the things I haven't shared

For those of you that missed my news a while ago- we are moving back to my small hometown on the Oregon Coast at the end of June (actually next week). You can read about it here. But what I haven't shared is that while this adventure is exciting, it hasn't been without struggles and challenges along the way. We have spent months- actually years preparing for this big change in our lives. And the build up, the waiting, the saving $$ and preparing has required TONS of discipline, patience and LOTS of baby steps. Something that I am all TOO familiar with when it some to making dreams happen!

I am here to tell you that while life may look beautiful and effortless in the blogosphere- all of the things that have taken place in my neck of the woods- the opportunities, the circumstances, the baby, the business and the changes have been slow (and often not so beautiful)! There have been tons of dead ends, lots of rejection (on the creative front), disappointment, personal and professional drama, even some heartbreak. I am here to tell you that following your heart, taking the road less traveled, quitting jobs, being an artist, embracing self employment, and leaving the things that are comfortable is not easy or romantic or whimsical- it is downright scary a lot of the time. But for us, we have decided that it is all worth it to be able to be able to embrace our passions and chase after the life that is calling to us.

Back when we made the decision to start a family, the time came for use to really do some soul searching about the people (and parents) we want to grow into and about the kind of life we want to create for our family. We knew we wanted to simplify, we knew we wanted to make our own rules and we knew we wanted a life dedicated to putting family first. And when we welcomed Lucy, the day came when we decided to take some risks and work hard to make our dreams a reality. And just like everything else that happens over here, this road to our goals has taken time, so much time and hard work.

What I haven't shared is that this transition- leaving California, our friends, our house and the life we worked so hard to create is terrifying and uncomfortable but in the most fabulous and exciting of ways! The time that it has taken for this dream to come true has felt like an eternity and what I have learned through it all is that change, goals or dreams don't always happen they way you planned, often they are scary, they don't always look beautiful and certainly don't happen overnight. But what I have also learned is that the reward is so much sweeter when there has been hard work, patience and dedication to the things that you believe in. And now as we take the leap, while I am scared, I am also SO encouraged and inspired to do whatever it takes to move towards our hopes and dreams!