New Job. New House. New Adventure.

We've learned to live by the seasons. Some seasons are long, while other seasons are quite short. But regardless of length of time, we have come to know that seasons begin and end. This summer we find ourselves at the end of one season, and at the beginning of another.

Yes, the Higham's are at the beginning of a new and exciting season. On June 1st, Jay stepped into a new role at an wonderful church in West Virginia! The position, Director of Family Ministry. As Director of Family Ministry, Jay will oversee the ministry and programs for infants to college. It's a role that we believe has come at just the right time, and in just the right season of our lives.

If you know Jay (or our family story), you already know how passionate we are when it comes to student and family ministry. Jay has spent his career learning, understanding, and working with students and their families. Now, we have an opportunity to take all that we've learned and apply it to this exciting new role.

Of course this means that we have had to say goodbye to our friends at Hickory. We have been blessed to have the chance to work with some amazing students these last four years. Our family grew close to many in both the congregation and the community. We are thankful for the friendships, the memories, and the time spent with so many.

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Seasons change, and the time has come to end one season and begin a new one.

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Seasons change, and the time has come to end one season and begin a new one. This new season is taking us into West Virginia. That means we're moving. And this time we're moving out of state. It's taken us a number of weeks, but we are finally found a house and are under contract. We're still going through some negotiating and paperwork, but we hope that God will put all the pieces together as only he can.

We're excited about the house as it is an older victorian style construction. It needs a little bit of work and some TLC, but we're excited to share some of our planned projects with you right here on the blog. It's going to be great! We've been wanting to share more DIY and decorating ideas with you here on the blog. Now we'll have the opportunity to bring you along as we move and make this new house our new home!
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And, a new state! This is so exciting! With all of our moves, this is the first one that is taking us to a new state; West Virginia!

West Virginia is beautiful! Mountains, valleys, rivers and streams. Wildlife, parks, trails, and lakes, there are so many new adventures and experiences waiting for us to enjoy and share! They say it's "almost heaven." And from the little bit that we've seen, they might be right!
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So why did we wait so long to share this exciting news. Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First, we wanted to make sure that our family had time to embraced the realities of another move. Moving with kids is hard, especially when they are school age. There are relationships and friends to say goodbye to. There are certain routines, places, and activities that feel normal and right. We wanted to be sure the kids felt comfortable with the news.
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Second, the churches. For both the church we were leaving and the church we are going to, we wanted to make sure we finished well and started right. That took making sure we were able to focus on the tasks at hand. Blogging and vlogging about the change in the midst of the change didn't feel right. We wanted to respect both organizations and limit any distractions that might have made for awkward situations. The truth is, we have sincere friendships with many in our old church and it just didn't seem appropriate to discuss change while we were all feeling a lot of raw emotions.
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Third, we have been really busy these last two and half months. If you have seen an of the vlog post on our YouTube channel, you know that we have been running back and forth to camp, the kids have part-time jobs, Jay has been commuting between our current home and the church, Amy is working 3 to 4 days a week, and we have been house hunting and getting to know our new church family. Life has been full! So to take the time to slowly process the move, work through the busyness of life, careers, and kids was a necessary and appropriate step for us.

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For both the church we are leaving and the church we are going to, we wanted to make sure we finished well and started right.

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Now, we're getting ready to buy a house. That mean's we'll be packing and cleaning; sorting and downsizing. After that, it will be time for us to move. Have you ever moved as a family of 7? It's a big deal! There's a lot of stuff that needs to be moved. 

Then the real work begins. But that will be topics for some exciting future blogs. In the meantime, we covet your prayers. For the packing, the moving, the remodel, the new schools, the new church, and the new adventure, your prayers will be greatly appreciated. And, we'll continue to share this new season of our story with you!

So, let enjoy the adventure together!

​- the higham family

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