Our Crazy Family Timeline - 9 moves in 10 years!

Is it possible for a family to move 9 times in 10 years and not have it related to the military or job loss? Why yes, yes it is. We did.

Please understand that I am in no way bragging or complaining about this; I'm simply acknowledging a measure of craziness!

The moves were by choice, yet each one had a reason motivating it. At the time, they all seemed legitimate and the best decision. In hindsight, we can pick apart our motives and question some moves, but that serves no beneficial purpose. We've created great memories and met wonderful people like you along the way.

Suffice it to understand that Adrian and I share a love for adventure and new experiences. Be it also understood that we are very tired of packing and unpacking, finding new doctors, buying and selling houses, and figuring out how to find our way around.

Since we regularly reference various points and places in our journey, I thought it best to provide an overview of our timeline. There's no possible way anyone has kept up with this - probably not even our families ;)

Our Family Timeline - 9 in 10

1. Nov. 2003: Greenwood, Del. - We married. A young couple in our early 20s excited for the future! We started off renting his aunt's home west of Greenwood, Del.
• Spring 2004 - I left my part-time job as a reporter for a weekly paper, to take a marketing position with a large construction management firm in Wilmington, Del.
2. Late Summer 2004: Bear, Del. - The 88 mile one-way commute was brutal, so we rented an apartment in northern Delaware. We lived on the 3rd floor and never really adjusted to the area.
3. Summer 2005: Dover, Del. - We had become youth leaders at our church back down south in Greenwood, so we found a halfway point at a cute house in downtown Dover. Now, we had officially lived in all 3 of Delaware's counties!
4. Winter 2005/2006: Greenwood, Del. - Adrian's grandmother passed away and we moved into her home, next door to his parents on the family farm. During this time, we embraced an opportunity to build our first home on a plot of the family's land. 
5. Summer 2006: Greenwood, Del. - We moved into a beautiful, blue 2700 s.f. ranch home with an upstairs bonus room. Adrian had poured a lot of labor the previous six months into this custom-built home. We built the home with the intent that we'd raise our family there. It was here where we managed to stay the longest, nearly four years. Much happened during that time.

• Summer 2007 - We both left our jobs in the midst of drama and set out for a spontaneous cross-country roadtrip from Delaware to Washington state. Upon our return, we both managed to find new jobs. I in new home sales and he in commercial railing sales - thus beginning the roller coaster of living on commission income.
• Fall 2007 - It was the year of weddings, and Adrian officiated for his younger sister in October, making that his fourth wedding of the year. Weeks later, I ran my first marathon of 26.2 miles through the hills of San Francisco, California. Less than 2 months later, I was pregnant for the first time.
• Spring 2008 - My 20 week ultrasound showed that our baby was a girl, and she had spina bifida-myelomeningocele. Our world changed.
• September 2008 - Our beautiful little Adria was born at Christiana Hospital and taken to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital within hours for her first surgery. It was during our stay in the hospital when the major market crash of 2008 happened, dramatically impacting both of our jobs. Adrian was laid off even before I returned to work from maternity leave.
• Spring 2009 - Adria became only the 8th child in the U.S. to have an incredible new brain surgery to treat hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). Her pediatric surgeon was incredible and the surgery has been a huge success!
• December 2009 - The day after Christmas Adrian's first seizure occurred, but we did not realize what it was until he had two more within weeks. His license was suspended and a flurry of inconclusive medical tests ensued. 
• Spring 2010 - The housing market continued to struggle. My income dramatically lessened while the medical bills piled up. Time for a drastic change. We put our home up for sale; we had a contract within 2.5 weeks. A bittersweet time. 
6. May 2010: Indianapolis, In. - We packed up our belongings into a huge Penske truck and traveled 12 hours+ west to Indianapolis, Indiana. My company allowed me to transfer to the new Indianapolis division that was growing quickly with the more affordable prices of the Midwest. The weekend of the Indy 500 we moved into an apartment with the help of Adrian's parents and some friends who lived out there.
7. January 2011: Greenwood, In. - Sales were going well and homes were more affordable to own than rent, so I took advantage of my company discount and built a new home in Greenwood, Indiana. Yes, we built two homes in two very different "Greenwoods"...gotta love the irony! Adria became more mobile with her walker and leg braces in the extra space our new home provided. However, the week before we moved in, I had a miscarriage 10 weeks into my pregnancy. We found favor, and I was soon expecting again.

• Summer 2011 - Adrian had more seizures after the move, but he seemed to have found the right medication. He returned to work for the first time since Adria's birth, back in sales but this time he tried insurance. Before long, he excelled and was working on the top floor of a high rise with a great view, managing marketing for an insurance training group. Adria was in daycare for the first time and started to walk without her walker! It was a happy time for us.
• December 2011 - I gave birth to our second daughter, precious Johanna at a hospital in Indianapolis. She was healthy and perfect...except for the constant baby spit up.
• January 2012 - Unfortunately, Adrian's new found success was not to last when a series of three seizures in a month's time, set him back and again took away his ability to drive. His youngest sister moved out to be a live-in nanny for us, as I returned to work and Adrian struggled to recover.
• Spring 2012 - With a new baby and other changes, the 600 mile distance between us and family turned out to be too much. We put our new home on the market less than 18 months after moving in. It sold within a few months at a break even price.
8. Summer 2012: Chesterfield, Va. - Again I took advantage of an opportunity to transfer with my company, and we moved to the growing Richmond, Va. region. We crazily put an offer on a home in a suburban golf community the first day we toured it. It was our first used home purchase, and with 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths, it was the largest home we bought. We wanted the extra rooms for guests and Ade's sister who made the move with us.



The tulips that Ade and his sister Leona planted began to bloom just before we left Chesterfield.

9. Spring 2013: Bridgeville, Del. - Though we enjoyed our time in Virginia, circumstances brought us back to Delaware in dramatic yet near miraculous fashion that included a new job, renters for our home, and a place to rent. Read here for the details. The home we rent now is barely half the size of the one we just left, but the simplicity is almost refreshing.



The cozy home we currently live in; it's got a great yard.

Adria affectionately refers to our homes by color: the blue house, brown house, white house and green house. I guess that helps her remember!

It is almost surreal to look back at all these events...and exhausting. Our families have assisted so often and so much with the moves, I'm sure they're hoping we stay put for a while! But really, we never know what is to come.