We're moving! And to...

...Tyler, TX! Yep, you're probably thinking what I first thought when we heard about this opportunity. "What's in Tyler, Texas?" Well, Dash's new job to start. He is coaching college tennis at Tyler Junior College, where he played for his first two years of college. It's a great stepping stone for his career in coaching at the collegiate level and I couldn't be more proud. They recruited him for the job and are paying for him to get his master's degree at UT Tyler. Once he gets his degree, he is in line to take over the Head Coach position there. My husband's a stud! Check out how official he is! (ignore the old photo from his Aggie tennis days!)

We've been living apart now since July 1st. Mason and I were lucky enough to move in with my mom. She's been the biggest blessing and I couldn't have made it through this summer without her. Working full-time as a 'single mom' has been very hard. Throw in 8-hour round trips to Tyler with a baby in tow on the weekends and you get a very exhausted Shae. But I'm thrilled to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Mason and I will be joining Dash in Tyler at the beginning of September.

We are renting our house in Cypress to a nice family and just got a house in Tyler as of this past week. The first house that we wanted fell through because of some deceitful, backwoods landlord. You don't want to get me started on that fun story. The short version is that we found out the day before we moved all of our things to Tyler that she gave the house to someone else. We had to be out that weekend since our new tenants were moving in too! So after putting our entire house in storage, being homeless for a week and a bitter taste in my mouth about moving to Tyler, we found an even better house for our family. Though I haven't even seen our Tyler house yet! Can you believe I chose a house based off the photography skills of my husband? Our new house is going to be an exciting adventure. I'll share photos soon, hopefully. It's 80 years old! But beautiful! And cheap! Our new home is actually on the National Registry of Historical Places. I'm confident we found a diamond in the rough after seeing some of the homes within our small budget.

Oh yeah, our very small budget. One amazing blessing about Dash's new job is that I can stay home with Mason! I definitely want to do something with my time, whether working from home or part-time, but I'm ecstatic about the chance to spend all day every day with my brown-eyed babe. I've been sharpening my couponing skills this year and you'll probably find me at second-hand shops and yard sales around Tyler so that we can live as cheaply as possible. We're going to extremes too - one car, no cable. Did you know there were people like that nowadays? Well, we're joining that club. Thankfully it's short-term until Dash finishes his degree and has a more permanent position instead of a graduate assistant's salary.

I gave my resignation to my work this week. Living a double life for the past 3 months has been horrible! I couldn't let my work know about Dash moving and starting a new job, our house being on the market, looking for a house in Tyler and living with my mom. Luckily, I confided in a few close friends at work who I let in on my secret. Thanks Merideth and Sheila for listening!

I have tomorrow off work and then we're heading to New Braunfels for T Bar M Family Camp with the rest of the Connell clan. It's something I look forward to every year. Last year, I was 12 weeks pregnant. Fast forward one year and I'm taking my 6 month old son to Family Camp. WOW!

Oh yeah, I'm one year older and one year wiser today. I got the cutest homemade birthday card from my mom this morning. It brought me back to my school days where she wrote notes on our napkins and decorated them with stickers. XOXO to you too Mom!