EP 42 - Why We Moved: Facing Change, Finding Peace, Starting Fresh

Summary

Episode 42: Why We Moved: Facing Change, Finding Peace, Starting Fresh

In this heartfelt episode of “More Than Reality with Adam and Danielle Busby,” hosts Adam and Danielle delve deep into their recent life-changing decision to relocate their bustling family of eight to Friendswood, Texas. Episode 42, titled “Why We Moved: Facing Change, Finding Peace, Starting Fresh,” offers listeners an intimate glimpse into the challenges, emotions, and faith-driven motivations behind their move. Through candid conversations and personal anecdotes, Adam and Danielle share how they navigate the chaos of moving, adjust to a new community, and maintain their unwavering commitment to family and faith.

1. The Big Move: Reasons and Initial Challenges

The episode opens with Adam and Danielle discussing their relocation to Friendswood, Texas. They highlight personal reasons related to school dynamics, emphasizing their desire to create a nurturing environment for their children without the need to prove themselves or their decisions.

Danielle Busby ([00:10]):
“Is okay to not have to prove anything to our children just as much as our kids don't have to prove anything to us. No matter what, we love them.”

2. Settling Into the New Home

The couple shares the immediate challenges of moving, including organizing their new house, dealing with exhaustion, and adjusting their daily routines. They humorously recount forgetting their anniversary amidst the chaos of unpacking and settling in.

Danielle Busby ([02:12]):
“We kind of both forgot.”

Despite the exhaustion, they find joy in simple moments, such as watching their children play on the porch and interacting with new neighbors.

3. Building a New Community

Adam expresses his nostalgia for their previous neighborhood's close-knit community, where children freely interacted outdoors. The Busbys now find themselves in a more spread-out setting, requiring extra effort to build connections with neighbors.

Adam Busby ([05:12]):
“You just lose that connection with neighbors a little bit.”

However, Danielle observes that the new community in Friendswood is active and welcoming, fostering new friendships for their children.

4. Faith-Guided Decision Making

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the Busbys' faith and how it influenced their decision to move. They address the criticism and misunderstandings they’ve faced from those who don’t share their beliefs.

Danielle Busby ([09:44]):
“We feel like God is like doing something within all this.”

Adam adds that their move was a profound revelation, providing both peace and purpose during a tumultuous time.

Adam Busby ([11:18]):
“It felt like it was like one of those like God, wink, see, like this is going to be okay.”

5. Navigating Children’s Social Adjustments

The episode delves into how their daughters are adjusting to the new school environment. Blake’s experience at her new high school’s tennis camp serves as a focal point, showcasing the proactive steps the Busbys take to help their children forge new friendships.

Adam Busby ([06:02]):
“Every single day, she's been coming home like, oh, like, I talked to this girl.”

Danielle humorously shares the challenges of encouraging Blake to exchange numbers without seeming desperate for friends.

6. Organizing the Household

As the family settles in, Adam and Danielle discuss the logistical aspects of setting up bedrooms for their six daughters. They navigate the complexities of limited furniture and the evolving dynamics between their children.

Danielle Busby ([22:34]):
“They have the quote unquote love shack, fancy room, target version, Walmart version to come, Riley and Ava.”

7. Sponsor Spotlight: Good Ranchers

Midway through the episode, Adam and Danielle acknowledge their sponsor, Good Ranchers, highlighting their support for flood relief efforts in Texas Hill Country. While this segment is essential, the hosts ensure it blends seamlessly into the conversation about the move.

8. Embracing Life Changes with Joy and Peace

Danielle shares profound insights on handling significant life changes, emphasizing the importance of obedience to faith and finding inner peace amidst uncertainty.

Danielle Busby ([31:16]):
“We know that whatever is going to come towards following that path will be honoring and like, for his glory.”

She encourages listeners to seek scripture, prayer, and personal reflection to navigate their own challenges.

9. Summer Parenting and Social Media Pressures

The Busbys address the pressures of maintaining an active family life, especially during summer breaks. Danielle discusses balancing their own desires for family activities with external expectations from social media.

Danielle Busby ([38:36]):
“It's okay that you don't have a vacation, your kids don't have a vacation that they can't share at school.”

Adam echoes the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of staying true to their values despite external criticisms.

10. Encouragement and Final Thoughts

As the episode concludes, Adam and Danielle offer words of encouragement to parents undergoing similar transitions. They stress the importance of taking small steps, seeking peace through faith, and finding joy in everyday moments.

Danielle Busby ([41:35]):
“You can do hard things too… take a step forward and try.”

Notable Quotes:

• Danielle Busby ([00:10]):
  “No matter what, we love them. And there's multiple ways to find joy.”

• Adam Busby ([05:12]):
  “You just lose that connection with neighbors a little bit.”

• Danielle Busby ([09:44]):
  “We're doing this because we feel like God is doing something within all this.”

• Danielle Busby ([31:16]):
  “Whatever is going to come towards following that path will be honoring and like, for his glory.”

