It’s no secret we moved to Tennessee (although it sure seems like it since I have kept my big mouth shut about it so far – ha!)

As #halfadozenroses get settled here in Nashville, I think it’s finally time I share what y’all have been asking me the most.

The “why”.

The short answer is, well I don’t really have a short answer. It’s a long answer that’s a pretty epic story of how God’s been working this out for us for well over a year.  (And to share the whole story Jeff and I recorded a podcast with all the inside details here)

I’ve heard all the rumors for what made us move including…

Jeff is going to work for Dave Ramsey… #false

We got a TV show with TLC… #false (While we do have a 6 part docu-series with TLC that premiered September 18th… we did not move because we got a TV show)

Chip and JoJo are moving to Nashville… #false (but wouldn’t that be great?!)

The full story

For those of you who skip the podcast version of why we moved… here’s the story… one that only God could put together and it’s one that’s really better than I could have ever imagined.

Over a year ago when Jeff and I got the call… you know THE CALL while we were in Mexico that we had a daughter is pretty much where this story begins.

In the five years of waiting for Nella, Jeff has danced around the idea we could move to Nashville.  And our friends who live there were working on convincing us too.

But me? I really was not ready, or let’s just say not interested in leaving my home in Illinois at all.

Throughout the process of getting the call about Janella and bringing her home, I really knew the whole time God was calling us to move to Nashville. While some may say having a “calling” sounds silly, it really was just a calling that Jeff nor I could shake.

God did what he does best… repeats the same message over and over again until we get it and take action.

While in Mexico, an hour after receiving the news that we had a daughter (and after God was blowing our mind over and over that day), out of nowhere on the beach was a man…. who was from – dun dun dun – yes, Nashville…

Like ok God, I hear you… we have our daughter now and it’s time to move.

But still – no thanks.

For a long time, I ignored the idea we should move because we had to wait for our adoption to be completed (because have you filled out adoption paperwork? I was not about to do it all over again in a new state) but now, that big hang up I held as a big reason why we could not move was being resolved.

*Cue another God nudging me we were supposed to move moment *

On the plane home from that trip to Mexico, somehow I got seated by an older woman who after I shared and then over-shared about our lives, adoption, and feeling like we were called to move to Nashville, said one thing:

“Well, it sounds to me like you know what you need to do.”

Gulp.

Fast forward to a year later… Something happened after we brought Nella home.

Besides the fact that I will say over and over again she was made for our family and it was totally worth the wait for her… after she got home I started to see things a little differently and in every since of the word, she restored joy to our family.

God changed my heart

Seriously, the only real reason I can say we ever moved to Nashville was because my heart was changed over time.

The idea that we could never leave our dream home – changed. Our house began to feel like just that, a house. When our home no longer had our stuff in it or our family there? Would it really be our home?!?!  A house without our stuff or people is not our home.

The thought of leaving my friends became ok… and in the process, some friends even moved to new cities themselves.

Our church, which I could never have imagined leaving, had some staffing changes and we were already looking for a new church in Southern Illinois.

All my excuses and big reasons why I could never move all seemed to fade away one by one…

Along with all of the things I held so dearly  we had a health scare with Nella that required a lot of medical attention.

Moving to Nashville provides us with access to Vanderbilt Hospital to continue receiving ongoing care, check-ups and security for Nella’s health.

Which to a mama who worries a lot, it’s a huge relief and reason enough to move to a new city.

The part when I say “I’m ready”

One year after that first trip to Mexico where we got the call about Nella, Jeff and I were back and it was there when sitting poolside with a drink in hand I told Jeff “I’m ready“.

Which may or may not have sent him into a panic because moving a family of 6 from point A to point B is a lot of work and before now, we’d joked with the idea of moving but never fleshed out the details of how that would happen.

I guess you could say, all my reasons for why I could never move were all gone and I was ready —- ready to FINALLY follow along with what I knew God had relentlessly been showing us over and over again.

So here we are.

Walking away from a life we loved….

With faith that God has an even better life planned for us here in Nashville.

Listen to Marriage More – Episode 89 to hear allllll about why we moved!