"Hello, is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me…" Now that Pink Floyd has broken the ice for us, here we go. How does one go about updating a blog after three months of silence while simultaneously recapping one of our family's most monumental life changes? Umm, I'm not quite sure! But I'm going with a timeline. Jump in (if you have an hour to spare - this one's loooong, folks!) and see just what's been keeping the blog so quiet and us so busy for the past few months…
August 2014 - Michael began the interview process with Amazon.com for an opportunity at their corporate headquarters in Seattle, WA.
Mid-August 2014 - Michael was invited to fly out to Seattle for a third round interview with Amazon.
Day after Labor Day 2014 - Michael and I flew out to Seattle for the interview for 3 days. Neither of us had ever been there, so I tagged along since there was a possibility we would move our family out to Washington state. The first day we explored downtown, the waterfront, and the obligatory touristy visit to the Space Needle. The second day was a full-day interview for Michael and consequently a full-day of exploring and reflecting for me. That evening, we had dinner with a fraternity brother of Michael's and his wife (both of whom also went to high school with Michael and he works at Amazon as well.) And then we waited. We knew we were open to the opportunity if a job offer was presented, but it wasn't a sure thing (neither the job offer nor our acceptance of it).
No visit to Seattle is complete without a trip to Pike Place Market!
A beautiful but windy day atop the Space Needle.
September 10, 2014 - Michael was offered a job with Amazon.com as a Senior Vendor Manager in Men's Shoes. Negotiations ensued.
September 15, 2014 - An agreement was made and Michael accepted the job. And the rest of us accepted that our life as we knew it would change in the coming months, but we felt only what can be described as peaceful anticipation about it.
September 29, 2014 - After a fulfilling and challenging 11-year career at Target Corporation, Michael's last day had arrived. Certainly a bittersweet experience to bid farewell to not only the place but mostly the people who had been so influential in his career.
First 2 weeks of October 2014 - Since Michael was home for two weeks (hallelujah!) before officially departing for Seattle, he worked diligently on getting the house ready to list. Including but not limited to: a thousand trips to Goodwill to donate stuff, organizing closets, cleaning out the garage, de-cluttering rooms, putting tons of stuff in storage bins, arranging a "buff and coat" to be performed on our hardwood floors (which also displaced us from our home for one day), scheduling painters to paint several rooms, picking out paint for said rooms, scheduling window washing, setting up repair work for our water softener, working on landscaping, etc. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about all that.
October 8-10, 2014 - Amazon flew Michael and me out to Seattle for a house-hunting trip. They offered to fly the kids out too, but we thought it would be stressful enough to try and find housing for our family within a 3-day window in a brand new city without kids, so we jumped at the chance to go it alone when my parents graciously agreed to stay with the girls at our house (and also greet the many visitors we had lined up - carpet cleaners, painters, window washers, etc.) Huge thanks, Mom and Dad! Prior to leaving for our trip we made the decision that we would be looking for a home to rent for our first year out in Washington. It felt like the right thing to do as we acclimate to a new area before committing to a home purchase in an unfamiliar place. We had a great trip! We enjoyed the time together in what would soon be called our new city. We toured about 6 homes which varied in location - a few in Seattle proper and the rest in suburban areas. We settled on a beautiful home in Bellevue (just east of Seattle, across Lake Washington). The square footage and scenic views were the two main selling points for us. We were thankful the trip yielded housing for us; we were prepared for Michael to be put up in temporary corporate housing until we found a place, but were glad we didn't have to go that route.
October 14, 2014 - Our home on Saratoga Lane in Plymouth went live on the MLS. *Fingers crossed!* Our plan was for us girls to stay in Minnesota until a) the house sold or b) mid-December (our self-imposed separation limit), whichever happened first.
October 16, 2014 - Our boys (Michael and Malone) left for Seattle by car (a 24-hour trek). The car was loaded with enough necessities for them to get by on their own for who-knows-how-long. At this point, we thought it may be well into December before we all officially moved out west to join them. They made one overnight stop in Montana and arrived in Seattle on the evening of October 17.
October 14-26, 2014 - A handful of house showings and two open houses. Every spare moment I had (which was usually after the girls were in bed for the day), was spent cleaning and trying to maintain the "show-ready" appearance of our house. Let's just say it was next to impossible to achieve on my own with kids in the house without having to resort to this…
October 26, 2014 - We received an offer on our house! After their acceptance of our counter-offer, a deal was made. Wow! Much quicker than we expected; a huge blessing but it meant our goodbyes would happen sooner than my heart was prepared for.
