Welcome To The South

So I'm definitely not in the Great White North anymore. I know I chose to move south in the middle of the summer, so I'm not necessarily complaining about the heat - just pointing it out. I took this picture of the temperature that my car registered today while we were out driving...

Today was a crazy but fun day. My mom and I went and got our hair highlighted today. I've been going to the same ladies for haircuts and such since I was 8, so when I'm in town, I always try to see them. Here is a picture of most of them from today.

After our hair fun, we went down to Newnan to meet my grandparents for lunch at Sprayberry's BBQ. This is seriously the best BBQ I have ever had, and their brunswick stew is fabulous. So here is a picture of my plate of food, along with some sauce and my mom's plate. We also had strawberry cobbler for dessert. Oh my gosh, I love food in the south!! :) And yes, I know brunswick stew looks like dog food, but it tastes really yummy!




After Newnan, we drove back to see my mom's mom, meeting her at Dairy Queen to hang out for awhile. I so do not need to eat any time soon!

Now I am home and exhausted and full, but it was very nice to see the grandparents today and catch up some. I love them all! I saw Nikki tonight, and we are getting everything ready to move to Orlando. We pick up the truck tomorrow, load on Sat. morning, head out Saturday and move in on Sunday! Many more posts and pictures to come in the next few days....

Just Keep Drivin'

Greetings! This blog is being written from a hotel room in Gastonia, NC, where Mum and I arrived this evening after deciding we could drive no more. In the last two days I have driven in the following states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, and North Carolina. Tomorrow we will finish up in North Carolina, hit South Carolina, and arrive at brother's house in Georgia where we will have a few days to be out of the car before driving down to Orlando. Whose idea was this again???

Anyway, things are going well so far. Ellie is behaving very well in the car, even though she is most definitely not happy to be in the car. She is surviving though and when we stop for the night, it takes her only a few moments to bounce back into her happy self. She is going to be so excited to have more than 400 square feet to run around in that I think she will forgive me for keeping her in a car for 28 or so hours. This is her right before we left when she was stressed about all that was happening. I'll post a new pic of her from Florida when she is relaxing in the sun.


I'm trying to use the driving time to start processing the fact that I am moving, but let's be honest - at this point, I hate driving, I hate the road, I hate being in a car, and I just want to arrive somewhere! I'm thinking that I might not process everything until I'm actually living in Florida and realize I'm not there just for a vacation.

God was good tonight though - we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, and I was reminded of one of the reasons I love the south....fried okra. And on that note, I must go to bed. More driving to commence in the morning....and more posts to come soon!

Zany Madness

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in awhile. It's been a little nutty around here! I went to Baltimore for a week to hang with the parents, now I'm back in Boston, packing and saying goodbyes....

I have lots of pictures to post, thoughts and reflections that I need to write about, but it might not happen until I get on the road and have a chance to breathe. Nikki and I do have an apartment in Orlando now - only 10 minutes from Disney World!! Progress is being made, and I'm excited about what is upcoming. First though, I have to finish things up here.

SO....this post is just to let you know that I'm still here, I have lots to share, and it will all get posted soon. Keep checking my blog, and I'll get some posts up just as soon as I can! Thanks for your patience! :)

Introducing....

So for those of you who are my faithful blog readers, I figure I've kept you in suspense long enough from the end of my last post. And as chapters end and begin and the adventure continues moving forward, I would like to tell you about an amazing way that God has blessed my life in the last 6 weeks.

It all started randomly enough, as these sorts of things usually do. Since I began going to my church here, I have been pretty heavily involved with the worship team, which I have really enjoyed. (And, as a side note, I am seriously going to miss all of those people!) Anyway, I run the sound sometimes on Sunday mornings, and we had made the announcement that we needed more sound people to help fill out the team. So on this particular Thursday, a new person was supposed to show up to rehearsal so that I could help train them to run the sound for the upcoming Sunday.

