I have a story to tell. And it’s personal.
It’s not an awesome recipe or an easy DIY. And to bare it all here on the web where everyone can see it is kinda scary.
But I’m hoping that by sharing it, you’ll see that I’m just like you. I struggle. My family goes through hard times and we have to make tough decisions too.
Still, there is hope to be found.
It’s hard to know where to start really, but with any story, it’s best to start at the beginning.
2008
In April 2008, when my son was six months old, we set our sights on California and put our house on the market.
When other houses in our neighborhood kept dropping in price and not selling, our house sold in two weeks – a near impossible feat.
While we waited for the house to close, we looked for another place to live. Randomly and out of the blue, I somehow reconnected with an old friend and roommate.
She was going through a divorce and was worried about making her mortgage… and we needed a place to stay where we didn’t have to sign a lease or deal with the costs associated with moving utilities.
We rented two bedrooms and set a goal to move in 8 weeks.
Do you know how hard it is to get a job out of state? Getting your resume past the screener in human resources is practically impossible.
As recruiters saw Texas as our current address, they would automatically say no. They didn’t want to pay for relocation. They didn’t want to take a chance on someone who might not even like the area and weren’t going to give the qualifications of the candidate a second glance.
Yet one manager did and called my husband for a phone interview… and offered him the job.
We shipped 20 boxes, packed up our two cars and drove 1600 miles in 2 days.
What we set as a lofty goal to move halfway across the country in 8 weeks, God made happen in 6.
2011-2013
Moving to California was one of the best things that could have ever happened to my family. We found friends, grew close to family and most important of all, we all came to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
But about five years into our life on the West coast, something started to tug inside. There was a desire to move – to where, we didn’t know. But we knew deep down that California wasn’t going to be our forever home.
We started looking at jobs outside of California. There was an opportunity in Mississippi, another one two hours down the coast and countless interviews. My husband began to fit job descriptions perfectly, as he went back to school and later took on positions in management. A few of them came with salaries more than we had never even dreamed of making.
We prayed for an opportunity that would be good for the family, but none of them felt right. So we said no to all of them.
In November 2013, my step-mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She started treatment 2 months later and we decided to stay in California through her treatment, one way or the other. We stopped looking for jobs and put relocating on the back burner.
Early 2015
In January of 2015, we were given the opportunity for my husband to work from home. It came with a pay cut, but we lived well within our means and had already paid off our debt a few years before. The amount of flexibility the new job offered and the increase in time together as a family felt like an answer to a prayer we hadn’t yet asked for. We took the leap and said yes.
At the end of March, my step-mom became very, very ill. She spent one week in the hospital before coming home on a Thursday. Monday morning, she was admitted again. My dad and I stayed at the hospital until she passed the day after Easter while my husband was at home with the kids.
Early Summer 2015
As we all began to find our new normal, home prices started to skyrocket, jumping up by $25,000 every few weeks.
Our rent went up. Then 2 months later, it went up again.
We looked for more affordable options in the area and in our search, saw a vacant unit in our complex listed for more than what the latest increase was. This meant a third rental increase was inevitable, and our rent will have gone up $600 per month in the past 2 years. Despite this, we were still in the cheapest three bedroom in town.
The rapid increase in rent made living within our means incredibly difficult. The other option was to take on a $500,000 mortgage for 30 years. We felt stuck.
Mr. Crumbs and I were in DISASTROUS debt when we first got married, and we worked our tails off to pay it off. We refuse to be in that position again, so we started looking outside California again.
Fall 2015
We tossed out states like Oregon, Washington, North Carolina and Maryland… applying for more jobs than we could count, knowing that we’d have to overcome the “you live in another state” issue again. We prayed for opportunity, for patience and for guidance.
At the end of one particular job interview, my husband was asked if he was interested in Georgia. We honestly hadn’t considered Georgia before, but given the job hunt odds were against us, we were willing to give any opportunity a fair shot.
Two days after the interview they offered him the job.
We had been in this spot before – considering a good job opportunity that comes with sacrifice.