November 7, 2014 - My dearest college girlfriends, Katie and Beth, threw me a going away/best wishes party. It was a girls-only affair full of love, memories, and reminiscing. It really was the kindest gesture and the perfect opportunity to say "see you later" to some remarkable people I've met in Minneapolis all in one night. More on this later, but it was an important evening in mentally preparing for our departure.
November 10, 2014 - I finally finished our packing for Disney World. Wait, Disney World? What?! WHY?! Why now?! Yep, in the middle of all this, we had a previously planned family vacation to Orlando and it was happening during the week between our moving out of Minneapolis and into Seattle. Because why not add an extra layer of crazy chaos on top of the insanity that already exists?! HA! God help us. No, really, SOS! All jokes aside, the trip proved to be perfectly (divinely!) timed and the exact thing we all needed right smack-dab in the middle of the transition. The amount of organization was mind-boggling and the number of lists, reminders, and general stress was pretty much off the charts as we packed up for a cross-country move and prepared for a week at Disney World, but I wasn't on my own. God held us all together.
November 11, 2014 - The moving company "army" (that's what it seemed like!) arrived and began packing up every last item we own. Boxes and packing paper were EV-ERY-WHERE. While we were displaced for pretty much the whole day, they did leave our beds so we could sleep that night and the following. And we spent our days soaking in some quality time with friends one last time. And can I just tell you what an incredible blessing our friends have been? Countless times I dropped Katelyn off to play with friends while I drove Kendall around in the car for a nap (that's what happens when there's a showing scheduled from 1:30 - 2:30 or movers taking over for two full days). We (I!!) would never have survived without losing our minds if it weren't for such gracious friends. No one is meant to do this motherhood/parenting thing alone, especially not when it involves a cross-country move while down one parent! Praise God for dear friends.
November 12, 2014 - Katelyn's last day of PreK at Crossroads Preschool. Such a bittersweet day as her classmates and teachers were wonderful. Her classmates knew about her looming departure, but this was the official final day. They even prayed blessings over her. So special! Katelyn held it together beautifully, but this is when it really started to hit me that we would be leaving Minneapolis - our first home away from home - in just two days.
November 13, 2014 - Now that all of our stuff was packed up in boxes, this day was considered the "move day" as the moving team loaded up a huge 48-foot semi with all of our stuff. My parents arrived as they were coming to Disney World as well. They also provided our new means of transportation as our Honda Pilot was picked up and began its trek to Seattle aboard a car-transport semi. We got two additional car seats for their car the week prior. I'm telling you, the logistics of how to pull this whole thing off were utterly dizzying! I also had to pre-sign at the real estate agent's office for the sale of our home. Finally, the house was completely empty by about 5:00 pm and the semi departed for Seattle. I took one final pass through with the vacuum (the very last thing to be placed on the truck!), bid farewell to our neighbors one last time, and locked "our" house up for a final time. That night, my parents and I each got a hotel room in Bloomington, MN, near the airport as we were flying out the next morning for Disney World. Whew. Whirlwind does not even begin to describe!
November 14, 2014 - We were Orlando-bound for a week at Walt Disney World! Woooo hooooo!! Michael, Uncle Ryan, and Uncle Mitch met us there from Seattle, Kansas City, and Chicago, respectively. There was nothing like it and we all had a blast!
November 14 - 20, 2014 - In Disney World as a family. Reunited with my hubby! The girls reunited with Daddy! I will write more about this later, but we can sum it up in one word: MaGiCaL!
November 20, 2014 - Up at 5:30 am, we said goodbye to my family and the four of us flew from Orlando to Seattle by way of Dallas. It was an exhausting travel day, but we made it back to Michael's car (which also has 2 car seats; yep, we own 6 car seats now! Gotta do what you gotta do.) and drove to our home in Bellevue. Waiting on the doorstep were two sleeping bags for the girls (ordered via Amazon while we were in Orlando and realized we didn't have sleeping arrangements made for our first night in Seattle). And off to bed we went...
November 21, 2014 - The girls woke up at 4:30 am for the day (it would have been 7:30 Florida time). Michael went back to work. At 9:00 am, the moving truck arrived at our Bellevue home and the crew began unloading all of our things. They had to disassemble some furniture in Minnesota, so they put all those things back together, set up our beds, and placed the boxes in the rooms which they belong. Again, we were pretty much displaced for another day, only in Seattle we didn't have the luxury of a network of friends on which to rely. Instead, we ventured to the grocery store and the girls played on the iPads (for waaay too long). By about 5:00 pm everything had been moved into our Bellevue home, the paperwork from the moving company signed, and so began the process of unpacking and settling into our new surroundings.