As circumstances would have it, the guy that showed up to be "trained" knows far more about sound than I do, so there wasn't much I could show him. Plus, we had a really small team that week, and so instead of them using the equipment for us to practice running sound, they all gathered around the piano and rehearsed that way. Being the good southern girl that I am, when all else fails, begin conversation! Ask questions, get to know a person, try to pass the time since clearly no sound training is going to happen.....and in this process, we had a really nice conversation.

This guy is also an amazing photographer, and through conversation it was discovered that we both had plans to head to Boston that weekend to take pictures, so we ended up going together and had a fantastic time. And as time went on, we continued "hanging out" and getting to know each other, and almost before I realized it, six weeks have passed!

As you all know, it's been a long journey over the last 2 1/2 years of life. This is the first guy that I have hung out with since Jeff. And I'm not gonna lie - it's been A LOT harder than I thought it would be! I think I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't realize how difficult or the areas in which I would struggle. Through it all though, God has been faithful, and the healing process continues. And one of the ways He has been faithful is through this guy. These last 6 weeks have not been the easiest - I went through detox, I have had moments of freaking out, I ended my job, I found out some really disturbing news, and through it all, this guy hasn't been scared off by me or by life. Instead, he has spoken truth, he has been an encouragement to me, he has been consistent, he has been honest, he has laughed....in short, he has been Jesus to me. And no matter what happens, that has blessed my life and helped be a source of healing.

So without further ado, let me introduce to you.....a guy named Steve!

Cute, huh? :) And folks, be careful if you leave comments - he reads my blog too!! :)

Anyway, I have no idea what God has in store. I'm leaving soon to move to Orlando. He is leaving in August to go to Israel for a semester. Time and distance don't scare me at this point because I think it's a good thing in this journey of healing for things to move slowly. For now, we plan to stay in touch and continue getting to know each other. God will take care of the rest. In the meantime, I plan to enjoy every step along the way. I will certainly keep you posted and would ask for your prayers as we navigate through the upcoming weeks. There is never a dull moment in God's story, is there? And I don't think I'd have it any other way!!

Wednesday Wonderings

Greetings from the Great White North! As I just typed that sentence, I realized I won't be able to say that for much longer. I'll have to come up with a name for Florida once I am there! Anyway, it's been a little while since I gave a good update on my blog, so I thought I'd do that today. As a new chapter is on the verge of beginning, that means a chapter of life has to close, and it's been a time of reflection and insanity and everything in between these last few days.

First of all, I am done with work! My last day at my job was this past Friday. I will miss my coworkers dearly, but can I just say that it is awesome to have a bit of a break from working!!! This is day 3 of my "vacation", and I am loving every minute of it. My body is enjoying the break as well - slowly catching up on rest and continuing to recover from all it has been through these last months.

My coworkers were awesome and gave me a great send-off. For starters, we had a going away party where we went bowling. They made me wear blue hair and sunglasses in honor of moving to Florida. Not everyone was able to attend, but here are those of us who were there....

On Friday, we had ice cream cake, and then they gave me an awesome gift - a picture of Fenway Park, and they all signed the mat! It's a little hard to see in this picture, but you get the general idea.

Now that I am finished with work, I am trying to get stuff done that has needed to be done for awhile, enjoy the weather, hang out with some folks..... This weekend I am going to the Cape with my friend Jen, and we are going to go to Martha's Vineyard on Saturday. Pictures to come from that when I get back! Then on Monday, Michael and I are going to Baltimore to spend a week with the parents. That should be much fun and many pictures will also come from that adventure. Then I'll have one week left here to pack and get everything finished up before hitting the road for the south!

I'm hoping Ellie will be as cooperative on this trip down as she was on the drive up here. Here she is watching birds - she has no idea what is in store for her!

Here is Ellie on the final day of driving when we moved up here. Something tells me I may see this look again before this is all over!

I'm sure as time here continues to wind down, there will be reflections and such that I will post. I'll keep you updated on all of the happenings as a new adventure gets set to begin. And stay tuned - I might even share a post soon telling you about a special person God brought into my life about 6 weeks ago! :) Much love to you all....