His new job hit us like a whirlwind and brought about many positive changes. He found out he got the teaching job at 10:30pm on a Sunday evening. He started his new job at 7am the next Monday morning. He had to end his current summer job a week early and we had to go shopping to buy him more teacher clothes since he would need that type of wardrobe daily now. I also put in my two weeks notice at one of my jobs (Salon Centric) since Andrew would be working full time. With managing our apartment building one of us needed to be available to prospective and current residents at least part time.
After these changes slowly started to sink in, we realized that we could not give our 100% best efforts anymore at managing our apartment. We decided to start looking at apartments with the thought of moving out in the fall before the holidays. God answered our prayers a lot quicker than we anticipated and we found a place in Minnetonka that is perfectly placed between our jobs, and in our budget. We moved the middle of September, just two weeks after beginning to look.
Deciding to move was a very bittersweet choice. We had really gotten to know our residents over the last two years and nine months we had managed. It was so fun to live in a community of people we knew. We also enjoyed the area we lived in. It was within walking distance of Lake Harriet, antique shops, coffee shops, a farmers market, and 3 miles from my nanny job. It was also hard to give up the free rent (which came with a lot of sweat and hard work). Most of all though, the thought of leaving our first home was sad. It was the place where we spent the first few days of marriage in, where we had our first Christmas, our first big arguments, and our first big joys. We shared so much laughter, tears, and hours snaking drains in resident's apartments. We learned that we are two selfish people in a relationship that demands selflessness. We started to learn to love and how to love, and we will continue to learn it for as long as we live, wherever we live.
I'm so thankful for our small 600 square foot apartment that we have been able to call home the first few years of our marriage. I'm thankful that I was able to learn how to cook meals that Drew likes in that tiny kitchen that I never thought I would be able to make anything in when I first saw how small it was. And I am thankful for our new place where we have 1,000+ square feet, vaulted ceilings, a balcony, a walk-in closet, and best of all, a big kitchen that I can move around in and fit our table in! The Lord has really blessed us!
I couldn't leave our first little home that we learned and grew so much in without something to remember it by. My good friend Bridget came over one Saturday afternoon (the Saturday before we moved to be exact) and took some snapshots of me and Andrew in our home doing things we often do together.