Whew! There you have it: the timeline of our Wild, Wild {North} West adventure.
But, wait.
There's more.
{I know, the monster post continues.}
But it's the best part.
It brings deeper, richer, more fulfilling meaning to all this.
The most important piece of this timeline actually happened 6 months prior to any actual activity.
A couple months into 2014, Michael and I both began to feel "stirred." I know, it's such a vague word. I wish I could better explain it, but the Holy Spirit is mysterious that way. For us, this stirring was a mutual feeling of complacency laced with a desire for change and this deep-rooted question: "What is God's will for us?" The fact that we both felt this same way at the same point in time can be explained only as divine alignment. God knew if we weren't on the same page and our hearts in the same place, it would make things challenging.
We didn't know what the stirring meant and it left us a little confused. Together and also individually, we prayed for clarity around what it may mean. Those very prayers back in February and March 2014 were, in retrospect, the catalyst to every single event listed in the timeline above. Over the course of winter and into springtime, we felt our hearts softening to the idea of truly opening ourselves up to God's will for our family. Never before had we openly and intentionally invited God in to take hold of the pen and write the story of our lives. Up until this point, we were the authors. In other words, we moved to the backseat and surrendered the keys to God. We did not make the decision lightly and it felt somewhat risky (what if he sends us to China?!), while at the same time it felt liberating for that heart of mine that likes to have control over things. I describe it as "the safest scary" we've ever felt. Our God is good and he has incredible plans for us, Michael and I agreed that he's better suited for authoring our story than we are, but that conclusion did not happen overnight. It was a "divine conversion process" as I call it and it took months. Ultimately, once we began yielding to God's will, we watched as he orchestrated and unfolded one of the most fascinating series of events in our lives.
It is challenging for me to articulate the countless ways in which we felt God's presence and his prompting throughout all of this, but here are several instances and experiences that validate the Lord's hand upon this process…
- Once we had the stirring in our hearts, Michael and I both kept hearing this theme being repeated to us. I know, "hearing" sounds so bizarre… it was just this tugging in our hearts and a small whisper saying, "I have an adventure for you if you'll say 'yes'." We know now those were encounters with the Holy Spirit.
- Back in June and long before we knew we would be moving across the country, we traded in our SUV for a larger and more reliable one. We didn't think much about it, but had discussed the new car possibility for a couple months prior. Couple things about this: 1) if we knew our life would be turned upside-down (in the best possible way) three months later, we probably would have just stayed the course with our previous vehicle and wouldn't have made such a big financial decision. 2) But God knew that we (I) would need a reliable vehicle in the coming months for two reasons: living in Minneapolis by myself with the kids for a month and also Michael's travel schedule with Amazon is more robust and I am on my own in a new city for at least a few days each month. God was looking out for us even before we knew we needed it.
- Anyone who knows me, knows I like to be close to home and family. I grew up in Ames, went to college in Ames, and then lived in Minneapolis for 11 years. Interstate 35 and I had this understanding that it would always be there for me and I would travel it faithfully over the years :) God knew that he had a lot of work to do in me if he was calling me across the country. And he did. God changed me and brought peace to my heart about the possibility of a move - no matter how far. It's the only way I can make sense of such a dramatic shift... it was God. And anyone who thinks "I could never do that," you're right, you probably couldn't do it alone. But with God, all things are possible. Even a miraculous change of heart, like mine.
- Once it was clear that God had plans for us to move somewhere new, Michael began looking for jobs. He was most interested in possible opportunities in cities other than Seattle (such as Denver, Dallas, and Raleigh). On a whim, I mentioned to him, "I'd be open to Seattle, if it were for Amazon, which would be awesome on your resume." I literally think God opened my mouth and spoke those words out himself! Hello, I'm the homebody who would be fine with a move to Kansas City (staying true to my partnership with I-35!). But me suggesting a cross-country move to practically the furthest point in the Pacific Northwest?! THE one and only explanation for this out-of-character behavior is the power of God. Within a week, Michael got a call from a recruiter at Amazon.