We would be leaving friends who have helped us to raise our kids and taught us what true friendship was. Friends who shared the Gospel with us and showed us what it meant to walk in faith. Family that has housed us, clothed us and fed us on a weekly basis for my daughter’s entire life.
But there was something different about this one. There was anxiety and fear, but there was peace too.
In all my praying, I’ve asked God to close doors that aren’t meant to be open, and make it incredibly clear the path He wants us to take. And that’s exactly what He did.
Mr. Crumbs starts his new job in Georgia the week after Thanksgiving. The kids and I will join him 2 weeks later. Our emotions are like a bag of jumbled up marbles, but there’s something deep down inside of both of us that tells us this is the right thing to do.
Difficult, yes. But right.
My favorite view of God is hindsight, seeing how His hand has been working to prepare us for the road that lies ahead.
There are so many instances and events that if they had not happened, we wouldn’t have been able to do something else.
I have always tried to be as transparent with you as I possibly can – to be personal and let you into my home beyond the kitchen table – but sometimes pretty pictures and Google-friendly search terms get in the way.
One of my goals for next year is to be intentional with my hospitality. To open my door for you more often so you can see beyond frugal food and easy DIY’s. So you can see the good, the bad and the difficult. And I figure there’s no harm in getting a head start on that goal.
For the rest of this year, I’m sharing a more personal post on Fridays. I’ll be open about what’s going in our lives as we pack up (literally) and move from California to Georgia. Between packing, shipping, selling, driving, eating and everything else in between, I have no doubt there will be plenty to talk about!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you want the play-by-plays of the Crumbs family moving across the country!!
The Crumbs family began a new chapter in November 2015, and I’m sharing the story as it unfolds every Friday here on the blog.
Here are the rest of the posts in this chapter:
- A New Chapter in Crumbs
- The Art of Selling Everything You Own
- Viewing Your Life in Terms of Boxes
- How to Live Minimally for Two Weeks
PS – Many of you knew we were making big decisions and you’ve emailed to express your thoughts and prayers – can I just say thank you?! I am seriously BLOWN AWAY by your outpouring of love and kindness. You have absolutely NO idea how much it means to us – thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! Despite not being able to reply to them all, I read every single one of them, cherish the kind words and encouragement you are sharing, and I am sincerely thankful for every single one of you!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. By making a purchase through those links, I will earn commission that helps to keep the lights on in the Crumbs house – with no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crumbs in this way. Read my full disclosure statement here.
Wow. I am deeply moved by your story, humbled, encouraged, reminded once again how good and faithful God is. Reminded that good things take hard work, but they are so worth it! God never promises us an easy life, but He does promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you, thank you for sharing your journey and giving me hope and insight into making a similar move. I love your transparency and candor. Blown away and blessed.
♥
Welcome to the South! I think you will find the people to be genuinely friendly. I’m in Virginia several states to the north (but still in the South). Thanks for your website and blog which I just discovered this week. I am loving it!
LOVE
Welcome to Georgia! We moved to the Cartersville area about 20 years ago and absolutely love it. Our new friends called us the tourists for quite a while because we found so many wonderful things to do! Cartersville has a couple of great museums and so much more, hope you find some time to explore our area. We are only about 30 minutes north of where you are. I hope your family loves it as much as mine did when we were the newcomers 🙂 Blessings!
Thank you Amy!
Welcome to Georgia! We moved here – about 30 min. south of the Atlanta airport – 16 years ago from Indiana, leaving all my family behind. It’s really hard being “alone” but it’s been the best move for our family! Distance makes the heart grow fonder! LOVE your blog!
Thanks Lisa, for the welcome and the positive encouragement!! 🙂
I have lived in Georgia my whole life (N.E. GA. ) . It is a great place to live.
So far, I’m agreeing with you Jeanie!
Wow – just now seeing this and so exciting to see so many Georgia neighbors commenting 🙂 I have lived in GA since I was one so I consider myself a native. I hope your move will be smooth and you will love Georgia as much as I do! Welcome!!
Thank you Elaine!
