Our Move

To say my blog has been neglected would be an understatement. To say we are beyond busy would be a SEVERE understatement.

So much has been happening in the Crump household. It's my extremely busy season with my photography business and it is a great blessing to be as busy as I am because my business is growing and expanding so much more than I expected in only my second year of business. It's really exciting and I love it.

Mike is working his new job and he loves it SO much. He's already traveled to Seattle, Boston and Tucson. He really enjoys the people he works with as well so that's always a plus.

The kids are growing so fast. Preston turned 3 in Sept. Madison will be one year next month and they are both such great kids. (details about them will be in a separate blog post).

This post is about the biggest event that has happened recently and that is that we have moved. Not far. Just about 40 minutes away to be closer to Mike's office. We get asked so many questions all the time and here are the answer. A little F.A.Q portion about our move.

1. Where did you move?
- We technically live in Lewisville but we are in a Coppell Ward. We live just north of 121 and we are off of Denton Tap. About 10-15 minutes from the airport and about 20-25 minutes from Mike's office (as opposed to the hour - hour and 15 minute commute).

2. What about your house?
- We listed it on MLS at 5pm on a Thursday and we had a showing and an offer by 11am Friday. We were under contract and closed within 3 weeks. It was fast and we weren't too prepared for things to move so quickly.

3. So did you buy another house?
- Nope. We struggled to find an apartment on such short notice that met our needs and our price range. (mind you, we moved from having the closest store 15-20 minutes away to now I can walk to Walmart if I want to since it's just across the field and the airport is so close, so housing is more expensive down here.) I bolded 'needs' because we just need to survive, not live in luxury. So we have a 2 bed 1 bath 940sq. ft apartment on the 3rd floor. *I can hear your "ooohs" now.*

4. How long will you be in the apartment?
- We signed a year lease and according to me (who packed everything, with the help of awesome friends, and basically did everything except lift the couches) if we don't HAVE to move when our year lease is up, I want to stay. I don't want to move again for a long time if we don't have to. According to Mike, he wants to be out as soon as our year is up. He wants to rent a townhouse or house after this. I personally like the amenities and stress free living of the apartment.

5. How are you handling it emotionally? Didn't you live close to your family?
- I am handling it as maturely as I can. Secretly I want to roll on the floor, bury my face in the carpet while kicking, screaming and pounding my fists in a massive temper tantrum. Leaving our home was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Some say "oh it's just a home" or "we raised x amount of kids in a tiny apartment for x amount of years" and that's great. I'm happy for you but we started that house. That is the only home either of my kids have known but most importantly the home Preston has known. It's not about the house, it's about the home. The memories.
I put on my big girl panties and just sucked it up and knew we needed to move but I won't lie, things were REALLY hard on me when the actual moving happened. Seeing my home in boxes, then seeing my empty house and just looking at all the work of packing and unpacking I had before me. It was even harder the first week as Preston enjoyed the first day in a new place but then after that he constantly asked if we could go home. He's adjusted after 3 weeks and he knows it's his home now. The distance from my family is really hard but we have made the drive up a few times to still see them. My mom's office is literally 2 minutes away from our apartment so we see her a lot but my dad hasn't been down to see us at all since he helped with the move. That's totally understandable since he has a crazy schedule as is being a bishop and all.
Basically I am trying to find the positives in everything. The 3 flights of stairs? A good legs and buns workout! Tiny apartment? Less clutter, less to clean. Moving away from some of the best friends we've ever had? We are only 40 minutes away and can easily meet up for date nights and girl's nights plus we just get to make new friends as well. Distance from my family? Mike IS my family and I get to see him more now that he is home sooner.

6. Why did you move?
- The short answer: To be closer to Mike's office so that we don't spend as much on gas and tolls.
The longer answer: Mike and I have felt very strongly and very impressed that we need to work really hard to get out of debt....and to get out of debt SOON. Now, I'm not saying we've received revelation about any future events but we HAVE felt inspired to really focus on this goal and to do what it takes to achieve it. I've also been asked, "but I thought Mike makes more money with his new job?" - He does. But then you add in a car, car insurance, gas, and tolls (all things he didn't have while working for Sunburst) and you really don't have much of a pay increase anymore. After cutting everything unnecessary out of our budget like entertainment and ridiculously low gas and grocery budgets (Hello Aldi!), we still weren't making the progress of getting out of debt like we feel like we need to. At that point the only items we could possibly cut out of our budget were gas, tolls, and housing expenses. The only way to do that was to move. So hence the big move. If we live our budget and work hard, we can be out of debt within 1-2 years.
Dave Ramsey has become one of my new BFFs and I have to constantly remind myself that any "extra money" we may have is NOT mine. It's someone else's that I need to pay back. Until I get out of debt, no extra money is my money.

As everything has unfolded, our (very hard) decision to make this move is becoming more and more obvious to me that this we what we needed to do and this was the right choice. Our home sold quickly (with a cash offer right in the middle of the government shutdown), we found a place to live and my photography business is doing really well and helping more than we expected. As I read more and more about the government and everything that is going on with shut downs and Obamacare and insurance I am realizing we REALLY need to financially depend on ourselves. We cannot depend on credit cards or financing purchases. No more!

So to my two or three readers....that is why we have moved. We are enjoying the simple life. So far we really like our new ward and the move has brought us closer together as the small little Crump family.

More blog posts and updates comin' your way!