- When we finally handed the pen over to God (which was about early August), we had no idea what his plan was but we made an agreement with him (can you make a deal with God?! I guess so!) and it was this: any doors that were opened to us, we would faithfully walk through. Any doors that were closed, we would understand that that particular path was not for us. And as you can see, in August doors began to open, and open, and open…
- We continued to seek clarity and wisdom through prayer and one scripture that kept surfacing repeatedly (in the most unexpected places and times) was Psalm 32:8:
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
If that's not obvious reassurance, I'm not sure what is. We Mlakars need obvious. And God knows that.
- The experts say the worst time to list a house for sale in Minnesota is October through January. Ours listed on October 14. It sold in 10 days. Hallelujah! Glory to God! Thankful for the Ultimate Expert!
- As you know, I was a single parent to our girls for about 5 weeks. It was hard, holy work. But we all survived. And I would argue that we actually sailed through those 5 weeks. I am not by any means tooting my own horn. The only reason we made it - and made it smoothly - was by the grace of God. He equipped me. Every single day of those 5 weeks, he equipped me. And with abundance; more patience, more physical strength, more emotional capacity, more love, more peace, more rest. More everything. He gave me more than enough to sustain us for 5 weeks. No way could I have done it on my own. All the glory goes to God. That is the bottom-line.
- On November 20 when our house was completely empty and I was vacuuming the floors one final time, I was thinking about how much we loved our house and all the great memories created within its walls. I wasn't overly emotional, but I was thinking about all that brought us to this point and was beginning to wonder if the future would hold as much richness as our past did. The vacuum cord then swept under the refrigerator and pulled out a bright pink index card. On the back was a magnet and Katelyn's name written by a Sunday School teacher in blue crayon. I flipped it over and was awe-struck. A smile swept across my face. Peace and reassurance flooded me. And gratitude for the ways in which God works filled my heart. This is the front of the card…
I have no idea how old the card is. Probably from before Katelyn could write her name. But I do know it was unearthed at the most perfect time. A final gift of reassurance as I said my final goodbyes to our Plymouth house. As he did all along, God continued to deliver just what I needed.
- When Michael and I were first out in Seattle for his interview, I remember sitting in the hotel room wondering if we could find a church that we loved as much as our Minnesota church (Open Door). I did a quick Google search and the first church that caught my eye was called The City Church. Based on the website, it reminded me a lot of Open Door. Since moving out here, we have visited a handful of different churches and have especially connected to one of them and decided to make it our primary church. You guessed it. The City Church. The senior pastor is Judah Smith, a young, vibrant, relatable, and knowledgeable man. His sermons are rich with passion and wit. The church community is welcoming and most importantly a reflection of Jesus. We already feel blessed by our new church! But the story doesn't end there. A few days ago and seemingly out of the blue, I got a message through Facebook from a sorority sister of mine whom I hadn't heard from in months. She's a faith-filled, insightful woman and I value her perspective. She wrote: "… I've been thinking about you and your family and praying for you as you transition. When we travel, my husband and I listen to podcasts by a guy named Judah Smith. He is a pastor in Seattle at a church called "The City Church." I'm not sure how close you live to it, but I wanted to make you aware of this church - I think you'd really like it." Are you kidding me?! Amen! Nothing is "out of the blue" when God is in charge. And he's a champion at providing validation in the most unexpected places.
- Once our house sold and the closing date was set, my heart ached knowing how quickly we would be in Seattle. I worried that I wouldn't get to personally say goodbye to all the people who impacted our lives in Minnesota. We didn't get to see everyone. But get this: my amazing girlfriends planned and executed a going away party for me within 9 days. 9 days! Thank you, God, for another huge blessing! In addition to that, we had the chance to say goodbye to other friends at a few final play-dates and visits.
These wonderful women blessed our life abundantly during our time in Minnesota.
- The trip to Disney World was perfectly timed and planned unbeknownst to us. What felt (at times) like a hastily planned trip during the poorest timing ever proved to be the exact opposite: a divinely timed and beautifully planned memory-maker. God knows what's up. Even when we don't.
- This transition has been incredibly seamless for Katelyn and Kendall. Their resiliency and capacity to adapt to change has blown. us. away. They have been an incredible example to us in the way they embrace changes and jump in feet first into new environments. They have not shed one tear (not even Kendall, you guys!) when separating from us at preschool, the YMCA, or any of the handful of new-to-us churches we've visited where they attended the children's ministry classes. Again, that's a credit to God himself. He lavished peace and confidence upon them like we've never seen before. It's been such a sweet surprise to us. But we shouldn't be surprised. That's how God is. That's what he does.
