No no, I'm not pregnant! We are MOVING! To Montana!

Yes, it seems so out there and crazy and I know those who are close to us know the news, but I just haven't had time to announce here. So this will make it official.

Justin, for some time, has just felt something lacking in his job, never being truly happy or content. He wants to have the ability to do more. Never finishing his degree is something that has weighed on him. So after lots of prayer and consideration, it has been decided to pursue going back to school... at Montana State University.

Why there and not here?
1. Excellent program that has certifications in Sustainable Design (something Justin has been passionate about before it became popular)
2. Lower cost of living.
3. Walkability/Bicycle distance from school.
4. Safer than Philly.
5. Cleaner than Philly.

We considered Temple and Drexel, but it came down to not wanting to move our family into the city. Staying here and commuting is not reasonable. It would take 2 hours out of the day.

So the process began... He applied and was accepted. That was step one. The second much larger step was approaching his employer. Justin wrote a very extensive proposal to work for his company as a sub-contractor. Being self-employed he can better manage his hours and enables us to afford to have him go to school full-time while working at the minimum 25 hours a week while in school.

The hardest part about this transition is leaving our family and friends. It's heart-wrenching really, as close as we are to our them. We do plan to come back east for about a month each summer while we are there. Oh - and that will be three years approximately.

So... That's where I've been pretty much while not blogging! We listed and sold our home and have been searching for a rental to live in in Bozeman. We just found it yesterday and have been approved! So it's nice to have an address - one less stress...

I think this will be an adventure. A hard one. No doubt. Justin will be working 70 hours a week and myself.. well, I will be starting over I guess. I plan to get plugged in right away at a church and join a mom's group to meet people. I plan to blog often about our "adventure." I don''t want to lose touch with my friends here, so I hope by blogging that will at least give a means to keep other's a little plugged in to our lives, as that's how I feel reading other blogs. Of course there always is the telephone too!

Our move-in date is scheduled for November 6th. We are hiring a moving service - one of those 'you pack, they drive' services. So that takes about 7-10 days to actually get out there. We will be staying with Justin's family until Justin has to leave to drive out, and I will fly out with the boys on the 6th or 7th. Eeek! Wish us luck! It's coming upon us quickly.

I'll have to do an additional post later to update you on the boys and share some photos! I don't want to overload. ;)