Hold On To Your Hat

'Cause the winds of change, they are a-blowin'! And I'm not talking a nice, gentle Spring breeze here. What we have here is gale-force winds of change that could potentially knock a grown man down. Some of you know about this already, but we are now at liberty to share our news with the world. So, here we go.

Jeff has officially quit his day job--(today was his last day)--to pursue his dream of being his own boss. He has been doing some consulting work on the side for a little over a year and has built his business to a point where we are finally comfortable for him to go out on his own. This is thrilling and exciting and just a little bit scary, but the changes don't stop there. When Ruth finishes up the school year at the end of May we will move out of our house and officially be homeless. We will stay alternately at each of our parents homes during the month of June, and then in July we'll hit the skies for Brazil--just days after we return from our vacation to Belize. We are planning to live there for six months, immersing ourselves in the language and culture, and soaking up a little sun and sea--while watching the water drain in the opposite direction in the tub and experiencing a flip-flop in the seasons. While we are there, we will begin a homeschool program with Ruth that we are all really excited about. And when we come back to the States in January, we will be moving to College Station to an as of yet unspecified house. It's a lot to take in. Believe me, I know. I'll give you a second to catch that hat of yours.

So, my house is now almost completely packed up, and all the boxes are awaiting delivery to an as of yet unspecified storage facility. We will be renting our house here, and I believe the sign will be going out in yard tomorrow. So, if you or anyone you know would like to live in North Austin in a fabulous house with a giant yard, in the highly acclaimed Round Rock ISD, please let me know. And if any of you have ever thought about visiting Brazil, let me suggest to you that sometime in the latter half of this year might be a great time to do that. We don't know where we'll be living yet--(yes, there does seem to be a theme here, doesn't there?!)--but just like now, friends and family will always be welcomed. We will still be connected to all of you via e-mail, phone and, of course, this blog. This means you need to be extra-diligent to leave comments--or start leaving comments if you haven't previously. (I know there are lots of lurkers out there)!

We have thoroughly enjoyed the phase of our lives that has had us in Austin, and we will keep fondly the memories we have made here. But we are also so very excited about this new phase of our lives and look forward to making many more new and wonderful memories as we go forward in the journey. We will not forget the friends we have made in Austin, and we are thankful that the smallness of our world these days will allow us always to stay close, no matter how far away our physical bodies may be.

So, that's it. That's all the changes we can muster at one time and still hold on to a shred of sanity. (And then, only just barely).