If I haven't talked to you in the last few months, it probably comes as a surprise to you that we have moved...to Panama! We began this process a little over a year ago and are excited to now say we are in the process of making Panama our new home. There are many reasons why we chose Panama as well as many reasons why we decided to leave the US. In Panama, Ben will be doing home construction on a neighborhood he hopes to build on a lot we have purchased. We will live in the town of Volcan, which is close to the Costa Rica border, about 8 hours from Panama City. It is up on the side of a volcano named Baru and has a lovely temperature year-round in the 70's. 
This process has not been the easiest! We visited last April 2016 for 10 days and really enjoyed the area. We had already made some friends on facebook, so it was nice to meet them in person. Boquete, a town near Volcan, has a large population of retired ex-pats. When Ben visited in February 2016, he thought the Volcan market was a little better for what he wants to do. We also hope to open a homeschool and Christian book lending library. And there are a few other things about Volcan which drew us in - they have a quilting ministry! There's a great Mexican restaurant in town!
We did all the required paperwork on our April 2016 visit to get residential visas for everyone in the family. This involved getting FBI background checks done (I had to do my prints 5 times because they were so worn off!), birth and marriage certificates certified, opening a Panamanian checking account and many other small details. We accomplished this on that 10 day trip and received temporary cards. We then returned to the US to sell our home and prepare to move.
We listed our house in September and hoped that it would sell quickly, but due to many factors, it did not sell as quickly as we thought it would. Many months went by and we were faced with a tough decision. In April 2017 our temporary cards would expire and we would need to get our permanent ones picked up in Panama City. So we decided to load up and head to Panama, leaving our home still on the market. 
We once again purchased our Spirit Airlines tickets, but this time they were one-way and only $103 per person! (In April 2016, the tickets were around $200 each for a round trip from DFW to PTY - what a deal!) So at the end of March, we loaded a huge 40 foot container with a lot of our stuff and a ton of books and shipped it off to our final destination. We hope to receive it in Volcan in early to mid-May. Then we loaded up some luggage, said our final, super sad goodbyes, and headed out on our new adventure. 
It felt like we were on The Amazing Race a lot of times during this process. Most of it involved getting our dog here. There was a 10 day time limit for her paperwork, and everything had to fall perfectly in place at just the right time, or she wouldn't be joining us. We had to shuttle kids here and there to get this or that done, stamped or certified. It's a huge process for one person, just imagine it for seven! 
Anyway, we arrived here totally exhausted on Tuesday morning at 1:15am. We are staying at a great guest house in Panama City and using a rented car for now, although we are looking to buy one. We received our permanent visa cards this morning (and having kids younger than 5 is an amazing advantage because it lets you cut automatically to the start of a very long line). We will be in Panama City for a few days checking it out before heading to Volcan. You wouldn't believe the places here - Taco Bell, Chuck E. Cheese, huge, beautiful malls, many American stores and restaurants. We will, however, live 8 hours from these luxuries!
This was an impossible task to complete on our own. We give all glory to God for getting us through each step of the way and keeping us strong and united. Praise the Lord!
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