Big News

Dear folks, it's been quite a while since our last blog post (2009!) and although we haven't had as many pictures to post for the first two quarters of the year, there has definitely been a lot going on.

First, some of you know that Neal traveled quite a bit for work the first two quarters of the year. Since January he has been on the road close to 100 days, helping with trials all over the country during a very busy season. While he enjoyed the challenge of being back in the courtroom, the travel and long hours took their toll on us both and we were anxious for a return to normalcy. Luckily, he has not traveled for the last month and a half, which has been great.

As for the exciting part, Neal recently received some big news at work. They have known for a long time that our ultimate goal is to get back to California and have kept him in mind for any possible opportunities. Thankfully, that opportunity has finally arrived, and he is being transferred to the L.A. office in September!

We are SO thrilled. There is much to be done and we have started the ball rolling to make our big move west over Labor Day weekend. We are in the arduous process of trying to sell our house in a depressed market and would love any prayers that you can send our way. They are so powerful! We believe that if God put this opportunity in front of us, he'll help take care of the rest, but none-the-less we'd appreciate any support you can send upward on our behalf!

I have also started looking for work in California and am hopeful that something will come along quickly. Again, any prayers would sure help!

We are so grateful for the opportunity to get back to California. Yes, we will face paying state income tax again (yeesh!), less affordable housing and a higher cost of living, BUT we will be living in a beautiful state where Neal will be in hiking heaven, and we will be reunited with family and good friends. There is no price tag on that.

Our time in Texas has been memorable. We started our lives together here, built a home and a life, seen a lot of the state, spent some quality time with Neal's sister and her husband, and made some great friends. As we prepare to say "good-bye" to our first home as a family, these are the things we will miss the most. While we both look forward to continuing our life on the west coast, we will always hold a special place in our hearts for the place where we started. And you'd better believe we're taking our boots and our cowboy hats with us! Eeeehaaaw y'all.