• Danielle Busby ([38:36]):
  “It's okay that you don't have a vacation, your kids don't have a vacation that they can't share at school.”

Conclusion

Episode 42 of “More Than Reality with Adam and Danielle Busby” is a compelling narrative of change, faith, and resilience. Through their honest and relatable storytelling, the Busbys provide valuable insights into managing large-scale family moves, maintaining strong family bonds, and navigating new environments with grace and faith. Listeners are left inspired to embrace their own life changes with courage and to find peace in the journey ahead.

Transcript

[Adam Busby]

So we live now in Friendswood, Texas. There is some personal reasons when it comes to just like, school dynamics, it.

[Danielle Busby]

Is okay to not have to prove anything to our children just as much as our kids don't have to prove anything to us. No matter what, we love them. And there's multiple ways to find joy. Sitting on the porch yesterday watching them just play with the neighbors or play with chalk or ride the scooters, or Blake giving us stories about what happened today. Like, those are joyful moments. This is More Than Reality podcast, where we dive into all things faith, family, and marriage and share that there is so much more than the reality that you see on the surface. Welcome to More Than Reality with Adam and Danielle Busby. What's up?

[Adam Busby]

Howdy.

[Danielle Busby]

Hello. Hello.

[Adam Busby]

We're in a new space.

[Danielle Busby]

Does it sound different?

[Adam Busby]

This is episode 42 of more than Reality podcast and we're Adam and Danielle Busby. We're in a new location.

[Danielle Busby]

New location, same chairs, same plant, different walls.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah. We've literally, what, yesterday, moved into this. I don't even know, moved into this house and literally just got the office functional where stuff can.

[Danielle Busby]

It's the cleanest your office has ever been.

[Adam Busby]

Stuff can be, like, used. I'm still trying to organize cables and stuff.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And buying stuff to, like, make, and.

[Danielle Busby]

Then I'll tackle the rest of the house. But. Yeah. So thanks for listening. Today we are a bit exhausted and worn out, and I think we have crashed the last two nights we've been in this house, and I feel like we wake up and the bed is still made because neither one of us, like, moved. By the way, we celebrated anniversary yesterday.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

We kind of both forgot.

[Adam Busby]

I mean, there was so much going on, obviously. I completely lost track of even what day it was.

[Danielle Busby]

I know. It was like. I know it's this week and. Oh, yeah, I know. It was like, Todd's birthdays. The day before, it was like, happy birthday, Todd. I'm like, okay, our anniversary is tomorrow. And then tomorrow became today. And I was like, totally forgot. People are texting me, happy anniversary to you and Adam. I'm like, oh, yeah, that's today.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

However, he's going to celebrate me in our marriage next week. Yeah. Next week when we're in Colorado.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah. We're going to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

For an event.

[Danielle Busby]

Event and slash anniversary time.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah. So, yeah. I wish we could have just went out to dinner or something last night, but we just had, like, way too much stuff going on, and both of us are just completely exhausted.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. And my Body has been hurting like crazy. Had a headache the other day, one moving in. It was like, oh.

[Adam Busby]

But we also want to mention our sponsor for this episode. It's Good Ranchers. We're going to talk about a little bit about what Good Ranchers is doing for the Texas hill country, you know, the flood victims and flood relief and stuff a little bit later in the episode. But we just want to thank Good Ranchers so much for sponsoring this episode and being a part of More Than Reality podcast. You can go to GoodRanchers.com also you can go to GoodRanchers.Com busbee for the busbee box. It's a special curated box for the Busbees stuff that we eat every week. You can try that out. You can enter the code at checkout busbee for $40 off plus a free item in your subscription for the duration of your subscription. So thank you Good Ranchers for sponsoring this episode.

[Danielle Busby]

Goodranchers.com American meat delivered but we're here, we're getting settled into the new house. I feel like, you know, it's a great house. The kids have already met like some friends around the neighborhood, which is fun. And we're close to like a little common park area that they can scooter down there and ride their bikes or whatever. And yeah, just really weird because everything is just like all over the place.

[Adam Busby]

You know, like, I actually miss the neighborhood before.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. Like the ease of like our last.

[Adam Busby]

Seeing, you know, where we. Our houses we're about to put on the market. Like, I miss the living in. Yeah, living in a neighborhood where you can like our. Where our other house is. Every acre is like on a lot. All the houses are spread way of apart. So it's like you lose that connection with neighbors a little bit. Like we have some very deep close relationship with a few neighbors. But still it's like an effort to like go to their house or something like that.

[Danielle Busby]

You should just walk outside and you're like, oh, look, they're playing our neighborhood.

[Adam Busby]

It didn't even have like sidewalks because, like, it's just private roads. Like, everything's so spread out. And so I missed back whenever we lived in our old house, the mold house, you can literally just like walk outside. And like there was always kids. You know, there's a neighbor here and a neighbor here and like kids riding around and like on the sidewalks and stuff. Yeah, like, I missed that.

