Friday, July 6, 2007

You're Moving Again?


I heard this question from friends and family many times when we told them we were moving to the Little Rock area. At first I was surprised by the comment, I don't feel like a gypsy, but after some reflection, I realized that it does appear that way. When Robert and I got married 6 six years ago we rented a house in Arkadelphia, AR for a year while I finished college. Then after I graduated, we moved to McCaskill, AR, into a house that was owned by my family. We lived there a little over a year and then bought a house in Nashville, AR. We really liked our home, but with me being a stay-at-home mom we had to be penny-pinchers big-time!!! We were always worried about money. Me staying at home was very important, but it just wasn't looking like we could afford to feed the three mouths in our home. Robert had a good job, but it is expensive to live today. We were very discouraged. We looked around us and saw our friends driving new cars, living in nice, new houses, wearing the best clothes, 300 channels on their dish. We were driving used cars, no satellite, buying an older house, etc. These were all sacrifices that I was gladly willing to make to be able to stay home with my kids, but it wasn't enough. We had cut back to the bare minimum and still were struggling from month to month. It came to a point that we realized I was either going to have to go to work or Robert was going to have to apply for a promotion. We quietly decided that Robert would apply for a position that came open in the Malvern USDA office. He knew the people in that office and knew that it would be a good working environment where he could learn a lot. His work environment in Nashville was less than desirable. Long story short-he got the promotion and we moved to Malvern. The increase in pay was almost wiped out by the increase in the housing market. We could barely afford a house equavilent to our house in Nashville. We knew the position would be a stepping stone, so it was OK. We decided to rent until Robert decided for sure if he wanted to stay in that office or take another promotion. He has always thought it would be cool to work in the state office in Little Rock. After a little over a year in Malvern, he applied and got an administrative position in the state office. We would now be able to afford a suitable house and put down some roots. So, in May we moved our family one more time to Bryant, AR. We found a house that is perfect for us and I hope that we are able to stay here for a long time. Even though my married life thus far has appeared to be full of gypsy jumping, that is not my desire at all. They were all necessary moves to get us where we needed to be. So, we've moved five times in six years!! I hope that six years from now, I am still blogging from my cozy little computer room on Dogwood Place Dr. Even though this is actually Tori's 4th house to live in, I hope that this will be where she considers home. Since she is only 3 years old, I think that she will feel like she has always lived here. With Carson only being 1 years old, I'm sure this will be all he remembers as home. I hope that Robert and I are still sitting out on the back deck when we are older, waiting on the grandkids to come over and see us. I have very fond memories of the two homes that I grew up in and I want my children to be able to have the same experience. So, this is the story of the Cortez family's movings. Having a home that I could be proud of was very important to me. I know my husband got tired of hearing me say, "When we have a house......." Now I am so excited to have a place that is ours. Finding the right house was a very stressful situation, and I am so glad that God lead us to the right one.