I know there are many other examples of God's hand upon us that I can't recall right now, but my point is this: we did not do this alone. We did not control any of it. We actually gave up and ultimately lost control (in a good way). This move was not executed from our own desires or our own free-will. It was all done by God. We just said yes to the invitation for an adventure for our family and remained obedient to God's will as it unfolded before us. It was all a result of surrendering to the "safest scary."
As a result, the story of Team Mlakar now continues in Seattle!
September 29, 2014 - After a fulfilling and challenging 11-year career at Target Corporation, Michael's last day had arrived. Certainly a bittersweet experience to bid farewell to not only the place but mostly the people who had been so influential in his career.
First 2 weeks of October 2014 - Since Michael was home for two weeks (hallelujah!) before officially departing for Seattle, he worked diligently on getting the house ready to list. Including but not limited to: a thousand trips to Goodwill to donate stuff, organizing closets, cleaning out the garage, de-cluttering rooms, putting tons of stuff in storage bins, arranging a "buff and coat" to be performed on our hardwood floors (which also displaced us from our home for one day), scheduling painters to paint several rooms, picking out paint for said rooms, scheduling window washing, setting up repair work for our water softener, working on landscaping, etc. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about all that.
October 8-10, 2014 - Amazon flew Michael and me out to Seattle for a house-hunting trip. They offered to fly the kids out too, but we thought it would be stressful enough to try and find housing for our family within a 3-day window in a brand new city without kids, so we jumped at the chance to go it alone when my parents graciously agreed to stay with the girls at our house (and also greet the many visitors we had lined up - carpet cleaners, painters, window washers, etc.) Huge thanks, Mom and Dad! Prior to leaving for our trip we made the decision that we would be looking for a home to rent for our first year out in Washington. It felt like the right thing to do as we acclimate to a new area before committing to a home purchase in an unfamiliar place. We had a great trip! We enjoyed the time together in what would soon be called our new city. We toured about 6 homes which varied in location - a few in Seattle proper and the rest in suburban areas. We settled on a beautiful home in Bellevue (just east of Seattle, across Lake Washington). The square footage and scenic views were the two main selling points for us. We were thankful the trip yielded housing for us; we were prepared for Michael to be put up in temporary corporate housing until we found a place, but were glad we didn't have to go that route.
October 14, 2014 - Our home on Saratoga Lane in Plymouth went live on the MLS. *Fingers crossed!* Our plan was for us girls to stay in Minnesota until a) the house sold or b) mid-December (our self-imposed separation limit), whichever happened first.
Our home had finally looked its best and we were moving out - go figure!
October 16, 2014 - Our boys (Michael and Malone) left for Seattle by car (a 24-hour trek). The car was loaded with enough necessities for them to get by on their own for who-knows-how-long. At this point, we thought it may be well into December before we all officially moved out west to join them. They made one overnight stop in Montana and arrived in Seattle on the evening of October 17.
October 14-26, 2014 - A handful of house showings and two open houses. Every spare moment I had (which was usually after the girls were in bed for the day), was spent cleaning and trying to maintain the "show-ready" appearance of our house. Let's just say it was next to impossible to achieve on my own with kids in the house without having to resort to this…
The girls playing in the trunk!
It was at this point, that I had to let go of any guilt around not keeping the blog updated. I realized I just couldn't do it during this season and it was okay. It wasn't worth losing my sanity over! Plus, we knew all our loyal blog readers would understand :)
October 26, 2014 - We received an offer on our house! After their acceptance of our counter-offer, a deal was made. Wow! Much quicker than we expected; a huge blessing but it meant our goodbyes would happen sooner than my heart was prepared for.
November 7, 2014 - My dearest college girlfriends, Katie and Beth, threw me a going away/best wishes party. It was a girls-only affair full of love, memories, and reminiscing. It really was the kindest gesture and the perfect opportunity to say "see you later" to some remarkable people I've met in Minneapolis all in one night. More on this later, but it was an important evening in mentally preparing for our departure.
Katie and Beth have been dear friends since our freshman year at Iowa State. For 15 years we have lived in the same city. Until now. "The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."
November 11, 2014 - The moving company "army" (that's what it seemed like!) arrived and began packing up every last item we own. Boxes and packing paper were EV-ERY-WHERE. While we were displaced for pretty much the whole day, they did leave our beds so we could sleep that night and the following. And we spent our days soaking in some quality time with friends one last time. And can I just tell you what an incredible blessing our friends have been? Countless times I dropped Katelyn off to play with friends while I drove Kendall around in the car for a nap (that's what happens when there's a showing scheduled from 1:30 - 2:30 or movers taking over for two full days). We (I!!) would never have survived without losing our minds if it weren't for such gracious friends. No one is meant to do this motherhood/parenting thing alone, especially not when it involves a cross-country move while down one parent! Praise God for dear friends.