[Danielle Busby]

And, and I felt like when we found this house, kind of like when the other one fell through and like we found this one, it was like, every time I came out here, it was like, always kids around. There's kids always doing elimination. There's kids always at the park. There's kids always on bicycles. And it's like, yes. You know, a lot of them, I would say, are mostly, like, the quint's age. But, you know, I think once school starts up, Blake will be able to, like, connect, find new community of friends.

[Adam Busby]

When she already has. So this week, Blake started tennis camp for the new high school that she's going to be going to. You know, it's like their freshman tennis camp for the actual school. And then next week is actual tryouts for the tennis team. It's given her the opportunity to meet other. Other girls that are interested in playing or are gonna play or gonna be trying out and stuff like that. And so, you know, every single day, she's been coming home like, oh, like, I talked to this girl. Her name was this. And, like, she's really funny. And, like, we, you know, we get along and stuff. And that's been awesome. Like, I'm thankful that we're, you know, proactive and, like, yeah. Putting her in that. So, like, she's meeting kids and stuff like that already before, you know, obviously before she actually goes to high school.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. I asked her yesterday. It was like. Or whatever. Day. Day one or day two. I was like. She said, you know, these were a couple of the girls that she met. Her names. I said, oh, did you, like, swap numbers? And she's like, what? I was like, you know, like, to be able to, like, text or talk.

[Adam Busby]

To your get the digits?

[Danielle Busby]

She's like, no. And I was like, oh, too soon, Too soon.

[Adam Busby]

I don't want to look needy. Mom. Desperate for friends.

[Danielle Busby]

I don't know. I just feel like. I don't know. I don't know. Like, what a. Like what?

[Adam Busby]

Like, it'd be easy to say, like an easy icebreaker. Like, hey, if you ever want to, like, play, you know, like, hey, let's get together and, like, we'll come up and meet at the courts or something, I guess. What's your number?

[Danielle Busby]

If I think about, like, if I'm in a situation where it's, like, new and I feel like I connect, like, with another way, woman or mom or whatever, and be like, hey, like, let's let me get your number. We can do coffee or something like that. But I guess as a teenager, it's like, you know, you gotta, like, wait.

[Adam Busby]

You don't want to look desperate.

[Danielle Busby]

You don't want to look, like, I don't know. It was just funny. So I picked on her. I was like, oh, it's too soon to ask for numbers. She's like, I don't know, Mom. That's weird.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah. And the quints. I mean, it's crazy. Like, what. Last night they were out at the park till, like, almost 8 o'. Clock. You know, all the. There's tons of little girls on, like, our block where we live right now. And there's probably. I think the girls came home last night and they're like, there were 20 girls out there and they were all having, like, a little. Like, they were selling cookies and stuff like that down at the corner, like, whatever at the park. And like, they came home, they're like, they made $47 and there was like, 20 girls there. And so they've been having a blast, like, every evening. Like, even to the point they're all like, leave and go down and knock on one of their neighbor's doors that they just met the other day. We were unloading the cars, and she literally walks up to me, this little girl that. She's 10 years old, just like the quince. And she's like, hi, I live down the road at the. At the corner. I was like, oh, hold on, let me grab the girls. Like, I don't know what's going on right here.

[Danielle Busby]

That. There was kids and girls.

[Adam Busby]

I've got 5, 10 year olds. Hold on just a second.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And immediately the Clints were like, you want to come in and play, my girls? There's boxes everywhere. Like, our house is a complete wreck. Like, we've literally just moved boxes in.

[Danielle Busby]

We're literally moving in.

[Adam Busby]

She's like, y'. All. And the girls were like, you want to come in and play? And they're like, playing hide and go seek and stuff around boxes. I'm like, girls, but I mean, go play somewhere else.

[Danielle Busby]

I think. I think there's a lot of people who don't understand the reasoning and the process behind what we're doing and why we're moving and, like, all these things and it. And to a lot of people, it doesn't make sense.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

And I mean, to be honest, it's not something that we necessarily, like, really wanted to do, but we just feel called and, like, led to do make this change. And so I think we've had a lot of backlash about, like, so mean of y'. All. Take your kids and uproot your kids. And I'm like, listen, we. We're not doing this just to be, like, selfish parents. Or whatever. Like we're doing this because we feel like God is like doing something within all this. And so we're just trying to be obedient to that. And so, and a lot of people.

[Adam Busby]

And a lot of people don't understand that like there's a lot of people out there that don't under, don't.

[Danielle Busby]

Don't have like a faith or understand.

[Adam Busby]

Like hearing from God or. And stuff like that. And so, you know, so instead of like wondering about that or asking questions about like, well, what does that really mean? You know, they just, they just like attack. Like oh yeah, that's a stupid answer. Like, well like for us it's very real.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And it's, and it's very. And it's like a very intimate and real like revelation that we've had. And so if you haven't had an experience like that, of course, like it's probably easy to criticize that. But like for us it's like very real. You know, we've had such a, just like a confirmation and a piece, you know, even just in the few days that we've been here, like we've like had this confirmation of like, man, like the girls are going to do great here. They've already met so many kids there.

