Surprise!

This weekend was unexpected, but good. Awhile back, we were planning on going to OC (Orange City, IA- Northwest corner), to visit Kley's family, but ended up deciding not to go because Jana and Elizabeth (my MIL and SIL) were going to be out of town in Minneapolis. Then (this is a long story...), my sister and mom went to New York for two weeks for my sister's modeling (What?! Yes, my sister is doing some modeling stuff in NY!). So, it's just my dad and Kayla (my other sister) at home. My brother, Keaton, came home from college late Tuesday night. My family came to our apartment on Wednesday night for B'Bops burgers and mentioned that they were considering going to Sioux Center (neighboring town to OC) for the weekend to surprise my grandparents, since they didn't have other plans and don't see them very often. Then we discovered that Brad (my FIL), was not going to Minneapolis, so he would be there. Late Thursday we decided to go with them, so we quick packed and headed out together after work on Friday.

We were supposed to hang out with some friends from church on Saturday, so I felt super bad about canceling on them, but the weekend ended up to be really great and I am SO GLAD we ended up going. We decided to go because we don't make it up there too often, and we could see my grandparents, Kley's dad, and both of his sets of grandparents. (We are super blessed to both have all four grandparents alive and well!) My brother is also doing an internship in Dallas, TX, this summer, and is leaving next week, so we wanted to be able to see him as well. It turned out so well, because we surprised everyone and they were super excited. First, we stopped in Sioux Center and surprised my grandparents. My grandpa had just gone to bed, so we caught a sight of him in his underwear, which was hilarious. Then we headed to OC to Kley's house, and HIS MOM answered the door! (Remember, they weren't supposed to be there!) It turns out that they switched their trip to not leave until Sunday, so Elizabeth could make it to some graduation parties. It worked out perfectly, and she was so excited and surprised. Seeing his grandparents was great as well. Jana kept saying over and over again that she was so glad we came.

It was a quick, but super great weekend! We spent a lot of time visiting with grandparents, and talking about HOUSES! I referenced our future awhile back in this post, but have never officially announced it on the blog yet...next May, when Kley graduates law school, we are planning on moving to Orange City so Kley can work with his dad. (Both of our dads are lawyers, in case you didn't know.) We've known about it for awhile, and a lot of people know already, but we aren't talking about it a ton yet because we still have a year left in Des Moines. It's been a huge thing to think about, but we've been praying about it for months, and we definitely feel that God is leading us there.

When we got married, I never wanted to move to Orange City. But, there was always an underlying job offer from Kley's dad that he could work with him. Kley was so gracious and said he would be love living and staying in Des Moines, but the more law school progressed I could see that this was something God was stirring in Kley's heart, and I knew that he would like to practice law in a small town, so he would be able to do a lot more things (instead of having one specialty). God began stirring my heart, and it was actually me who brought up the conversation of moving, which was really cool because I was the one who used to not want it. It will be hard for me in ways, especially to move away from my family, but we will be so blessed to live there. We will be close to his family. Kley will have great job security, he knows he will like working there, we will be more set financially then if we were wandering for a job somewhere else- it just works out so well. We will also be close to my grandparents and sister (who is going to Northwestern College in OC), so we will also get to see my family a lot when they come up to see her volleyball games.

Anyway, back to houses. So far looking at houses has been a far off dream- just thinking about it and looking online. This weekend, it became a REALITY! It was so weird, and super exciting, to talk about houses in a real, this-is-happening conversation! Jana and Brad are also building a condo on the golf course, so they will be moving soon, and they have a fabulous realtor. They were telling us about her and how great and helpful she is, which is amazing to have a good connection. Jana and Elizabeth took me around the while town (including a map!), so I could get a better visual of where different areas of town were and what the houses were like. I made a list of things I wanted in a house and figured out what an appropriate price range is for us. Needless to say, it was exciting. :)

We got home late last night, and this morning we are just hanging low. This afternoon we will see some friends (we were going to go hiking, but we might be rained out to indoor games), and tonight is the start of the new Bachelorette season!

Happy Memorial Day! A huge THANK YOU to all who have served and are serving our country. You are very much appreciated.