The girls with their friends Abby and Josh.
One of my favorite people: Shelly! This family has been one of the biggest surprise blessings to us.
Shelly's son Erik and Kate.
One final lunch date with Katie!
A pizza party at a friend's house on our final night in our house. Kendall, Maddie, Katelyn, Ryan, Cooper, and Drew.
Maddie and Katelyn - in addition to the moms being friends, these two were in the same dance class.
The master bedroom closet all packed up.
Part of the basement all packed up.
November 12, 2014 - Katelyn's last day of PreK at Crossroads Preschool. Such a bittersweet day as her classmates and teachers were wonderful. Her classmates knew about her looming departure, but this was the official final day. They even prayed blessings over her. So special! Katelyn held it together beautifully, but this is when it really started to hit me that we would be leaving Minneapolis - our first home away from home - in just two days.
November 13, 2014 - Now that all of our stuff was packed up in boxes, this day was considered the "move day" as the moving team loaded up a huge 48-foot semi with all of our stuff. My parents arrived as they were coming to Disney World as well. They also provided our new means of transportation as our Honda Pilot was picked up and began its trek to Seattle aboard a car-transport semi. We got two additional car seats for their car the week prior. I'm telling you, the logistics of how to pull this whole thing off were utterly dizzying! I also had to pre-sign at the real estate agent's office for the sale of our home. Finally, the house was completely empty by about 5:00 pm and the semi departed for Seattle. I took one final pass through with the vacuum (the very last thing to be placed on the truck!), bid farewell to our neighbors one last time, and locked "our" house up for a final time. That night, my parents and I each got a hotel room in Bloomington, MN, near the airport as we were flying out the next morning for Disney World. Whew. Whirlwind does not even begin to describe!
November 14, 2014 - We were Orlando-bound for a week at Walt Disney World! Woooo hooooo!! Michael, Uncle Ryan, and Uncle Mitch met us there from Seattle, Kansas City, and Chicago, respectively. There was nothing like it and we all had a blast!
November 20, 2014 - Up at 5:30 am, we said goodbye to my family and the four of us flew from Orlando to Seattle by way of Dallas. It was an exhausting travel day, but we made it back to Michael's car (which also has 2 car seats; yep, we own 6 car seats now! Gotta do what you gotta do.) and drove to our home in Bellevue. Waiting on the doorstep were two sleeping bags for the girls (ordered via Amazon while we were in Orlando and realized we didn't have sleeping arrangements made for our first night in Seattle). And off to bed we went...
November 21, 2014 - The girls woke up at 4:30 am for the day (it would have been 7:30 Florida time). Michael went back to work. At 9:00 am, the moving truck arrived at our Bellevue home and the crew began unloading all of our things. They had to disassemble some furniture in Minnesota, so they put all those things back together, set up our beds, and placed the boxes in the rooms which they belong. Again, we were pretty much displaced for another day, only in Seattle we didn't have the luxury of a network of friends on which to rely. Instead, we ventured to the grocery store and the girls played on the iPads (for waaay too long). By about 5:00 pm everything had been moved into our Bellevue home, the paperwork from the moving company signed, and so began the process of unpacking and settling into our new surroundings.
Whew! There you have it: the timeline of our Wild, Wild {North} West adventure.
But, wait.
There's more.
{I know, the monster post continues.}
But it's the best part.
It brings deeper, richer, more fulfilling meaning to all this.
The most important piece of this timeline actually happened 6 months prior to any actual activity.
A couple months into 2014, Michael and I both began to feel "stirred." I know, it's such a vague word. I wish I could better explain it, but the Holy Spirit is mysterious that way. For us, this stirring was a mutual feeling of complacency laced with a desire for change and this deep-rooted question: "What is God's will for us?" The fact that we both felt this same way at the same point in time can be explained only as divine alignment. God knew if we weren't on the same page and our hearts in the same place, it would make things challenging.