[Danielle Busby]

I'm not going to say like answered prayer, but it felt like it was like one of those like God, wink, see, like this is going to be okay. Because it is hard to. Even though, you know, it's like something like we want to do, we feel called to do, we want to make this change even though it is hard and we might not know why. And we've been changing a lot of things in our life this, this whole 20, 25 year. But it just felt, you know, like the night before I kind of was like, oh gosh, start to like think, is this the right thing to do? Like should we be doing this? Like, are we messing up? And I was like, no, no, no, don't let those thoughts go in through your head. That's real. Like we still have like those humanized like thoughts where we still feel even as a Christian, like these thoughts of like second guessing things and like worry and fear through those things. But so that next day when we woke up and we were moving and all these the things like, you know, everything was just going smooth and we got in here and that next day was, you know, the things that I like was concerned about was, you know, I know the quints are going to adapt easy because they do have each other. And even Going to school, they'll have each other and whatnot. But then with Blake, it's like it's a completely different school, different surrounding, different people. I know there's not going to be as many like teenagers possibly around here, but kids, younger kids typically hang out more in the streets as far as like riding bikes and stuff like that.

[Adam Busby]

Out in these streets.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. You don't necessarily see a lot of teenagers just like playing with chalk outside, you know? You know, I just felt like that day that. That first morning, like taking Blake to like, tennis and she was really nervous. She didn't want to go, but she wanted to go and she didn't like that. Like, what's it going to be like, who's going to be there? Like the. The unknown. Right. I told her, getting through something like this, it's so good for you because it's going to show you that you can overcome like a challenge, you know, and though not necessarily that she would have picked this, but we as parents are the caretaker provider and the decision making for the family, and they have to accompany and adjust into the decisions that we make, mom and dad, for what's best for the family. And so just picking her up from the first day and it was just like she had a smile on her face and she's like, yeah, it was good. It was fun. Got a couple of the girls names and. And that just like, was just like. I just was hoping that she could at least like, connect or converse. Not even necessarily connect, which is like conversate with other people her age. And because I didn't know if she was going to be like the shy Blake and like not wanting to talk to anybody or whatever or if she was going to feel comfortable. But, you know, it's kind of like when you're go somewhere, it's like as long as you're doing an activity, it gives you a reason to be, like, communicate with the person. Right. In some aspect whether, oh, that ball was out or like, in some way, if you're playing a sport together, you're gonna talk to each other. So that made me feel like, okay, it was a. She left with a smile and she said it was hot. And then kind of the quints getting home and like, you know, just meeting a little girl and then just like playing on the street. It was just like. It made me exactly what you said, like, miss the old neighborhood where it was just like, you literally can't go outside without seeing somebody playing, you know?

[Adam Busby]

Yeah. Like, like at our. I don't know what to call the house that we're about to sell the.

[Danielle Busby]

Old house, League City house.

[Adam Busby]

The old house. This is the new house right now. Yeah, but we never, like, had a porch. Like, this house has a porch, and we have, like, two chairs out there, and we, like, sat out on the porch for a little bit, and just, like, you know, people are out, like, walking and doing stuff, and, like, you just, like, see neighbors and stuff, and you wave and, like.

[Danielle Busby]

And then you went into HEB and already met people that, you know, it was just like, this is so. It's like. It's so weird, because I feel like until I've gotten here, that I've always wanted this type of community.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

And I felt like we did have. Not that we didn't have community, but, like, we have an amazing support and group of community in League City, and. But this one's different. It's like Blake was saying today that was like, you know, the high school games are so much funner, and they're so different. Well, that's what, you know, a friend was saying, like. Yeah, it's because, like, the town, it's got, like, a high school, so the town is, like, all in for the pep rallies. Like, it's like, the community, because it sucks.

[Adam Busby]

Like, in League City, there's, like, multiple high schools, and so it's, like, super subdivided, and. Yeah. Well, here, it's like this entire town is, like, one. I feel like it's like the entire town just rallies around that school, and there's, like, so much more.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. And I want to be able to be, like, our kids, like, be involved.

[Adam Busby]

In how we grew up.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah, exactly. It's how we grew up. And so it reminds me of, like.

[Adam Busby]

More so me, more so you.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. Because, yeah, Lake Charles was the city, but. But we still had a great high school as far as pep rallies and football games. Like, all the games, you know, Mouse Bluff and whatnot. It's a little bit more smaller. And so that was. The town was all purple and gold.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

So I'm excited about what's to come and what the year's gonna look like and stuff. And so I was working my fingers out on the keyboard, registering six kids.

[Adam Busby]

It's always fun before school.

