visit. Like I said before, Mom D. and Mom P. were super helpful at unpacking, cleaning, pointing out parental insights.... :) So sad to have them so far away!! :(

Happy Note- See Below

Burying a sock in the yard....
Peter is a very, very, HAPPY dog!

And then we quickly transitioned to ....

5 year anniversary...

Wonderful Weekend Get-A-Way in Ojai!

On our way "home" to Santa Barbara, I encountered my first fire experience..
Mind you, this was a minor one...didn't even make local news!!! Yikes!!

09/09/09

09/09/09

I am not saying how old I turned today... because people tend to think I am either A LOT younger than I am, or, A LOT older... so I will let it be a mystery! :)

Anyway, yup, Happy Birthday to me! Thanks for all the face book messages (gotta love technology, anyone who sent a paper card gets hero points! No really, I do it too, and it is an easy way to stay connected and I genuinely loved all the greetings!!! )

Along with Happy Birthday, I am still processing...Happy Moving, "Happy" Good-Bye to Beloved friends & family, Happy New Rental House, Happy 5 Year Anniversary, Happy New Job, New Culture, etc. etc......

Which.... is why I declined my hub's very nice offer to take me out anywhere I wanted tonight and instead voted for Pizza and a movie at home! We have been out either at restaurants, fast food, or at friends homes, since we left Chicago. SO much has gone on, I am E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D!!! I know there are a ton of emotions going on, but right now, I am working to stay functioning and appearing normal at my new job! Haven't had time to let it all filter. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of tears along with shouts of excitement, but that doesn't mean any of this makes sense quite yet!

So for my "birthday". Mind is kinda numb after all the moving transitions and two really intense days at my new job. I have enjoyed time with family and friends here in Santa Barbara. Jon bought me super cute Rainbow Flip Flops (even if he did buy a size 6.5 when I am size 8, its OK... they were green and I loved them!!!) Also,YES, it has been sunny and beautiful :) In addition, m y employers have also been AMAZING and so sweet and generous, I feel very, very, lucky!!

finished up work,

packing is in full swing,

changed our address,

canceling bills,

saying good byes...


I am guessing my next post will either be from the road, or a few weeks from now once we are settled in! Just a few other things to take care of.

New Casa!

Here it is!

God has a sense of humor.... so we always end up with 7s and 5s in our life.... Jon's cell number (I won't post it on here) but it is something like 773-5*5-7757. One of our license plate #s is also a pure mix of 5,7, and 3.

So we are taking it as a good sign that our new address is .... 735!

House is a tiny 2 bed, 1 bath, kitchen, living room, laundry room. The entire yard is fenced and there is a 1 car garage. We are excited about it! Can't wait to have our own space and it is also in the neighborhood we had talked about being in! Yeah!

Peterson Casa de Chicago

"Man" time..

This was probably our last time hosting in Chicago at our place, which still seems so un-real! I was really, really, sad when the night was over. But we had a great time welcoming our out of town friends... Bethanie & Jeff along with kiddos Halli & Miles (uh, uh, hem...they happen to live in Califronia, yeah!!) and Lisa & Joel with dear little man Isaiah ( they live in Colorado so they are going to be equi-distance, phew!) The rest of you I just can't deal with realizing we are leaving you, so take that lack of explaining your presence here as a compliment!

My camera was also lost/maybe stolen this weekend, so I am stealing my wonderful friend Greta's photos! Thanks!

I guess we do have decent outdoor space..

Below: Bethanie, Miles, Me, Lisa

Isaiah: Halli, let me in ...please!

Our friend's make pretty cute kids.. and they are already pushing for them to be sweethearts. I must admit, they would be a super cute couple! And, look, she is already dying to run her fingers through that hair!!!

Here is the summary version, still hoping to get the whole journey into writing, but that may not happen any time soon... so we won't leave you hanging any longer.

SUMMARY STEPS OF OUR DECISION TO MOVE

1) Jon grew up in Santa Barbara, California.

2) It is incredibly beautiful and there is an amazing community of people there

3) We have always wanted/seen ourselves living in California (winter, snow, flat lands... don't bring out our strong traits)

4) Jon is connected with the Habitat for Humanity (where he presently works) office in Santa Barbara through a connection with a family friend. They have some nice conversations..

5) Nice conversations turn into "maybe" they would like to talk about him joining their team in the future.

6) "Maybe" they would like him to join their team turns into they would like him to join the team... now.

7) Stacy takes all this with a grain of salt and doesn't get her hopes up, but is also very excited. Stacy looks at Craigslist and applies for a job that looks intriguing.

8) Stacy has phone interview the next day.

9) They want to talk to Stacy further...

10) We travel to Santa Barbara for a dear friends wedding, and also both have job interviews scheduled in between wedding activities.

11) Jon learns he will receive a job offer within the next few days.

12) Stacy has a great interview.

13) Jon gets job.

14) Stacy gets job.

15) We decide.. WE ARE MOVING!!

Oh yeah, and in between these steps, we prayed a lot :)

Clearly, God has opened doors for us. That has been our prayer all along and our key phrase. I can't tell you how many people we told over this past year, "Well, we aren't trying to move to California, but we are open to it, and if God opened doors I think we would run through them!" I don't think either of us expected doors to actually open!!!

As it became clear things may be moving forward, we spent weeks going through the pros and cons of moving. We struggled with not wanting to get attached to the idea, but also realizing we needed to make life decisions based off the idea it may happen. We thought about the move (maybe too much in attempt to be logical) and realized that we couldn't just pick up and move to the most expensive state in the country and just expect to make it. More importantly, the decision to leave family, friends, our Church, stable jobs, owning a home, a diverse city with endless activities at our fingertips... there are a lot of reasons not to move!

However, when we were in Santa Barbara just a couple weeks ago we had to work really hard to come up with reasons why we wouldn't move there if things fell into place. Really, it is such an incredible place- and God's beauty surrounds you all the time. Our brother/pastor put it well as we were driving around and he said- this is why the phrase "It's all good" came out of California. Because you just look from one direction to another and say, "God made this all and it is all good".

By NO means do we think Santa Barbara is perfect. The struggles people face are deep and often hidden. There is still racism/classicism and a struggle just to survive. And the state may also break off the country and fall into the ocean one day.....

It is with such joy and humbleness that we can say, this is where we know we need to go. It is a huge risk, but where would we be without taking risks? We are excited to see how God will use us and what he will teach us. We know it will be hard, but we have such a peace about it and are ready to start down this road and see where it takes us. Everyone has been super supportive (with a balance of being sad) which is also confirmation for us.

Wow. Anyway, we are super excited, and also overwhelmed. Lots of closure that needs to happen and more decisions to be made.... We are working hard to continue trusting as God has taken care of us countless times in the past, we trust that everything will work out just as it is supposed to.