The Williams are moving.

Yes, you read that right. The Williams family is moving. After 5 1/2 wonderful, unforgettable years in upstate New York, we are packing up and moving a bit more west to Columbus, Ohio. We kind of felt that a change was going to be coming along but if you were to tell me that it would all happen in about 2 months time I would have said "Well, let me think about it a bit more" and added to that "Your crazy!". The adventure all began on May 23rd when J.D. put his resume out to JPMorgan/Chase inquiring about a job listing in their marketing team that sounded very interesting to him. They called him the next day due to how impressed they were with his resume and set up a phone interview for June 1st with a member of the team he would be working with if he got the job. The day J.D. was called from the recruiter about the job position, we both had intense feelings that we needed to start to get our house in order. We hadn't even had the phone interview yet but there was a definate, deep down feeling that something was going to happen and we needed to start to be prepared. J.D. actually went through the house and made a list of all the things we would need to fix, paint, etc., etc.. if we were going to sell our home and we got started on the list. Looking back on the time between May 23 and June 1st, I realize more and more that the Lord was really trying to prepare our hearts for the change that He knew was about to happen in our lives. It's humbling and faith building to see how the Lord's hand is truly in our lives. So June 1st came along and the interview over the phone went very well. So well that they called back that evening and said they wanted to fly J.D. out for an on-sight interview the next week.
That week was incredibly intense. Again, these feelings of "get your house in order" were very prevalent and we did get a ton of things done. J.D. was having a hard time getting sleep at night because he couldn't get his mind to stop thinking of everything there was to think about!! You can only imagine! We started looking for homes in the northern Columbus area and even got a realtor on board out there. JPMorgan was so good as to fly me out too which was vital in being able to really make the decision as to whether or not this was the place for our family.
We flew out on the 9th, with Christine, while our dear friends, the Rubilars, took care of the older four kids. (They ended up helping us 3 times with child care!!) We went house hunting all that day and even had the opportunity to attend the Columbus LDS Temple that night while the mother of my dear friend here in New York watched Christine. Blessings.
The interview, which was an all day process for J.D. went very well. The new job would be a much more fast paced one with longer hours, perhaps higher stress, but J.D. felt confident he would be able to step up to the challenges. Monday afternoon, June 14th, the offer came and it was what J.D. was hoping it would be. I have to say that I have never felt my faith being tested in such a profound way than at that time. To make a very long, emotional story short, J.D. and I took that huge step of faith into the unknown and we are moving to Ohio.
Since then, we have been back to Columbus two more times, solidifying everything on the house that we are going to build. We are very excited about our new home to be! We have also secured a beautiful little home to lease while our house is being built. So now our last huge hurdle is selling our sweet little home here in N.Y.. We are truly exercising our faith that it will sell in a timely manner. Nine families have already come to see it in just 2 ½ weeks so we have great hope.
I can’t even begin to express all the emotions that J.D. and I have been experiencing these past few weeks. There is a lot of excitement that comes with moving to a new a place but at the same time there is great sadness and hesitation for what is being left behind. When I think of the very dear friends I will need to say good-bye to, my gut starts to knot up and I just want to cry. These friends have become our “family” and the memories we have with them all will be ones that we will cherish forever. I really cannot express here in words how I feel about leaving this beautiful area and the people we have come to love so much. Knowing that our decision to move is correct does help to make this huge change and all the good-byes bearable.
J.D. will be starting work on the 19th of this month. I know – so fast!!! I don’t quite know how we are going to get everything done that we would like to do before he leaves but somehow it will all work out. It has so far. I will be staying in N.Y. with the kids until the end of the month. We then will be leaving all together for our long awaited trip to Utah (which has been planned for 6 months). The day we return from our vacation the moving company will be packing us up and we will be heading to Ohio just in time to get the kids settled in to start school on Aug. 25th (two weeks earlier than when they would have started here). Makes your head swim doesn’t it! Again, exercising faith that it will all work out.
I better end this long entry but before I do, just one more thing. I have to thank my parents and J.D.’s parents for their wonderful advice and incredible support during all of this. I will never forget when I called up my parents and told them that J.D. and I had been in Ohio for a job interview that past week. They listened the way I needed them to to the whole, detailed story and were a huge strength to me at a time when I needed that extra strength. Mom and Dad, I love you both so much.
Updates will come along the way!! Our lives are truly amazing journeys.

For those of you interested, here is a link to see pictures of and a virtual tour of the home that we will be building. (Our house will not have the dark wook trim that you see in these pictures). The home is a five level split, a popular floor plan in Columbus. Our house should be all complete right around Christmas!
http://tour.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=738625&refurl=

Thought I would throw in a few pictures! I can never get enough of pictures :)

Karsen and Camille at their dance concert. They were wonderful!

My little sunshine!

Last day of school. Where did this past year of school go!?!?

Kathleen in Daddy's shoes! Oh, and those are her favorite pants - she wears them with everything!!

I am so grateful that she is mine!!!!