[Danielle Busby]

And it's just. I wish I could just say, copy, paste, copy paste, and change the name, change the kid's name. But once I did it in, you know, League City, in when everybody started kindergarten stuff, it's like, they're at least in the system. This is a completely different school district. So I had to start completely all the way over. So I'm like, okay, I got, I like got to get this done today. Now I have crampy fingers from two hours of putting information in on the computer.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

But anyways, well, we're going to take a little break and shout out to our sponsor, Good Ranchers.

[Adam Busby]

This month has obviously been a very interesting month here in Texas. We've had the crazy flooding over in central Texas and Kerr county and all surrounding areas on the. Everybody near or on the Guadalupe River. Well, Good Ranchers is stepping up and they're partnering with Texans on a mission. What's happening is every single purchase this month, whether it's your usual subscription, a portion of that's going to go towards flood and disaster relief. Whether you purchase a gift on the website or new subscription, new subscribers. If you're making your first purchase, every single, every single dollar spent on goodranchers.com a portion of that will be going to disaster relief and flood relief and, and supporting those Texans that are, that are in need right now. And so you can also go to goodranchers.com busbee. You can order the Busbee box. That's a great option. You can still enter the code busbee for $40 off your order. Plus whenever you sign up for a subscription, you can pick from a free item for the duration of your subscription. So every month you'll get a new free item in your box added to whatever box you choose. And so go to goodranchers.com that's a lot of good. Everything is born, raised, harvested, all in the United States, sourced from local US Farms and ranches. There's no guesswork. And what is going into the, to the meat. It's 100% meat and it's 100% clean and it's not coming from overseas. So go to goodranchers.com and don't forget, use the code BUZZBEE for $40 off plus free item in your.

[Danielle Busby]

In your subscription and helping support giving back to the disaster recovery over in Kerrville. So thank you.

[Adam Busby]

Goodranchers.com Good Ranchers American meat delivered.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah, so we are, we've got a lot to do in the house. The kids are adjusting to, like, not really having, like, TV and yet because, well, Adam hooked up the TV downstairs, which was, was good. We did watch a little bit of veg out a little bit last night.

[Adam Busby]

With the girls because Danielle, what before? Okay, so, so we're getting, you know, getting the house ready to like, move and stuff like that. And she starts selling like on Facebook Marketplace or wherever she's selling it. She starts up and selling, like, all this furniture.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. So I don't have to move it.

[Adam Busby]

And so. And so we get into this house, we have, like, no dressers, nothing to put the TV on in our room. Blake has no furniture.

[Danielle Busby]

She has no furniture.

[Adam Busby]

Like, Blake's been sleeping. Blake's been sleeping in Ava's bed the last two nights because we're waiting on her. Blake's furniture, which is actually Blake's bed. And so there's, like, all this stuff is, like. Because Danielle just sold everything, but then we don't have the stuff here. So it's just like.

[Danielle Busby]

That's what I said. Like I said, I really don't feel like we're at, like, an Airbnb and we're just, like, camping out.

[Adam Busby]

We don't have. We don't have anything to put the TV on in our room, and we don't have anywhere to put our clothes. So, like, all of our clothes are just, like, lined up along the wall and cardboard boxes, because we don't have any dressers or anything like that.

[Danielle Busby]

We have a bed in our nightstands.

[Adam Busby]

And so there's nothing to put the TV on. So I haven't even hooked that up. So literally, we have one TV we don't even need.

[Danielle Busby]

We didn't even need the tv because it's like, just crash anyway. But the girls have a new sleeping situation going on. It's just been really funny because, like, everybody always asks, like, what are their personalities? Who gets along better, yada, yada, yada. And it always is changing. It really is. And right now, Parker and Ava are like, the butthead girls. Does that make. That doesn't really sound right. They butt heads the most.

[Adam Busby]

There you go. That's. That's saying it a little bit.

[Danielle Busby]

They fight the most. Let me just say that.

[Adam Busby]

Heads. They butt heads. They are not butt heads.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah, that's what I meant. That's what I meant. Olivia and Hazel wanted to share a room. I think they are a little bit more where they like to, like, do the same things a little bit right now.

[Adam Busby]

But then Hazel and Parker has always roomed together. Yeah. And so this time around.

[Danielle Busby]

So when Olivia wanted to room with Hazel, I was like, okay, well, you, Hazel and Parker can share a room, and then Riley and Ava will share a room. And Olivia said, no, me and Hazel want to be the two. Put Parker with Ava and Olivia. I meant Ava and Riley. And I'm like, no, we cannot put Parker and Ava together right now. Because all they do is fight with each other and antagonize each other. And so I was like, all right, well, if we're gonna put Parker over here. So we've got Parker, Hazel, and Olivia in one room, and they have the quote unquote love shack, fancy room, target version, Walmart version to come, Riley and Ava. So Riley had, like, a full size bed in her room, which. Cause we would also use her room if, like, you know, company came over. They would use her room because it was like, the bigger bed. So when she got her own room, it was like a bigger bed for that reason. It was like the spare room. But also, well, we need a bigger bed in there.

