Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Ode to Oregon

It has been a LONG time since I have been on the blog. However, I feel like as we are moving on with our lives I have some things to say that would take up too much on Facebook or anywhere else.
     There is definitely a bittersweet vibe in our lives right now. Five years ago we set out on this journey to put Erik through his PhD program at OSU. When we left, it was just the two of us, fairly newly married and inexperience in living away from family and friends. I remember leaving my parent's driveway in tears, but excited to start our new adventure. After a harrowing 17 hour journey in a moving truck we made it to our apartment in Oregon. Our first year was pretty enjoyable. We spent a lot of time together, exploring Oregon, and settling into new jobs and new school, however new friends were hard to come by. After a year, our landlords chose to raise rent and we chose to move across the street, landing us in a new neighborhood and new ward. I can't express what a blessing that ended up being to us. Within a few months we had met some seriously wonderful friends that I can't see us ever losing touch with. These friends became our family very quickly. The James' moved in next door practically and we lived at each other's houses for a couple of years. The Butlers just down the road invited us into their family and home (which we have a key to) and have helped us and cared for us in ways we can't express. Many other sweet families reached out to us and welcomed us with open arms. We not only gained friends here, but people we truly consider our family. I was also blessed to work in two different salons with so many incredible people who taught me new things, and shared their skills and talents with me. They also helped me to work through my entire pregnancy and were flexible with my abilities.
     After a year of stress, trouble, and sadness, all buffered by our amazing friends, we were finally able to conceive a sweet little boy who has turned our whole lives around. Denver is our little Oregon baby with Oregon blueberry eyes that will make us forever treasure our time in Oregon. We became parents here, this tiny apartment is where we brought our baby home. He learned to crawl, walk, and climb here. His infectious energy keeps us going on days we don't think we can make it through.
     Erik's school has been an incredible challenge of highs and lows. He has seen successes and struggled with experiments gone wrong. He has worked as a TA and mentored countless undergraduates while working on his own classes, lab work, and responsibilities at home. He has always been there for Denver and I when we needed him, even at the cost of his own luxuries and happiness. He made sure we had income and health insurance, and even agreed to work extra hard so I could stay home after Denver was born. He has worked with me to keep us out of debt, to pay off our vehicle, and save up for a home. I have been so blessed to have him as my husband through all of our ups and downs, he is my rock.
     Our opportunity to move back to Utah has come much quicker than we had anticipated, and in this whirlwind of it all, we still seem to hit green lights along the way. Things just keep working out for us in ways we didn't know how they would. It makes me more confident in our decision that going back to Utah is right for us. We swore for a long time that Utah was not the place for us, but after Denver was born, we came home after a particularly exhausting trip to Utah and we didn't feel like we had come home. We felt out of place in Oregon for the first time in 3 years. Since then our goal has been to go back and share our child with our families and be around those we love. Who knew we would also find people we loved here in Oregon? Like I said, the bittersweet vibe is alive and well at the moment. I know we will never regret our time here, and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.
     We also discovered a few weeks back, that we would be returning to Utah, not as a family of 3, but of 4. Our new little addition is due in October. We have so much ahead of us, and so many wonderful memories we are leaving behind. What a journey these last 5 years have been, I can only be excited and find joy in the potential of the next 5 years together. I love my little family and feel so very blessed and appreciate all our Oregon friends have done for us. What a truly amazing experience we got to share with some truly amazing people. Thank you Oregon, we will miss you!