Gypsy Blood

Moving?  Yes, we are moving again!  We have already received a plethora of questions and statements, so hopefully this post will answer a few of those.

"You just moved!"

- Actually we moved into this home over four years ago.  Even the five of us have a hard time believing that it's been that long.

"You just finished your downstairs!"

- It's been over a year since it's been completed and we have loved it!  My large school room away from the rest of the house has really been a blessing!  Marty did such an amazing job with the help of friends and family (and a good chunk of tax money.)  Honestly, the only reason we could afford to live in this neighborhood was due to the unfinished downstairs.  God blessed us immensely by providing this house at just the right time.

"You live in such a great area!"

- We have loved our neighborhood, especially our neighbors right around us!  Smores & movie nights, special friends for our girls, the pool, the list could go on...  We have loved the proximity to our church, extra curricular school activities, and Target.  Let's be honest.

                              

"Why are you moving back to Willow Spring?"

- We weren't looking in Willow Spring specifically.  We always try to live as close to the church as possible, but ultimately, we desired more land and less house (the opposite of the American dream).  We didn't want to put our current house on the market until we found just the right house.  And we all truly believe that we did!

"How are the girls coping?"

- Amazingly!!  Marty and I have said again and again how resilient they are.  After we had another dream house fall through a month ago, I promised to never take them house hunting again.  But without much choice, they came to see the house we are buying and we all fell in love with it!  They have been faithfully packing, each in their own way.  They have helped clean, do school work in random places, and watched many belongings be given away, sold, or tossed without complaint.  I simply couldn't ask for sweeter children.  

"Why move at all?"

- We have asked ourselves this question many times.  But we have several reasons why we are: 

1) More land and less house, as mentioned earlier. 

2) Gypsy blood.  Not really, but we'll claim it as both of us grew up moving often throughout our childhood.  

3) We want to put down roots.  To be honest, the last 18 months have been stressful.  Without a pastor, my associate pastor husband carried a little extra and we can only claim God's strength and His grace to have gotten us through it.  We had prayed over our future. Would overseas be an option? Should we move to another state for a job with more focus? Will we be able to blend well with our new pastor and his family? God has clearly answered no to the first two questions and has brought such peace to the last.  We are so excited for the ministry to come at Fairview and feel very blessed to have our pastor!  So, with that said, we feel that God has called us to stay in this area and we want to live in a house for the long-haul.    

We knew that our current home was not our dream house.  Never would be.  But even with all the wishful thinking, this place has seen a lot of dreams come true.  Our littlest learned to walk in this house, cartwheels and handstands were perfected throughout the living room, each of our girls became confident swimmers in our neighborhood pool, and our home was available to family on their way to Japan and Ghana. 

So in less than two weeks, when we pull out of the driveway for the very last time, I'll hold back the tears.  "Tears for all the dreams brought to life here.  Tears for all the dreams waiting ahead.  But mostly, tears for the God that never abandons this fixer upper, no matter what kind of flooring she's living on."

What I've Learned This Summer

It is simply hard to believe that it's already August!  I knew this summer would fly by, but now that we're on the count down to school, the reality is hitting me.  I've spent a lot of time reflecting, processing life in general, and looking ahead, seeing a new season with the middle school years approaching.

Blogger and writer Emily Freeman, from Chatting at the Sky, blogs at the end of each month different and often random things she's learned.  Since I fell off the "goal" bandwagon for a while and didn't even get our summer desires blogged, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned over the summer.

1.  Charleston is an amazing city!  We've loved visiting it for over ten years now, but this was the first time I've stayed there alone with my girls (since Marty was in North Charleston at camp). I literally drove past the church affected by the shooting rampage only thirty minutes before the shots were fired.  Fear, questions, apprehension immediately filled my mind after hearing about it. But to watch the city continue to move with such grace and love was a testimony to the many churches and the people within that city.  I learned a lot in those few days.

