Life update: The Thompsons are moving to Texas!

We’re excited to share that Kelley has accepted an offer for a senior facility manager position within the JLL family in San Antonio, and we will be residents of the Lone Star State within the next few weeks.

I was born in Dallas, and our love story actually began in Texas, when I was about three years old and Kelley was in the first grade. Our families attended the same church in the Dallas area; my brother and Kelley were in the same Sunday school class, and our parents were in the same small group before my family moved to the San Antonio area and his moved to Florida. In fact, one of my earliest memories as a child was sitting around a small kids’ table at Kelley’s house, eating fruit pizza that his mom had prepared. It was my favorite food for a long time, so when I attended Mississippi State and was searching for a church home, my parents mentioned that they knew the pastors of a local church near Starkville.

“She’s the one who made the fruit pizza, Courtney,” my mom said. I knew right then that I had to go meet this family and the creator of the epic, delicious fruit-topped sugar cookie and cream-cheese confection, so I attended a Sunday morning there. The pastors (my in-laws) remembered my family and welcomed me into the congregation warmly.

Four months later, I was engaged to their son.

And now, after 20 years of marriage, we are returning to the place of my favorite childhood memories, New Braunfels. I’m so excited to get to share a beloved piece of my past with our kids. (And you know, once a Texan, always a Texan.) We will forever treasure our time spent together in the RV, but we are thankful this chapter is coming to a close. It’s time to return to a bricks-and-sticks home (with indoor plumbing and our own laundry room!) and put down roots in an area where we can invest in our community. It’s also time for the kids to be able to pursue their individual interests and have some extra elbow room (and real beds!). I can’t wait to eat my weight in smoked brisket, ride a riverwalk boat in San Antonio, wear cowboy boots without eliciting strange looks, and be in the same time zone as some of our closest family and friends again.

And as for the dog…well, we finally have our very own Texas Ranger.