It was time to move again. It was April, 2012, and we just found out that we had to be out of our McLean, VA townhome by the first of July. We knew this was a strong possibility, but it still caused panic when it was official. Jeff was involved with our ward’s musical “Bye Bye Birdie” so there wasn’t much spare time for us to talk about our life plans. I had felt strongly for some time that we should think about settling in Colorado to be close to Jeff’s family. We had loved living close to many DeVore’s in our marriage, but we felt like it was time to be close to the Baer’s for now.
I brought up the idea to Jeff
and he liked it, but didn’t think there was any way for us to find a place to
live and for him to get a job in such a short amount of time. But after a
couple weeks of looking for possible places to live (and the high rent prices)
in Virginia, he was more motivated to make something in Colorado work. I looked
at jobs in his field and sent him leads. He then reviewed them and applied to
ones that seemed like a good fit. After just a few applications, he got an
interview, and then another one. He felt good about his knowledge of the
industry and was confident he’d get an offer, but it never came. Every time he
tried to find out what the status was things would get delayed, which caused us
to start doubting anything would work out. We had decided that if no job
prospects materialized in a particular week, then we’d have to start looking
more seriously at staying in Virginia. However, one blessed day, Jeff got a
call with an offer not to the building in Aurora like he thought, but in
Boulder. This was perfect! Boulder was only 25 minutes away from his parents in
Westminster (and his dad worked across the street from the facility) while
Aurora was much farther out. He accepted and we started the next task of finding
a place to live.
The health of Jeff’s
grandfather was declining and he was no longer able to live in his home. Jeff’s
uncle Rod asked his mom if she knew anyone who’d want to rent the house for
$500 month. She said we were thinking of moving out there and it was a done
deal. We now had a place to live just minutes from the family and in the same
ward. The only problem is the home needed some TLC. Worn carpet, walls, deep
cleaning, and smells needed to be attended to. Jeff’s family worked tirelessly
for a month to get it ready for us to live in. Walls were painted, new carpet
installed, and some major deep cleaning took place. All this was done so that
we’d have a comfortable place to live in.
I still don’t know how
everything worked out, but it did in a truly miraculous way. We are very
grateful for all the work the Baers did to ready the house since I was very far
along in my pregnancy with Ryan and felt like I’d have time to just unpack and
then deliver, let alone clean. Jeff was traveling with Michael doing a church
history tour while they drove the car back, worked a week at his new job, then
I had Ryan. So he just barely got there. Then, a week after Ryan was born
Grandpa Wilcox passed away so we were able to be here for that as well as the
family came together.
We have been so blessed since we moved to Colorado. I have loved and
appreciate the Baers so much for their countless hours of service to me and my
children. Diana has thrived in the role of aunt and has been a
wonderful caregiver to the kids. It has been wonderful spending time with Michael before he leaves on his mission. Lily loves having her aunts and grandparents surrounding her with their love, and I love all of their love and support. We have been blessed by
new friends in our ward and callings, which allow us to serve. Each day we
think about our new life, we know without an ounce of doubt, that this is the
Lord’s will for us as he has blessed us beyond measure.