We didn't know what the stirring meant and it left us a little confused. Together and also individually, we prayed for clarity around what it may mean. Those very prayers back in February and March 2014 were, in retrospect, the catalyst to every single event listed in the timeline above. Over the course of winter and into springtime, we felt our hearts softening to the idea of truly opening ourselves up to God's will for our family. Never before had we openly and intentionally invited God in to take hold of the pen and write the story of our lives. Up until this point, we were the authors. In other words, we moved to the backseat and surrendered the keys to God. We did not make the decision lightly and it felt somewhat risky (what if he sends us to China?!), while at the same time it felt liberating for that heart of mine that likes to have control over things. I describe it as "the safest scary" we've ever felt. Our God is good and he has incredible plans for us, Michael and I agreed that he's better suited for authoring our story than we are, but that conclusion did not happen overnight. It was a "divine conversion process" as I call it and it took months. Ultimately, once we began yielding to God's will, we watched as he orchestrated and unfolded one of the most fascinating series of events in our lives.
It is challenging for me to articulate the countless ways in which we felt God's presence and his prompting throughout all of this, but here are several instances and experiences that validate the Lord's hand upon this process…
- Once we had the stirring in our hearts, Michael and I both kept hearing this theme being repeated to us. I know, "hearing" sounds so bizarre… it was just this tugging in our hearts and a small whisper saying, "I have an adventure for you if you'll say 'yes'." We know now those were encounters with the Holy Spirit.
- Back in June and long before we knew we would be moving across the country, we traded in our SUV for a larger and more reliable one. We didn't think much about it, but had discussed the new car possibility for a couple months prior. Couple things about this: 1) if we knew our life would be turned upside-down (in the best possible way) three months later, we probably would have just stayed the course with our previous vehicle and wouldn't have made such a big financial decision. 2) But God knew that we (I) would need a reliable vehicle in the coming months for two reasons: living in Minneapolis by myself with the kids for a month and also Michael's travel schedule with Amazon is more robust and I am on my own in a new city for at least a few days each month. God was looking out for us even before we knew we needed it.
- Anyone who knows me, knows I like to be close to home and family. I grew up in Ames, went to college in Ames, and then lived in Minneapolis for 11 years. Interstate 35 and I had this understanding that it would always be there for me and I would travel it faithfully over the years :) God knew that he had a lot of work to do in me if he was calling me across the country. And he did. God changed me and brought peace to my heart about the possibility of a move - no matter how far. It's the only way I can make sense of such a dramatic shift... it was God. And anyone who thinks "I could never do that," you're right, you probably couldn't do it alone. But with God, all things are possible. Even a miraculous change of heart, like mine.
- Once it was clear that God had plans for us to move somewhere new, Michael began looking for jobs. He was most interested in possible opportunities in cities other than Seattle (such as Denver, Dallas, and Raleigh). On a whim, I mentioned to him, "I'd be open to Seattle, if it were for Amazon, which would be awesome on your resume." I literally think God opened my mouth and spoke those words out himself! Hello, I'm the homebody who would be fine with a move to Kansas City (staying true to my partnership with I-35!). But me suggesting a cross-country move to practically the furthest point in the Pacific Northwest?! THE one and only explanation for this out-of-character behavior is the power of God. Within a week, Michael got a call from a recruiter at Amazon.
- When we finally handed the pen over to God (which was about early August), we had no idea what his plan was but we made an agreement with him (can you make a deal with God?! I guess so!) and it was this: any doors that were opened to us, we would faithfully walk through. Any doors that were closed, we would understand that that particular path was not for us. And as you can see, in August doors began to open, and open, and open…
- We continued to seek clarity and wisdom through prayer and one scripture that kept surfacing repeatedly (in the most unexpected places and times) was Psalm 32:8:
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
If that's not obvious reassurance, I'm not sure what is. We Mlakars need obvious. And God knows that.
- The experts say the worst time to list a house for sale in Minnesota is October through January. Ours listed on October 14. It sold in 10 days. Hallelujah! Glory to God! Thankful for the Ultimate Expert!
- As you know, I was a single parent to our girls for about 5 weeks. It was hard, holy work. But we all survived. And I would argue that we actually sailed through those 5 weeks. I am not by any means tooting my own horn. The only reason we made it - and made it smoothly - was by the grace of God. He equipped me. Every single day of those 5 weeks, he equipped me. And with abundance; more patience, more physical strength, more emotional capacity, more love, more peace, more rest. More everything. He gave me more than enough to sustain us for 5 weeks. No way could I have done it on my own. All the glory goes to God. That is the bottom-line.