[Adam Busby]

I mean, this house is kind of like the setup of the mold house, except for this house doesn't have, like, the media room and the office.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And it's really, like. It's really like, kind of the same setup, same amount of rooms, Same way we configured the girls. It was, Blake has a room, and then there was two. Two in one room and three in the other.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And so we went back to that. And honestly, the only reason we ever put Riley in a room by herself was like, because she. That toddler stage where she was just, like, freaking all over the place. She wakes up when the sun's up, and when she wakes up, she wakes everybody up. Everybody needs to be up. And so she went through that stage, and so we went ahead and just put her in her own, and then everybody slept better. Now she's, you know, she wakes up and just kind of goes and does her own things. Doesn't wake everybody up.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And so it's like, fine. We can.

[Danielle Busby]

She's just a busy body. When she was a. I mean, she still is, but like a toddler phase, like, she didn't want to miss out on anything. So she made sure she was the last one to go to sleep, but she was the first one to wake up, and then she'd wake everybody up because she didn't want to be alone.

[Adam Busby]

She's still like that, but she just doesn't wake everybody up.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. So she's still like that. But so Blake has been asking for new bedroom furniture for a while. And so I said, you know, when we move, we'll go ahead and, like, get you some new furniture. We gave Ava that bed because I was like, well, I'm not having to buy any of them new beds because we already have beds for them. So it was like, these rooms are pretty good size. So I was like, let's Just put Riley's bed and Blake's. The. Both two full beds in the one room, and Ava can just have that bed. And. Oh, my gosh, she's so excited to have, like, a bigger bed. But right now, Blake is sleeping in that bed, and Ava is either sharing the bed with Riley or on the extra mattress for right now, because Blake's furniture doesn't come until, like, I think, Friday or something.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

But anyway, it's. It's a new dynamic up here. We're trying to get. You know what's funny is, like, the very first thing that the girls came in their room. Sorry. The first thing that they wanted to take to the house was their stuffed animals. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. And our rule in the house is if you get a new stuffed animal, you have to get rid of five stuffed animals at home. So they have to really think about. And I'm like, you only get five. You only get five stuffed animals. Like, that's what you're taking to this house. Everything else is going away. It's going to donate or whatever. So they each took a pile of, you know, stuffed animals over, and that was the first thing that they brought to this house. And. And then when we moved everything in, what was the first thing they did? They had to set up all their skincare.

[Adam Busby]

I'm like, you should see their bathroom.

[Danielle Busby]

This is ridiculous. This is more skincare and stuff than I have. I'm like, why do we have. But that's. You know, it's that phase right now. They think they need all that stuff, but I'm very particular about what I actually let them put on their face, especially. Cause, like, they don't really need anything, you know, but there, it's okay to play with and, like, whatever. But it's overwhelming what's in there. We should. Should do, like, a video or something and let them explain all the things in there, because I wouldn't even know how to explain it. I'm like, give me some mascara and lip gloss and concealer. I'm good to go.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah. So the. Yeah. And then the other bedroom upstairs, I commandeered for my office because there wasn't, like, a formal office in the house. There's, like a space down there that they. They called it an office. And it's not an office.

[Danielle Busby]

I mean, it's more like a formal sitting room, which I'm really excited about. So I kind of feel like, you.

[Adam Busby]

Know, there's nowhere to, like, have privacy or to, like. Yeah, you can't you, you walk in the front door and it's right to the left and then it's open to the stairs and it's open all the way to the ceiling. Like that's not an office. That's like a seating room.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. So I like it.

[Adam Busby]

I had to just take one of the bedrooms upstairs. And so that's why we have the girls three, two, and then they have a huge playroom.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

So. And we still haven't like set that up. We got all this full desk and stuff in there.

[Danielle Busby]

We're gonna still got a couple things to do in the league city house and get it cleaned and yeah, we gotta.

[Adam Busby]

We got like stage two of the move, which is everything that needs to go to storage. Like stuff that we don't storage and donate.

[Danielle Busby]

There's so much donate stuff.

[Adam Busby]

There will be a lot of donate stuff.

[Danielle Busby]

I think I'm actually going to get a company to come pick up all those donations.

[Adam Busby]

There's just.

[Danielle Busby]

