Days Gone By....: No longer Floridians...

How sad is that? Very sad if you see the beaches here, but we won't mention that anymore.

10 years ago, July 18, 2001, we (with just Arianna and Asher) arrived in hot, humid, sticky, Jacksonville, Florida. We didn't know if we could survive the heat. We adjusted quickly and loved it! We moved into a 3 bedroom apartment. At the time Cor was working for PriceWaterCoopers as a Manager of Accounting. Shortly after arriving, 9/11 happened. It was an awkward time to be foreigners in a country. In late September Cor lost his job. In the Lord's kind providence Cor quickly received an offer from CEVA Logistics.

A year later we moved into a beautiful new home in St. Augustine. We lived in this house for 3 years.. We loved living there but when Cor saw an opportunity to make some money by selling our place, he went for it. We sold this house privately. The buyers came in the late afternoon on March 29, 2005. The reason the date is so clear in my mind is because it was a day before by due date! I felt like my Braxton Hicks were a little harder and was pretty certain Julianna would be born on her due date. The owners stayed for long time. I tried to hide my discomfort. They finally left and Cor left to pick up my mom from the airport. I was concerned because he would be gone for at least 2 1/2 hours. Asher was born after only 45 minutes of labor. The contractions stopped. He arrived home with my mom, and I woke up early in the morning with serious labor. Julianna was born in the early afternoon. We closed on the house a day after Julianna was born.

319 Diana Court, St. Augustine, FL

We built another house, this time a little bigger 40 miles north of St. Augustine. 2 years after moving in, we put in a pool. We spent many, many hours playing in it. Anna Grace was born in this house. We loved everything about living in North Jacksonville. The people, the sports, the beach that was close. We lived in this home for 6 years. I actually started to think we were planting roots.

12500 Richfield Blvd, Jacksonville, FL

(I even planted flowers...)

so pretty at Christmas time

Until...

March 2011, Cor accepted a position of US Controller for CEVA Logistics. The new promotion involved a move to Houston, TX. We leave with many mixed emotions. We loved living in Florida. We left behind many great friends. But, we are also excited for Cor with this new challenging and rewarding position. With each of the moves I've made I've had a sense of adventure in me, I don't feel as adventurous this time. Perhaps it's age? :)

A little bonus for me is that the housing is a little cheaper in TX and we were able to purchase a home that was quite a bit larger. I didn't think I'd like a 2 story home but preparing dinner while the kids are playing upstairs in the game room gives me lots of peace! We aren't on top of each other anymore. Pray for us as we continue to transition here.