Why Skipping Stones?

This journey across the waters began years ago but in another way, it's really just starting. I've started this blog to document and share our family's journey from life in the US, where I have lived my entire 32+ years, to the homeland of my husband, England. He has lived in the US with me, his bride, for nearly 9 years and, for lack of a more concise explanation, has been yearning for "home" for quite some time. Our children, three delightful daughters, are ages 7, 4, and 7 months. The option to live in the UK has always been "on the table" and we even made a failed attempt three years ago to make the trans-Atlantic move. Although moving thousands of miles away is a huge leap of faith for me, I've always wanted our daughters to feel like both countries and cultures are home to them. Being in a cross-cultural relationship, at least one person will be living in a foreign land and have that inner, maybe even sub-conscious, discomfort of things not feeling normal. Many times we have talked about how we feel like we have one foot in each country but not living fully neither here nor there. My homeland, Minnesota, is also known as "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." There is not a week that goes by that I'm not visiting a lake. Skipping stones across the water, enjoying the crash of the lake waves upon the rocks, smelling the mixture of weeds and water filled with fish and swimming ducks, walking several miles around the circumference of the water with the wind blowing on my skin. It makes me feel alive. It restores my soul. It brings balance and perspective. And now it's official. The UK Spouse Visa arrived via FedEx this morning before 10:30am. My husband and I have gone back and forth for the last several years discussing the pros and cons of moving. I hate packing, but I love purging. I'll desperately miss my family, but our girls will finally have a chance to have a relationship with their other grandparents. My husband's new job is already breathing life into his soul. How could I deny my husband and daughters, my precious heartbeats, these things? Stay tuned as the details unfold.