There's so much of it. Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And so, yeah, like probably over this weekend or whatever, we're gonna have to just go over there and like start packing more stuff and like stage stuff to just like go straight to and kind of do it in a methodical manner to where like some stuff we need to be able to get to some stuff it's just like put it to the back. So we just need to figure that out so that we can get the house fully cleaned and then just ready to put on the market. Yep. And close that chapter. I mean a lot of people ask like where we've moved and we've talked about, you know, moving to this area. So yeah, it is just like an adjacent town. But more of the reasoning behind like why we moved here was just more of a holistic. It's more of like a close knit, closeness, smaller community over here. It's kind of landlocked. It's not really growing any much more. Everything that we've ever heard from everybody that lives here is just like the dynamic here in this community is so different. And we're like, that's like. I feel like that's what's got. God is like pushing us to. Is like more to focus on raising our family like that. And then we find this community and you know, we've been learning about more and more about everything here over the last year. So we live now in Friendswood, Texas and we moved here. It's five minutes from Good Ranchers headquarters. And also we have a lot of friends over here. Yeah, I mean it's you know, a lot of people are like, well, why, like, why don't you even put the girls through all that just to move like 30 minutes away? It's, it's more than just pulling them out of school. I mean, it was just, you know, we had some. There is some personal reasons when, whenever it comes to just like school dynamics and, you know, everything that's going on there that we haven't like, fully like, kind of dove into or talked about here just because, like, we don't want to like, disparage, you know, anything going on that happened back home. But, you know, there is a little bit more to the holistic of like, why we moved here that we may or may not share in the future. But. And that's okay. That's for us to have and, you know, it's. It's okay for us to like, not share every single detail of every single thing. I don't feel like we owe that to everyone. I think the biggest thing is we believe that God was directing us to this area. Whether you believe that or not, that's fine. That's what we believe. And, you know, and we're perfectly okay with that. Our kids are doing well over here. I mean, obviously it's going to go through, you know, changes here and there, but, you know, they've already made like a ton of friends and we're still, we're still figuring it out. You know, it's. It's completely new. Yeah. I mean, that's, you know, for this episode, episode 42, we just kind of wanted to give like a little bit of an update, show you that we were in a new space. We still have a lot to do, you know.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. And to those who are wrestling with some life changes or a big step towards something, or fear in a direction or uncertainty. Sometimes, sometimes we let like, the fear and the uncertainty keep us from going forward. A lot of times there's certain things in life that like, we just can't control. But if you think about what we can control, quote, unquote, what we can control is, okay, the. Okay, you don't have to move. We don't have to move. But there's something deep within us that we feel like God is guiding us towards. And we know that whatever is going to come towards following that path will be honoring and like, for his glory. And like, that's the life that we want to pursue and live. And though we don't know what is to come, that is scary. There is some fear behind that. But the joy of knowing that this feels right. In following his guidance, that brings us more comfort than the fear does of it. And so just to encourage, you know, those who may be stepping into, like, a phase or they're in a. In a life change of, like, I don't know what to do now or what is here, or I feel like I need to make a change, but I don't know where to go or where to start. You know, for us as Christians, my. My counsel is scripture and, like, prayer time and really going back and, like, looking through my journal and like, what are things that I've been praying about and just kind of like, trying to see, like, has. Is God showing us things that we don't know. But if I look back in time, even, like, just think about 10 years ago, five years ago, it's like, I can see what God's done in our life. And sometimes you just don't know that right in the moment. And so just really kind of, like, meditate on what is it that you want, what is it that you feel like you could do, what is God leading you towards? And seek scripture for that, because that really, really can bring, like, light to your situation. You know, there's always. I think I shared a verse with a friend this week about there can be sorrow, but there's also still joy within that. Like, we can still be sad. We can still have those emotions over a situation or over a life change, but no matter what, we still can have joy. Following, you know, the steps of, like, obedience. It's so hard. It's so hard, especially for someone like me who is, like, a controller and likes to. To, like, control things. It's such a hard thing to, like, let go and just to, like, follow and be obedient. But there's so much when you get to those milestone marks of, like, you were obedient to this and you followed through. Like, the reward is so good. It's so rewarding. And there's nothing that I would say that I could show for it or. Or to do, how to explain it, but it's just this sense of peace. And that peace is rewarding because it's kind of like a I did it, and I don't know what we did kind of right, because it's like, we're trying to be obedient. But, like, I didn't necessarily do anything. I just am trying to be obedient. You know, I think our biggest thing in life is to remain joyful. And I think what. During this season of, like, life change of this year, our Hearts are just continuing to stay open to, like, what is next. Because every little thing and trial that has come in front of us this year, we have sought our faith to say, like, what do we do in this situation, God? And as long as we stick with that path. Not that it's been easy. It's been peace through every step.

[Adam Busby]

Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

That has been overcome. And, like, that's the life that I want to live is like a life of peace and joy. For those that don't understand that, I get it because I was two once, that years and years ago, before I became a Christian.

[Adam Busby]

I mean, it's easy to criticize something that you just don't understand.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

Until you've really, like, experienced that and felt that, like, you just don't know. And so all you know is just like, oh, I don't understand that. And so you criticize. But we've lived it. We've experienced God in such just miraculous and very personal ways over the years, just through many aspects of our journey where we know whenever God's speaking and God's moving in our life and God's directing us. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes we don't want to push. But, you know, we're in this season. We're like, okay, like, this is going to be crazy, but, like, we'll go and.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

