moving on up.

When we left Hawaii in 2012, we had dreams of getting back there someday, hopefully sooner than later. We had fallen in love with the warm breezes, daily rainbows, awesome surf, and we found friends there that quickly became our family. Hawaii had become home for us, and it was hard to leave. But Boston would be a fun place to live for a few years while the Navy sent Chris to grad school. And then maybe we could get back to island life, or at least someplace similar, like San Diego.

But it will be at least few more years before we can get back there. Because next summer, we are most likely moving to... 

 

Canada. 

...

...

...

Yeah, not exactly Hawaii, and not even a place that most people know is an option for Navy folk like us. When Chris came to me with the possibility over a year ago, I felt like my head was going to fall off. What?! Canada? And not even on the ocean? How can they do that to us? And then we experienced this past winter in Boston, with record blasting snow falls, 10 foot high snow piles, barely able to get out of our driveway, and below freezing temps, I just about collapsed into a useless heap when I thought about moving even further north. 

(Just about? More like definitely collapsed into a whining pile of jelly.)

But it looks like we have no choice, and Chris is the only guy in the US to fill this one position in Ottawa, so up to Canada we go. Most likely. We don't have our orders yet, but let's just say we are already researching snow boots that will keep our toes from falling off, so we're pretty well sure that's the verdict. 

Here's the thing though. For as much as Canadian winters terrify me, and I never in my life expected to live in Canada, we have only heard wonderful, lovely, encouraging things about both the job Chris will be filling, and the area where we'll be living. So, this summer, I decided to put on my big girl panties (as they say) and quit whining (mostly). If God has us destined for Canada, then he must have some great things in store for us up there. So here we are now, doing our best to embrace the inevitable, trust God, and make the best of it. 

When we found out that Ottawa hosts a hot air balloon festival each September, we decided to make a trip out of it and head up there to check things out. We'll be driving up this weekend, and I'm praying that God will start to grow an excitement in our hearts. I'm praying that He will prepare a church family for us, and friends that become family, and also that maybe they'll experience the most mild winters they've ever had during the two years we'll live there. 

Also, I might sneak in a prayer that I can eat all the poutine I want without gaining a pound. 

Kidding. 

Kind of.