- On November 20 when our house was completely empty and I was vacuuming the floors one final time, I was thinking about how much we loved our house and all the great memories created within its walls. I wasn't overly emotional, but I was thinking about all that brought us to this point and was beginning to wonder if the future would hold as much richness as our past did. The vacuum cord then swept under the refrigerator and pulled out a bright pink index card. On the back was a magnet and Katelyn's name written by a Sunday School teacher in blue crayon. I flipped it over and was awe-struck. A smile swept across my face. Peace and reassurance flooded me. And gratitude for the ways in which God works filled my heart. This is the front of the card…
- When Michael and I were first out in Seattle for his interview, I remember sitting in the hotel room wondering if we could find a church that we loved as much as our Minnesota church (Open Door). I did a quick Google search and the first church that caught my eye was called The City Church. Based on the website, it reminded me a lot of Open Door. Since moving out here, we have visited a handful of different churches and have especially connected to one of them and decided to make it our primary church. You guessed it. The City Church. The senior pastor is Judah Smith, a young, vibrant, relatable, and knowledgeable man. His sermons are rich with passion and wit. The church community is welcoming and most importantly a reflection of Jesus. We already feel blessed by our new church! But the story doesn't end there. A few days ago and seemingly out of the blue, I got a message through Facebook from a sorority sister of mine whom I hadn't heard from in months. She's a faith-filled, insightful woman and I value her perspective. She wrote: "… I've been thinking about you and your family and praying for you as you transition. When we travel, my husband and I listen to podcasts by a guy named Judah Smith. He is a pastor in Seattle at a church called "The City Church." I'm not sure how close you live to it, but I wanted to make you aware of this church - I think you'd really like it." Are you kidding me?! Amen! Nothing is "out of the blue" when God is in charge. And he's a champion at providing validation in the most unexpected places.
Christmas Eve service at our new church.
- Once our house sold and the closing date was set, my heart ached knowing how quickly we would be in Seattle. I worried that I wouldn't get to personally say goodbye to all the people who impacted our lives in Minnesota. We didn't get to see everyone. But get this: my amazing girlfriends planned and executed a going away party for me within 9 days. 9 days! Thank you, God, for another huge blessing! In addition to that, we had the chance to say goodbye to other friends at a few final play-dates and visits.
These wonderful women blessed our life abundantly during our time in Minnesota.
Friends from our Mommy and Me class at the hospital after Katelyn was born.
With my sweet friend and former co-worker, Abby.
- This transition has been incredibly seamless for Katelyn and Kendall. Their resiliency and capacity to adapt to change has blown. us. away. They have been an incredible example to us in the way they embrace changes and jump in feet first into new environments. They have not shed one tear (not even Kendall, you guys!) when separating from us at preschool, the YMCA, or any of the handful of new-to-us churches we've visited where they attended the children's ministry classes. Again, that's a credit to God himself. He lavished peace and confidence upon them like we've never seen before. It's been such a sweet surprise to us. But we shouldn't be surprised. That's how God is. That's what he does.
I know there are many other examples of God's hand upon us that I can't recall right now, but my point is this: we did not do this alone. We did not control any of it. We actually gave up and ultimately lost control (in a good way). This move was not executed from our own desires or our own free-will. It was all done by God. We just said yes to the invitation for an adventure for our family and remained obedient to God's will as it unfolded before us. It was all a result of surrendering to the "safest scary."
As a result, the story of Team Mlakar now continues in Seattle!
Our first family dinner out in Bellevue. (Kate - always a ballerina!)
{Thanks for reading this monstrous post. I hope to get back in the swing of blog posts now that we're settling into our new normal. Although the break from keeping up on the blog has been nice in some ways, the blog feels more important now than ever since we are so far away from family and friends. I will try my best to keep up!}
5 comments:
Wow. Just wow. What a great example of true FAITH, and to have it lived out by your adult children is both humbling and rewarding to us as parents. We are learning from you about living God's will and are so proud of you and Michael!
I also believe God helped me totally accept and support your decision and feel no anxiety about it at all (which is unusual for me!). We are excited about your new adventure and what the future holds for your family! Thanks for sharing the "story behind your move" in detail! We are very happy the blog has been resurrected!
Love this post, Missy! What an amazing story and what fun for us to read about how everything transpired. We're looking forward to more posts about your adventures in Seattle!
So, so, so incredibly happy for you and the entire Mlakar Team! What an amazing journey you have been on. Hope the new year is treating you well! Blessings to you all.
Loved reading about your adventure and how God revealed His plans for your family! What a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing! I'm hoping a trip to Seattle to visit you and to do some biking in Washington is in God's plans for all of us! We miss you!
Such an exciting adventure for your family!!! So glad it all worked out according to "plan!" Missing you tons and tons all the while knowing we will get together soon-ish!!!
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