if you haven't heard yet... we have some news!

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Jason took a job with Amazon in Seattle, Washington and he starts October 26th! So... in about 3 1/2 weeks, we're moving!

This move brings a lot of emotion along with it; excitement, nerves, anxiety, happiness, relief, joy, sadness, worry, hopeful, etc...
Aside from the awesome job opportunity he's been given, we're mostly thankful to God for making this such a clearly directed path for us. He applied for a job in June and didn't get hired on. We were sad, but understood it was God clearly saying "Nope. Now is not the time." Looking back, its interesting to see how obvious it is why He had us stay. Many reasons, but all were very obvious.

Amazon will be paying for a moving service to come to our house and pack everything in boxes, load the truck, drive to WA and then unpack boxes into our house. The only job we'll have to do is unpacking inside the home and setting stuff up! This was a huge relief to me... to say the least. Not sure how I was going to pack our lives up here, with 3 small kids in 3 weeks! I get dizzy just thinking about it.

I'm so happy for Jason. I'm thrilled for him with this job change and how awesome its going to be for his career and for our family. I'm not quite sure how I'm going adjust not living by my family, but I know that God is with me wherever I go and I kind of like my husband and kids too :)
We're praying this move proves to be a good step for us, that God will use it to draw us closer to each other and we're looking forward to attending a new church up there and making lots of new friends -- not replacing old ones though - you guys are way too awesome to be replaced.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and been so encouraging to us over the past few months. Life has felt a bit like a roller coaster, but we're happy to see the end in sight... along with a lot of new beginnings!

We'll be purchasing a new camera asap (since the old one appears to be a complete loss... blah) and pictures will be posted after we move in.

Please pray for us! We'd really appreciate it!

Comments

W and J said…
Ooooh, I'm SUPER excited for you guys!! What a fun new life adventure! We are FOR SURE going to come visit you. And I mean...what's not to love about the Arnolds and the great northwest?!? Seriously!! And that's so great that the moving aspect is already handled! What a blessing!! Keep us posted!! Much love!!
September 30, 2009 at 4:33 PM
Brooke said…
Wow, Guys! I'm surprised. Exciting and bittersweet. We'll miss you in CA! Now, I understand the comment about if you ever move to Seattle you'd go to Mars Hill :). Congratulations and God Bless in the new adventure!
September 30, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Stef said…
Thanks girls! We really appreciate the prayers.
September 30, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Emily said…
I'm so excited for you, and I SO know where you're coming frm, with all the mixed emotions and stuff. Especially the moving away from family. I'll be praying for a great move and smooth transition.
September 30, 2009 at 7:21 PM
Melissa Joy said…
wow Stef! That's incredible! I'll look forward to updates, and pictures; in the meanwhile, I will pray for you. God is good. And I am excited to see what He has in store for you. :) Welcome to the coffee capital of the US, haha! ;)
October 1, 2009 at 7:26 AM
Jennafer said…
It's been a while since I've visited your blog! I got your email with the news. We're definitely sad to see you guys go. Caedmon is sure going to miss Ethan! I told him not to worry because Ethan has to come visit his grandma, so he'll see him from time to time. You're so good about posting on your blog, so I'll make sure to visit it often to keep up on what God's doing with your family. Love you guys!
October 1, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Stef said…
Jen, words cannot describe how badly we're going to miss our Rippees. Ethan has been begging us to please let him bring Caed to Washington. :(
When we visit, they'll have to do a sleep over or something! We're planning to come back for Easter.
October 1, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Stef said…
Jen, words cannot describe how badly we're going to miss our Rippees. Ethan has been begging us to please let him bring Caed to Washington. :(
When we visit, they'll have to do a sleep over or something! We're planning to come back for Easter.
April 2, 2011 at 6:07 PM
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