You know, until you. Until you've really experienced that, like, you're just, you know, it is scary. And it is. It does sound crazy to some people.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. And just also, like, the thought of, like, what is joy to you and how do you fulfill that, you know? And I think, you know, we're in this. Something I've struggled with, like, over this summer is that, like, man, I just feel like we're not utilizing our summer to the capability of. Of, like, what our kids quote, unquote, need, which means what they want and what we are used to doing, and it's on the go and having fun here and seeing this and adventure there and adventure there. And, you know, God's really been just saying, like, just stop and slow down. I've had to, like, be reminded multiple times. Like, though they might not have, like, this overarching, like, huge vacation that they got to seek this summer, we want them to know that, like, this summer we have just as much joy as we would have had out on a beach somewhere. Because we have been seeking God through this whole summer. Not that we haven't in the past, but we've just been seeking it differently. And the kids are like, are we gonna go Here. Are we gonna go there? And there's a little bit of, like, the parent in me that says, like, man, this sucks that we're not taking them here, we're taking them there. We're doing these things. But I don't want them to think that these are bad decisions. Right. So having to communicate with the kids and tell them, like, you know, this season and this summer, like, this is what we feel God wants for us. And it's. We're still going to have as much fun as we can, and we're still going to have so much joy. But it's going to take a little bit of time for us to get to the summer that you think that you might have or that you're used to, you know, and so telling the kids that just because it's summer, it doesn't mean, like, we have to go all out in a different country or city or, like, vacation, you know, it's just different this summer. And I'm saying that because I think.

[Adam Busby]

Of course, right before the end of the school year, we took them to Orlando.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

And we. We had, like, a really big trip, like, right before school ended.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. Have another trip, like, of, like, going to Splashway or, like, something close by.

[Adam Busby]

So. But I'm just saying we don't normally do that. So, like, they did get, like, a trip this year.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. I'm usually. I'm saying this to the parents because we get a lot of flack, too, on. Y' all are always going. You're always doing these things.

[Adam Busby]

What.

[Danielle Busby]

You know.

[Adam Busby]

Oh. But it's like, damned if you do. Damned if you don't, too. Because, like. But whenever we go do stuff, people criticize us because we always go and we're always traveling. But then we. When we don't, it's like, how dare you, like, not do anything with your kids this summer?

[Danielle Busby]

So.

[Adam Busby]

And so it's like, you can't win with, like, half the people on social media. So, like, give up. Just trying to. I mean, it's just.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah. And it's not like we're proving anything to them. We're literally living our lives and sharing our lives and criticize however you want, but it's not necessarily gonna.

[Adam Busby]

Criticism is gonna come.

[Danielle Busby]

So change the way that we think about what social media needs to see from us, you know, and we're definitely not gonna change who we are for the fact of criticism in that situation. But I'm saying this to parents out there because I do have a lot of moms who follow me. I do Have a lot of moms that are single moms or stay at home moms or they don't have family around or they don't have help with their kids and they don't have the means to do X, Y and Z. It's okay. It's okay to stay home and to find joy within the house and you know, look back on Covid years where we were all stranded and didn't have places to go or things to do. You were stuck in your home. Like, I just, I want you to know that you don't have to feel bad for not having the, the vacation of the summer with your kids, but let them know how you find joy and what you're what, how you're finding joy. So like if they like I think about like the kids are going to go back to school and it's gonna be like, okay, what it was your funnest thing or what did you enjoy this summer? You know, like, it's okay that you don't have a vacation, your kids don't have a vacation that they can't share at school. But don't let them feel bad for that. That's what I'm trying to get at. Like tell them, hey, I've had so much fun this summer with you. We've got to do these things together. And you know what's been your favorite? Like talk to them, explain to them, have them tell you what, what has been fun for them this summer. Our kids are in a spoiled world because we do do a lot with them. But it's very weird summer for them to not go, go, go. But it's okay, you know, and I'm saying these things out loud so I'm telling myself, like, it's okay. I have to hear myself to process.

[Adam Busby]

Right? Yeah.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah.

[Adam Busby]

So anyway, I think that's it for this episode.

[Danielle Busby]

Yeah, I mean we're just like, you can do hard things, you can try one step at a time. It doesn't mean you have to know the whole picture or what, what the next, you know, adventure is going to be or whatnot. Just being obedient really does bring a lot of peace to our life and we live a very, and I live a very stressful, high paced life and to find peace is just, it's so breath worthy. It's just like, it's just, it's a way to relax honestly when you find peace. And so just encouraging y' all with, you can do hard things too. Doesn't always mean they're easy, but try just like we tell our kids you don't know until you try. And I'm sure you all tell your kids the same thing. You don't know. You don't like that. You don't know. You can't try that. You don't know you're good at that, not good at that because you have to try. So whatever you're facing, just take a step forward and try. And I feel like if you can seek a second of prayer outside of your norm that God will reach you and, you know, can grasp a hold of your heart and praying that that will bring you peace and have a fun summer no matter what you're doing.

[Adam Busby]

All right, so thank you guys for tuning in to episode 42 of more than Reality podcast. This is Adam and Danielle Busby from the new house. From the new house.

[Danielle Busby]

Thanks for listening.

[Adam Busby]

We'll see you in the next one. All right, we love you guys.