Leaving Joplin

Over Thanksgiving of 2019, we announced that we were going to be moving from Joplin, MO- our home since we had gotten married in 2006, back to Kansas City- our home before we got married and moved to Joplin.

But let me back up-

Jim and I met and got married in Kansas City, he went to college in Joplin- and we both always thought that we would move right back. But God had other plans for us. Job interviews never worked out, doors always closed, and doors opened for us to stay right where we were.

Believe me, we tried to make it back- multiple times over the years- but the answer had always been a resounding “no”. So, finally, in 2015, we bought our “forever” home, a beautiful 1920’s home in our dream neighborhood and planted our roots in Joplin permanently.

A few years later, 2017 I guess? Jim’s dad came to him with an offer for him to replace his position when he retired. We turned him down. Jim loved his job, we loved our home, we loved our church- we had no plans or desire to relocate. It wasn’t a good fit.

The years passed and in early 2019, my parents accepted a job and relocated from Phoenix to Joplin. Exciting! This wasn’t a move specifically to be with us- but the job was here and we were here and it was a match made in heaven!

Sometime in September 2019, Jim’s dad came back to him again- with a similar, but improved offer. They had interviewed a lot of candidates but none of them fit the position as well as Jim would. By this time, a number of things had changed for us- specifically how happy Jim was at his current position.

Everything about this opportunity was perfect- everything- except the situation with my parents. And it was a big enough issue for me that I was willing to turn down everything to stay right where we were because of it.

But we all talked together and knew that wasn’t the best course of action- so after deliberating and discussing, we decided to take the job and relocate, after all of these years.

Jim was going to start his new job at the start of January 2020, so initially- we planned to list in the spring of 2020 (typically, the Joplin housing market is terrible terrible) to be able to sell quickly. Instead, God kicked us out ASAP and we sold our home to a friend of a friend via Facebook. The craziest story and one I am so thankful for- especially with everything that ended up happening in the following months….

Anyway, we agreed to close mid-February, so we needed to house hunt immediately to find a place and get the ball rolling there.

We headed to Kansas City over our anniversary weekend (the weekend before Christmas) during an epic blizzard, to find a house in one visit. We saw about 10 houses, narrowed it down to 2, and landed on our perfect spot!

The main thing we wanted was a home close enough for Jim to walk/bike to work, and we found just that- but I’ll talk about our Kansas City house in another post….

Back to Joplin-

We had our offer accepted and coordinated our closing dates to work with the close of our Joplin home….and also coordinated with filming of our House Hunters episode!

We made it through Christmas, New Years, Jim leaving to start working in KC, and my parents moving out (oh yeah, did I mention they had been living with us because they were building a house?…)

It was a lot and I look back at this season of life with a lot of emotions- for many reasons!

It’s always freezing and snowing and wet and cold whenever we move. We’ve just come to accept this as our fate, lol.

Our beautiful home that we loved, loved, loved and thought we’d be in forever, was now being passed on to a new and wonderful family.

We were able to sell our home over our dining room table with this beautiful couple and their new baby girl- it was such a gift. And I have absolutely loved getting to see them love and personalize and change things to make it their own. It is such a good feeling to have your house cared for by someone who loves it just as much- if not more- than you did!

We had one final Sunday at our church home of 10+ years- where we had played music every Sunday, welcomed and baptized our three babies, went through a tornado and recovery, rocked little ones in the nursery, endless potlucks, music practices, playdates, and more- to say goodbye. Lots of emotions again!