3 Years, 4 States

WHEN: 2007-2010 WHERE: Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina How's this for a story of time & space... In the past 3 years (37 months), Stace and I have lived in 4 states! If that isn't ridiculous enough by your standards, we have also lived in 3 states in the past 11 months . This time last year, we still lived in North Carolina, unemployed an unaware we would be moving to Virginia, and to South Carolina less than a year later. This may be less astonishing to those in the military or clergy, but we are neither. We just lack a certain "stay put" gene that we can't shake out of our DNA. Currently, we have properties in two states - beach towns at that. Through September 30, 2010, we legally and physically have a residence in Virginia Beach and one in Charleston. We're millionaires!! (Just the opposite). But it feels like an adequate representation of our lives over the past 3 years. Sometimes, even we forget where we live. I imagine our families have worn holes in their address books, writing and rewriting our addresses on an annual basis. We hope and pray that each move offers more stability than the last yet try to make and enjoy the memories at each "stop". These are our "state stories".

Iowa. Home sweet home. As far or often as Stacie & I roam, Iowa will always be "home". It's where we were born, raised, met one another, married, and where our families still live. Going home never gets dull and it's sweeter every time.

Cedar Falls, Iowa (Home: 6/8/1983 - 7/15/2007)

"Birds of Paradise", our first place as a married couple (Cedar Falls Bible Conference grounds). We lived here for 4 very short weeks after our wedding, but it was our first "home" together. This brief chapter almost seems a dream - like it never really happened.

North Carolina. Our new home, just 46 days after our wedding.

Greenville, North Carolina (Home: 07/17/2007 - 09/19/2009)

"Melbourne Park", where we spent the first 2+ years of our marriage. Our memories during this time were abundant. From many vacations to the beautiful North Carolina coast; meeting and making new friends; both our sister's weddings; the birth of our first niece; and many visits from family and friends, we hold specials memories of this place and time.

Virginia. Our new home after 26 months in North Carolina.

Virginia Beach, VA (Home: 09/19/2009 - 08/14/2010)

"Columbus Station", hopefully the shortest time we ever spend living in one state. So much happened and so many more great memories were made during our short stay here but just under 11 months living in one state is not something we want to relive. Like our homes before, though, we will miss all we did and the lives we had in Virginia Beach.

South Carolina. Our current "home", after less than 11 months in Virginia.

Charleston, South Carolina (Home: 8/14/2010 - ??/??/????)

"Trump Street", home for now. We are enjoying the added space (almost twice as much square footage as our place in Virginia Beach) and we look forward to the mild fall and winter ahead! We know we will have just as many unique, exciting, and cherished memories of this place. And at every move, there was a big, yellow truck, lugging all our earthly possessions to and fro around the country. Each move, Stace and I hope we will get some sort of "frequent driver miles/rewards" with Penske, but we are still waiting. Maybe for our next move??

I suppose if there's a traveling story that rivals our own, it belongs to a piece of furniture in our house. This leather chair and ottoman (formerly my mother-in-law's, since she was a little girl), also grew up in Iowa. Since 2002, it has "lived" in 6 different states, at 8 different times. Stacie's sister & husband first took its from its home in Iowa to Florida (in 2002), then later to North Carolina (2004), and finally to Minnesota (2006). We "took it off their hands" and brought it back to Iowa in 2007. It then moved with us back to North Carolina (2007), to Virginia in 2009, and now it rests with us in South Carolina. This chair gets around - in time and space!

What does moving 3 times in 3 years look like?

Iowa - 2006

Iowa - 7/14/2007

Iowa - 7/15/2007

North Carolina - 7/17/2007

North Carolina - 9/4/2009

North Carolina - 9/6/2009

North Carolina - 9/19/2009

Virginia - 9/15/2009

Virginia - 9/19/2009

Virginia - 8/13/2010

Virginia - 8/14/2010

South Carolina - 8/15/2010

South Carolina - 8/15/2010

South Carolina - 8/21/2010

It has been an amazing journey, these past 3 years. Even sorting through the pictures I put together for this post brought back so many memories. You forget so many details of your lives, as memories are lost with each new chapter written. And with annual moves, sibling weddings, nieces & nephews, and family moves, our chapters are not long. Stacie & I can't believe where and what we've been through in 37 short/long months. We are grateful for where we've been and what we've learned and we hope God has some stability ahead for the next chapter in our lives. We'd like to have a family, home, friends, church...before we're in our forties. But wherever He leads, we will follow...one state at a time!

***Picture of the Week's have returned (see below)***