First of Many

We were so excited to welcome our first visitors from home! Sara, one of my very best & dearest friends, flew down with her kiddos on Valentine's Day. It was such a blessing to see a familiar face! You can imagine with 4 small children, no day was ever boring but we had such a great time. While surviving a bout with the stomach virus & a pretty intense seagull attack, we managed to visit 3 parks in 4 days, enjoy a beautiful afternoon at Lido Beach and even got to see a baby gator! I am so incredibly thankful Sara's husband is a pilot; I am hoping this is just the first of many, many visits just like this one.

This is our baby gator spotting! The pond & rock he is sunning on was about 30 feet from the playground. A local told us to beware; where there is a baby, there is a momma!

Sebastian gets so excited when he sees a motorcyle. Even though this bike didn't make noise, he loved riding it! It is my prayer this is as close to riding a motorcyle as he ever gets.

Sara & her beautiful babies at the beach!


Sweet Coco hiding from the seagulls.

Let me tell you about our seagull "attack." We had a great picnic lunch packed & spread out our blanket to enjoy the perfect day. We passed everyone's food out and within about 1 minute there were literally 30 seagulls swarming us. One even took the top of Sara's sandwich! Sebastian was curled in Sara's lap, Faith was hunkered down head first on the blanket, Coco was in my lap & Sam Harris was standing up looking terriffed. "Sara The Brave" stood up and starting shooing the birds away...to no avail. They were NOT afraid of her. I started snatching sandwiches & chips and stuffing them back in the lunch boxes. Finally, after the food was gone, the birds left us. Wow! All of the kids were screaming at this point and people were staring. Honestly, it was kind of funny and I couldn't quit laughing. Everyone managed to move past their trauma and enjoy the afternoon...but poor Coco. She was scared to death and spent the remaining hour underneath a beach towel, screaming.

The 4 munchkins

Coco 4, Sebastian 22 mo., Sam Harris & Faith, 3

Why?

"True that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But, it is absolutely vital to grasp that he didn't call you there so you could settle in and live your life in comfort & peace." -Francis Chan, Crazy Love

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I read this quote today and I cannot get it out of my mind. Donald & I know that God brought us to Florida. Why? We haven't a clue. However, this quote gives me the reassurance, and challenge, to know that it wasn't for nothing. The heartache of leaving family; the sadness of saying goodbye to lifelong friends; the major uprooting from a town we've called home essentially all our lives. Nothing about it was easy. However, nothing about it felt wrong. There is a lot of guilt that comes along with saying it felt right to leave "home." That sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? How could it be right to leave home? While I don't have that answer right now, we stepped out in faith and are excited to see what God has planned! It may be years before I have the answer but I know one day God's going to let me in on His little secret. Until then, all I can do is embrace where we are and be available for God to use. That is exactly what I plan to do.

I will never forget taking this picture. We pulled up to a restaurant to eat dinner. When I opened the car door and saw this view, I literally screamed with excitement. Only being here for 2 weeks, I hadn't really taken the time to breathe in all that had just taken place. Unpacking boxes, settling in to a new home & being so sad about what all I had left behind was taking precedence. God used His creation to fill me with His peace & bring on a new (and more positive) perspective. Even as a teenager the power & majesty of the ocean was amazing to me. My mother said it perfectly: "You can see & feel the presence of God in this picture." And that's just what this moment was for me. A visible & tangible image of God and the sweet reminder that

same Father who controls the wind & waves is in total control of my life.

Family Fun Day

My little man

We don't look a day over 25, right?!?

Coco LOVES the sand & surf. I think she's going to be a beach bum.

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Donald has been working 6 days a week for the last 3 weeks so our family time has been extremely limited. So, we were rebels today and skipped church to have a Family Fun Day! We enjoyed a fantastic lunch at a charming Italian bistro, went to the St. Armands Art Festival and ended the day with a visit to the beach. The kids had a blast and mother-nature granted us a picture perfect day: 70 degrees and sunny.

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Daddy & his baby girl

Yum...$4 ice cream cones from Ben & Jerry's.
I'm pretty sure that they each at 50 cents worth.

Gotcha! Donald making a rare silly face.

Too Soon to Call

I am so excited! Sebastian looked at the potty this morning and said "pee pee." So, I put him on it and he pushed and pushed until he finally made a few drops! He was smiling so big and was so proud. It really was a family affair; he had an audience of Momma, Daddy and Coco. TMI for a lot of people I'm sure, but this momma is too excited not to share. He's only 21 months old and I know it's too soon to call. However, the thought of almost being done buying diapers is kinda cool (not to mention a pay raise). On the other hand, Sebastian is my baby and I can't stand the thought of him growing up. I know that it's inevitable...sigh.

Accentuate the Positive

Well, it's been just over a week here at our new home in sunny Florida. It's been a tough and surreal week for me but we made it. I could talk about how tough the adjustment is and how much I miss home, friends, family church etc. But, in an effort to find life's silver linings, I'm going to accentuate the positive and give my top 10 "likes" of living here:

1. The weather is incredible.

2. Our house is wonderful in a great neighborhood with sidewalks.

3. Forgot to mention our house has a heated & enclosed pool and hotub!

4. Super Target, enough said.

5. The public schools are ranked among some of the highest in the nation.

6. The beach is a very short 25 minute drive away!!!

7. Our house is so sunny during the day, I don't even need to turn on lights.

8. I'm in constant 3G range.

9. The streets have bicycle lanes.

10. Disney World + Florida residents pass = LOTS of fun!

Our new "Home Sweet Home"

So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

Today, December 30, 2010, is officially the last day we own a "house in the country." And to be honest, I'm relieved. We tried; albeit it was for less than a year but we tried. We are absolutely certain that country-livin' isn't for us. It's a square peg, round hole issue. The critters, the power outages, the ridiculous garbage pick up fees...

Using a power of attorney for Donald, I signed our home away to wonderful new owners. Gary & Julie are going to finish what we started on our project house and probably make it 100x better!

This whole relocation to Florida has happened so quickly. All things have fallen into place so perfectly. It's almost been an out-of-body experience in the sense that I'm not sure I'm really absorbing what all is going on. I'm going through the motions but can't digest it all just yet. I don't know much but I do know that this decision, bathed in much prayer, seems to be confirmed over and over by our gracious God. When my doubts pile up, He gives me yet another reminder that this is indeed His will for our lives.

I have much, much more to blog about this experience and will save that for a time when my thoughts are a bit more collected. At any rate, right now we are mortgage free and lovin' the freedom that comes along with that!

Just the Girls

Most of my nearest and dearest met up for dinner at Marlo's for one last girl's night with me. As usual, we had good food and even better conversation. We knew it was time to go when the server started blowing candles out on the other tables. I think I could have sat and soaked everyone up for hours. I can't imagine when/if I'll ever be able to find such an amazing group of friends. Laura provided the night's entertainment by bringing a box of old pictures & Amanda brought a note I wrote her in elementary school; both tangible evidences of life long friendships that are absolute treasures. I'm sure gonna miss these girls!

Serious, but oh-so-pretty faces

Silly, but STILL oh-so-pretty faces!