Putting Down & Returning to Roots

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Here I am, glass of wine in hand, playing on the computer in the kitchen, listening to my husband click on his video game, and my son squealing with delight as he plays with his toys. It's moments like these when all of the hectic and stressful times in life seem like fleeting moments. The last few months have been crazy to say the least. I know I have said I would reveal what is going on in our life and decided this might be the moment to do that.

Back before my little guy was born, in August while we were on our last vacation in North Carolina, my husband was offered a different job in a different state. It really was quite terrible timing. I was 9 1/2 months pregnant and JUST finished the nursery...there was no way I wanted to move. We hadn't even lived in our house for 2 years.

For many people out there, moving can be quite stressful...not to mention the fact that would be moving with a brand new baby. Regardless, I am a seasoned mover; a nomad, some might say. I was born in one state, stayed there till I was seven years old and have never lived in a place longer than four years since then. I am use to moving. Do I like it? Maybe some aspects, you starting over again, meet new people, and have new experiences. But honestly, packing up all your things and moving can be quite stressful and I am ready to stop.

So, after much thought and prayer, we decided this move would be the next step in our lives. My husband finished his job at the end of December and started his new one. We are now officially residents of the great state of South Dakota!
Now why South Dakota? Well, we had a handful of reasons to move here:

1. My husband grew up here and loves the state (he even sports a t-shirt that states "I'm popular in South Dakota")
2. Family- Both sets of Grandparents live here, so our little guy gets to grow up being close to his Grandparents, something my husband and I never had.
3. Sisters- I am pretty sure you can tell, but my sisters are my best friends. We will be living within a few minutes from Christi and within a few hours from Luci (much better than the 6 hour drive it used to be!). So it will awesome to spend more time with them instead of just chatting on the phone and only seeing each other on Holidays.
4. Money- Lets just say it...money is a factor in almost every move. Not only does South Dakota pay better, they also have ZERO state income tax and pretty much everything is lower here....insurance, sales tax, property tax, groceries, gas....I mean the list goes on and on.
5. Activities- People may tease about the small size of the state and say there is nothing out here. But the reality is that it is family-focused, has a low cost of living, and beautiful scenery. As Christi often says, "South Dakota is America's best kept secret." They have so many state parks, lakes, forest reserves, and did I mention the Black Hills!?! I call it a mini-Colorado without all the tourists.

Anyways, those are the reasons we decided to make the move. I am very sad to be leaving our house in Nebraska. We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into redoing the house but things change, life happens and you just have to go with it some times.

So here I am, moving again (really already moved) and starting a new chapter of my life. This time though, I am blessed to have a wonderful husband along my side and a happy little guy who really could care less about where he lives, just as long as his Mom and Dad are with him. And right now, my son is looking at me smiling and this is just more confirmation that it doesn't matter where you live. A house is a house, it's the people around you that really make your house a home.
“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”
-Anthony Brandt

~Beth