2.  Blueberries always taste better straight from the bush.  While Chloe and I continued to pick that hot Saturday morning, my younger two literally sat under the bushes and ate to their hearts content.

3.  My baby is growing up!  I know I didn't learn this over the summer, but it's becoming even more real as she's learning to swim and ride a bike without training wheels.  Shhh!  Don't remind me that she's almost ready for kindergarten.  Thank goodness I finally finished her baby book!

4.  Even though it's easier now that our girls are older, I learned that I still really miss my hubbie when he's gone on mission trips.  I just really like having him around! 

5.  Having a dog can really cramp my traveling style!  This was our first summer having Samson (whom we love very much!), but it's tough when you want to travel and you have to make pet arrangements.  Oh well!  First world problems!

6.  Focus on the blessings, rather than succumbing to the loneliness. This is an area that God is still teaching me.  There will always be a measure of loneliness in ministry, but I felt it more than ever when Marty left on July 4th.  Family being so far away and memories flooding back from the previous summer with my sisters and their families brought me to tears more than once.  But my girls can make any day interesting and we embraced the sprinkler and the sparklers, making the day memorable in our own way.

7.  Family is important and worth the effort.  Since Samson cramped my traveling style, we enjoyed #campcousins week instead!  My sister graciously took my girls for a few days.  Then, we enjoyed a day at the zoo, and a few more days with them at our house.  It was a fun full week!

8.  I "need" inspiration!  I love a good pen, a comfortable notebook, the perfect lighting, clean surroundings.  I think it's why I love Instagram so much!  The pictures, colors, inspiring words fill me up.

9.  The show, When Calls the Heart, on Netflix took me back to my teenage years.  That same, "I've just got to read one more chapter..." feeling consumed me, but in the form of Netflix.  I watched show after show while exercising on the elliptical, folding laundry, cooking supper... until the last show, and I didn't know it was the last show!  So I have now learned that when watching a series on Netflix or Amazon Prime, look and see how many episodes there are before diving in headlong, fully engrossed in the flowing plot, only to discover you just watched the last one!

10.  It is important to label homemade sprays.  Otherwise your daughters may mistaken your cellulite spray for bug repellent.

Five for February...

January's Simple Five:

1.  Organize our school room.  (almost done...)

2.  Finish A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot

3.  Find and try 2 new, healthy recipes. 

     - Homemade Overnight Cinnamon Rolls (for our snow day)

     - Wholegrain Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread (w/o the nuts)

4.  Run up to 3 miles again.  (ok... it only happened once, but with the cold & rainy weather we've had, it wasn't as easy as I thought.)

5.  Devotions daily with my girls. (Nothing fancy.  Two to three days a week we'd review our Family Journal that follows what they are learning on Sundays.  The other days we'd either read through Chloe's devotional or You Can Change the World.

Obviously, my simple five were not completely accomplished. But I'm ok with that.  Instead, I want to strive for progress, not perfection.  More boxes were sorted through in the school room, another trash bag filled... I'm further along in my book, convicted and challenged.  Running is definitely a matter of progress, one step at a time.

Five for February:

1.  Finish organizing the school room and hang pictures.  No more clutter!

2.  Finish A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot & read half of Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma (A Mom's 12-month experiment to rid her home of youth entitlement).

3.  Write 5 letters (real ones with stamps) to other women who may need encouragement.

4.  Take portraits of each of my girls (plus valentine pics).

5.  Focus on words of grace for my family.  

"Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong.  Grace words.  Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words words I breathe are death words." - Ann Voskamp  

Click for the link to this free chalkboard printable

Puddle Jumping, PB & J's, & Purple Volcanoes

May your weekend be filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows and maybe a little coloring...

May imaginations run wild with toys from the past...

May your meals be simple, yet finger-licking good...

 

May the world come alive through purple volcanoes and heroes of the past...

May memories of the past week be revived and things as simple as puddle jumping become the highlights of childhood...
 

 

May we all learn something new, be open to change, and just keep trying...