Saying Goodbye to Texas

For those of you that don't know already, we are moving here:

                                                             St Thomas, Virgin Islands


On October 7th, 2011 we had gotten the call we had been waiting for for over 4 years. Clarke finally got his job with the Federal Government and the port we were assigned to was St Thomas, Virgin Islands. The same exact day before Clarke had called me about his big news, I was given a big promotion at my job that I ended up declining later that day after I found out we would be moving in 6 months. That day was such a roller coaster of emotions, to say the least! My job ended up offering me to keep my current job/position and work from home out in St Thomas, which I am so thankful for! One of my biggest worries was what type of work I could do out there and knowing that I will already have a job is a huge relief.

Over the last 6 months while Clarke was at the training academy, I was getting things organized for our move. We were lucky enough to sell our car and a few of our belongings. I was able to move in with Clarke's parents while he was gone and it was the best. It helped us save enough money to pay for our move and to stash away some in savings. We ended up storing all everything we own in Clarke's parents garage. Most of the places out in St Thomas are fully furnished so we already knew we wouldn't need to ship any furniture. It is sad to think we won't be seeing any of this stuff for the next few years:

I wish we could leave these guys behind with the rest of our stuff:

Clarke and I have had many arguments over these dang cats and I don't know how he ended up winning (Yes, Clarke loves cats. Weird, I know). We will be taking them with us on the plane to St Thomas. Yeah, I know we are crazy.

We have just one more day here before we leave. I, of course, am going to miss living here in Austin. I couldn't help but cry when I was packing my suitcase. We have made some amazing friends here and it has been so nice living so close to Clarke's parents and his sister Mikkyn and her family. We are going to miss the conveniences that we have out here. I won't be able to run to Target or Walmart when I need to get a few things and I'll have to say goodbye to lunch at Chick-fil-a. On the flip side, we are trading it for the most beautiful scenery and beaches. We will be living in a place that a lot of people save for years to have the chance to vacation there. I am going to try my hardest to go against everything inside of me and remain positive about this whole situation.

I am excited, scared, sad, and nervous about this new chapter in our lives, but I know it will be something we will never forget or regret!