Day 3 of Thanksgiving

I am thankful for returning to Michigan...

About eight years ago Kevin and I started to feel a nudging to move. We looked all around the area but couldn't put our finger on the right place. We looked high and low, houses, condos, and townhomes. Nada, nothing. Later that year, I drove my mom down to visit my sister in Charlotte and fell in love with the area, not to mention seeing Lisa again after so many months away from her.

I told Kevin and we planned our vacation visiting yet again. He too loved the area. While there Kevin contacted and interviewed with a Christian contractor and was hired on the spot. We went home and started to pray, and boy did we pray. To uproot Lance, leave a very good job, leave family and friends and move across the country was a huge undertaking and we wanted to be sure it was God leading us. After much council, encouragement from most everyone, and my parents deciding to move with us, we took the plunge and started to have a home built in Fort Mill, SC.

It was a huge step of faith and the start of one of the hardest time in our lives.

One month after moving in to our beautiful southern style home, Kevin lost his job. We began to question our decision. We drained our savings to pay for health insurance and the mortgage. What was suppose to be a wonderful time became extremely stressful. I went to work first part time and then full time. Kevin fell into a deep depression.

We found a great church that had a special needs ministry for Lance. We found out about the Joni and Friends ministry and received a lot of support. I made some wonderful life long friends and grew so close to my sister. My sister and my mom were able to spend a few beautiful years together that they may not have had otherwise, and I got to be there when my niece was born. I loved my job, and the experience I gained from working was immeasurable. Lance had the opportunity to attend a brand new program in the best school district in all of South Carolina. I can go on and on but I won't.

Kevin finally found a new job, but it was a very uncomfortable place for him to work and he continued to look for something else. In the mean time, my mother fell ill and started to decline very quickly. Things were changing again. Lance was coming to the end of his school years and there wasn't any place for him to go after graduation.

2006-my mother died, Lance graduated, we sold our home because we could no longer afford to live there. Kevin got a call about a job opportunity in Michigan and he took it. It broke my heart because I left my girls and sisters there.

We have come to find out that Michigan, leads the nation for services to people with special needs. Lance is doing well and receiving many benefits by living here. Kevin is still working in spite of the tough economical times. We have a wonderful church to attend. I still grieve over having to move back, but God knows what he is doing.

I am thankful for this, truly thankful for what He has done for my guys by moving us back. I am also thankful for the amazing lessons I learned while living down south and hope that one day I will return.