Get your passports ready!

I cannot even begin to tell you how long I have waited to write this blog post.  The last 8 months have been a true test of our trust in our marriage, in our family, and in our God.  This is quite an in-depth story but I promise to keep it as short as possible.  But here it is, the BLUF...the Morgans are moving to London!  Yes, you read that correctly, we are heading across the pond for a few years!

It all began last summer when we knew something was changing.  Our contentment with where we were was wavering and we prayed frivolously for what that meant or looked like.  Justin spent time in Uganda in August (2014) and when he came home, we started to feel a call elsewhere, Uganda being one possibility.  Soon after, I caught wind of a job opportunity for me in London.  All the while, Justin had been feeling a tug on his heart to go get his PhD.  All these things, all these different directions, where in the world were we going to go?  So we did the only thing we could do...we started praying and pushing on doors.  We knew that some doors would ultimately close and others would be opened and we decided we would just walk through whatever opened for us.

In September, we began talking to some friends in Uganda about a possible move there, Justin began applying for PhD programs, and I waited patiently (not really) for the London job to open up for me to apply.  In the meantime, we both continued in our jobs.  At that time, I was certain that Uganda was the right place for our family.  I traveled as usual for work, found out we were going to have a baby, and the boys continued in school.  Come January, I had the opportunity to go back to Uganda for a visit and to see more of what it would look like for us to be there.  It was such an amazing trip and yet there was something in me that wasn't certain our family was ready for that at this point in time.  We had had some set backs with our little man and I was very fearful of what taking him back to Uganda indefinitely would do to his little self.  A short time after I came home, we still didn't feel clear on Uganda, the job req still wasn't open, and Justin had heard from zero schools, one way or the other.  And I was pretty done (not to mention 20 weeks pregnant).  So we decided to fast.

It was a crazy, difficult, amazing week but by the end of it, we definitely had some clarity.  In that time we heard back from schools Justin had applied to, I got an interview for the job, and we felt a peace about Uganda.  By Friday we knew that London was our first choice and UW Madison was our second choice (Justin had received his acceptance letter earlier in the week).  They were both amazing choices and we were happy with both options but the rest was up to me getting the job in London.

There are so many more details in the weeds of this story and if you want to have coffee or a Skype date sometime, I'd love to share them!!  Suffice to say, I have received a job offer for the job in London and our family will be moving in August to live in the UK for the next 3-5 years!!

It is scary and exciting and the timing seems nutso!  This summer we will have a baby, sell our house, move to the UK, start a new job, so.many.new.things!!  We are not naive that we have a tough transition ahead of us but we're so excited for the adventure and the opportunity for our family!  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move into this new phase and stay tuned for the craziness that is moving your family of five across the world! 

Travel and Treasures

The last time I wrote I was really in a blah place, not to mention I was getting ready to travel overseas (again) for work.  Finally I am back and hope to be a better blogger now that my heavy travel season has subsided.  Sorry about that!

So many good things come out of the trials though.  While I did have to go to Japan for work, my aunt went with me to do some traveling herself (although I posit that it was solely to keep me company).  Either way, it was a huge blessing to not be there alone.  She got to do some exploring when I was at work, we did some exploring together after work and on my last afternoon which I had off, and we got to experience dinner together every night.

Now if you haven't been to Japan, there's one thing about the restaurants there...they almost always have a sampling of their food made out of plastic under glass outside to entice you in.  And boy is it enticing (sense the tone).  I don't mind Japanese food...it's not really what we call hibachi typically, but it's not bad.  And of course, the sushi is good.  But I get very tired of it, very quickly.  There are only so many times I can eat a pork cutlet and not be bored.  Regardless, it was a fun trip.

And besides all the fun of eating in a foreign land, I know that there was a message I needed to learn on this trip.  So many times I have these feelings of urgency to get home to my  little boy.  I feel like I should be home with him all the time and often feel guilty for having a full time job.  I long for the option to be a stay at home mom (with no naivety about what that really entails).  And yet, I gleaned much wisdom from someone I look up to a great deal on this trip.  My aunt has three kids, one just starting college, one just finishing high school, and one just finishing middle school.  So she's been there with having the little kids at home and she's at the kids growing up stage.  Conversation after conversation we had I felt like God was reassuring me that I am right where I'm supposed to be.  Not just with kids, but with how we're working hard to get out of debt asap, how we're working hard to keep our marriage our top priority, how we're working hard to manage our time and resources, and how we're working hard to stay focused on Him.  Juggling all these balls is by no means easy but we know that all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose!

Part of our talks about kids helped me refocus on the fact that right now, where we are, we have it pretty good with our jobs and child care and life.  And we have been given this opportunity to get out of debt quickly.  And while I wish I could be the one teaching my son every last thing, the experience and the knowledge he's getting right now where he is is awesome!  Anyone can teach a kid how to count and read.  But it's extremely more important that I am available to be home with my kids when they are learning how to make tough choices.  I don't want anyone else teaching them that.  And yes, it does start young, but it's when they get to that middle/high school age that the tougher choices will come.  If we stay on task now, we will be in a position for me to be home for that.  And my flying to Japan or wherever a few times a year is well worth the opportunity to disciple my kids, the most important disciples I will ever make in my life.

Don't worry James, this isn't all about Jack.  We are excited to be in a position to get to have you home soon...hopefully in about 10 months from now!  And you and Jack are our two most valuable treasures we've ever been gifted with.

this journey

There are times when my life seems so appealing to people given the places I travel to for work.  I do not deny that I have had amazing opportunities to see the world between my years in the navy and my current job.  I have seen all of the Med, much of Europe, Asia, the Middle East...so many places!!  But here's the thing, travel gets old.  Travel appeals to so many people because of the different people and places in our world.  And yet fundamentally, people and places are the same.  We all are moving through our own journeys in our day to day lives and these bits of travel are exceptions to the rule.  So many times people just wish they were somewhere else, doing something else, "seeing the world."  I can't tell you how many people tell me their jealous of my travels.

While I appreciate the opportunity, there are many days where I am just as longing for something else...being home with my family.  Just like everyone else, I miss the day to day longing for something else.  It's true, sometimes my day to day takes me to Japan or Italy.  Today  my day to day takes me to Nebraska.  Just for a day.  Just for a meeting.  And yet this one trip will tack on more skymiles that add to our adoption miles that will pay for our plane tickets to Uganda.  How awesome is that?  So maybe today, instead of loathing in the fact that I won't see my son tomorrow, I will appreciate the fact that we will be that much closer to our mileage goal and thus one step closer to being in the presence of our next little boy.

I have not blogged lately because of many reasons, travel being one of them.  I had the blessing of being with my family last week in Illinois - for work, and with Jack.  I am thankful.  My husband had the blessing of having a week to himself...no work, no responsibility, just him.  I think he needed it.  

This week Justin started his new job teaching 8th grade reading.  Jack started daycare for the first time in his life (this should be an entirely different post but I'm not ready to talk about it).  I am heading to Nebraska for the night and, if the hurricane allows, back for the remainder of the week.  Then we get to go visit some amazing friends in Winston-Salem for the weekend.  We have SO MANY things to be thankful for.  And I have to remember that travel is a function of that.  Thankful for this journey.