My sister did the same move in reverse a few years ago – Atlanta to San Francisco. I drove out with her and her family and had a great time reconnecting during the drive. There is lots to do in North Georgia and just about every denomination of religion you could want. I wish your hubby best of luck with the job and you with finding your new home here in GA. The cost of living really is much lower here. My sister found Atlanta to be more crunchy friendly than San Francisco. Oh and about her, she and her hubby now are full time RVers with their soon to be three kids.
Thank you for the well wishes Amy, and how cool that your sister is a full time RVer! Strange that she found Atlanta to be more green than SF – I can’t wait to get plugged in more with the community!
Wow, pretty exciting! I can’t remember exactly where you lived in California – I want to say Central Coast? Either way, as someone who lives in Santa Barbara, I hear you on the cost of living. Rents in our town are through the roof, and vacancies are less than 1%. We have thought about moving many many times. (Though we own our home, so at least our mortgage is stable.)
Good luck on your new adventure!
Yes – we lived in the Monterey Bay area. Santa Barbara is BEAUTIFUL (but expensive!). So glad your monthly expense is stable 🙂 Thank you for the well wishes Marcia!
Welcome to GA! My husband and I are retirees and moved to the north GA mountains from Florida 6 months ago. The transition has been difficult but the Lord is teaching us. Of course finding a body of believers is paramount and this is what I will pray for you.
Thank you for your prayers Bonnie! We look forward to finding a church after the holidays. Although church shopping isn’t my favorite, we feel God’s work in California has equipped us in this area!
Good Luck!!!
I’m not sure where you are moving, but I’ve lived right outside of Savannah my whole life and love it here. The cost of living is low, there are mountains, beaches, cities and farms. It feels like we are driving distance from almost anywhere you would want to go on the East Coast. I think you will really enjoy it.
Message me if you are ever in the area, you know you have friends everywhere since you have this amazing blog (we feel like we know you)!
I feel like I know all of you guys too! Thank you for extending your hospitality to us Morgan 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing. I was born and raised in Georgia, specifically Atlanta. In my 20s I moved to the San Francisco Bay area with friends. What an adjustment! It seemed as if I had moved to another planet, total culture shock! Of course, I adjusted. But after a few years I missed the Georgia pines and hard thunderstorms more than anything and had to come back. I don’t believe I will ever leave this area again. I hope you learn to love it half as much as I do. Good luck,
Oh wow – I’ve visited SF a handful of times but I know EXACTLY what you mean by culture shock from there to Atlanta! We’re dealing with this a bit ourselves, but so far, so good. Thank you for your well wishes Michelle!
We moved to GA metro Atlanta back in 1986 and it has been home ever since. There is everything you could possibly want here – always something to do! I wish you well and that all goes smoothly! If you are interested, I would love to meet you!
I am in Grayson GA.
My family and I are waiting on God to guide us in our next physical move and patience is the hardest part. I really needed to read this post this morning, so thank you for sharing and opening up! God bless!
Welcome to Georgia! We’re in Emerson, which is about to explode with new business and housing – with the Lake Point Project just down the street. It’s a lovely state……mountains, lakes, ocean, farmlands, cities, beautiful state parks. You’ll find it’s a friendly place to live. I homeschool grands, and there are a lot of homeschool co-ops.
Thank you Mary!
Praying for you all! We just made that big move June 2015. We moved from Woodstock, GA(30min NW of the ATL) to Chandler, AZ. We are part of a team starting a church in the area. My husband had to find a new job as well. Our short story is The Lord Jesus called us we sold almost everything. Loaded everything else in a trailer and headed this way. People thought we were crazy. No job, no house but when the Lord calls you to something He provides. We arrived the end of the first week of June. We were in a hotel for a couple of weeks. Then we were blessed with a church letting us stay in their missionary house for two weeks while we watched God provide a job and a house. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.
Thank you Rebekah – I know where Woodstock is! LOL 😉 Our actions sometimes do look crazy to the world, but we are not of the this world. I don’t think you’re crazy at all, you’re obeying your God! He is good, all the time, and He provides always. Thank you for sharing Rebekah!