Eight.

We really considered moving this year. My husband had an out of state job in mind, and he made it all the way to the final stage of interviews, only in the end, to be thanked and turned away. I had been grieving Arizona for some time, relishing what I thought might be my “lasts,” for some time, if not forever. But then the turn down came. We decided to stay.

Over the last few months, we have been praying about and contemplating what God has next for us, specifically in terms of my husband’s career. While we don’t have answers there yet, it does appear that Arizona is where we will be, at least for the next unknown period of time. In small ways, I have started to celebrate.

I have started to celebrate the idea that I can return to old places to see how they grow. I have started to celebrate the idea that we might be able to make traditions here in this home. I have started to look for and get excited about new opportunities to engrave and explore. There really is so much to do here!

On our vacation this summer, I relished the beauty of the sun rising and setting over the ocean. I took in the sights and sounds of big city Boston. I enjoyed some cooler summer temperatures. Don’t get me wrong, the Arizona heat was a bit of a shock when we arrived back to the airport at 1:30 am in the morning, but it also felt like a warm hug. It felt like home.

There is truly no place like Arizona in terms of sunrises and sunsets. (Even the people on our sunset cruise agreed when we showed them pictures.) Arizona has not the history of cities back east, but it holds so much of my family’s history (both my current family, and my family of origin). As the sun sets on another year here, and rises to start the next leg of our Arizona journey tomorrow, we dedicate it to the Lord and say with Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home!”