And once we had a clear image in our minds of what that life would look like, we looked at each other and said, “Why wait? Whose rules are we following, and what are we waiting for?”

The truth is, they grow up. And I hope they grow up to always go after their dreams.

The truth is, our priorities, our values, and living with intention is what truly allows us to put first things first.

The truth was there staring us in the face and it really caused us to question: What do we actually need and what do we need to let go?

Last year, after we took the huge step to unbind our life and made the 1,000-mile move across the country to live out a simpler life in our 117-year-old historic home, I reached out to Sara. Turns out, so many parts of our stories are eerily similar and we have more in common than I ever realized.

That January, Brandon and I replaced our usual nightly conversations of fear and doubt and instead started reading the book together before falling asleep.

We know well enough that the absolute best things in life are free. We are excited to soak in all of the best things that we can!

Of all of the things we have done, nothing comes close to the memories we have made.

I have learned our dreams are always worth it, and they are worth it now.

I knew the life we had built did not align to our values or honor our dreams, but I could not, for the life of me, find a way out.

We knew we valued our faith, our family, and traveling. But when we looked at how we spent both our time and our money, those things were not at the top of the list

There are some days that alter our life course, that change our trajectory, days that will forever hold a significance in our life.

Looking back, I am more grateful than ever for the day I sat across from a life coach who dared to ask me, “What do you want to do?” and then “What are you going to do now?” These two questions have guided me out of my worst fears and my biggest excuses.

When we finally started to dream again, we allowed ourselves to dream in every area of our lives—including what we wanted our marriage our to be.

The truth is, vacations and spending quality time together as a family are important. But coming home to a place that you’re excited to live and living a life that you don’t feel you need a vacation from is a dream come true!

This trip is different because we have let go. We have let go of planning “the perfect trip.” We have let go of making sure every minute is accounted for and, instead, letting every minute count. We have let go of planning fun things to do, and, instead, we are simply having fun.

We never dreaded a day, not even a Monday, when we were on vacation.


We wanted that life—a life we could live like we were on vacation.

So dream. Dream big and say that dream out loud.

And that’s when I would get most uncomfortable because I didn’t believe this vision actually existed—that it could ever be a reality. It’s like I didn’t believe people could have the life they truly wanted. I was full of fear and doubt and I didn’t want to talk about it.

Today, we count our blessings that we decided to put a stake in the ground, give ourselves permission to seek a life of freedom, and relentlessly pursue all we had ever dreamed of.