Happy 4th!

Yesterday we celebrated our first 4th of July in ALABAMA! It was such a great day! We started out the morning by making an American Flag fruit pizza. Cori was a big help with this and it was such a great teaching moment to talk about what an American Flag looks like and why we celebrate the 4th of July.

 

We went over to a new friends house for lunch and it was so nice to meet some new people. Our new friends are actually old friends of a friend in Gainesville. My BFF, Kristy, grew up in Alabama and was great friends with a girl named Lindsay. Well, Lindsay and her hubby, now live in Birmingham and we got to meet them yesterday! They have two little girls as well and all 4 girls had so much fun together! So blessed to have met them!

Later in the day, we headed over to meet another set of new friends – Becky and Cameron. We met Becky back in April when we came up to house hunt. They actually live 5 minutes down the road from us and are wonderful people! We met some more great people at their house including another stay at home mom like me and another girl who also has her Masters in Education but is staying home while she awaits the birth of her first baby in December. (sounds a lot like me too!) God is just ALL over this move to Birmingham and really taking care of us. More than anything, he is really taking care of me in this super hard transitional time.

Our girls had such a great time at Becky and Cameron’s – running and playing in their backyard that is just perfect for kids! I only snapped a few pictures yesterday and these were the best I got! Cori LOVED the bubbles Becky gave her upon arrival. And, Finley LOVED climbing up and down the stairs outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We certainly had a wonderful 4th and I can’t thank you enough for all of you who have been praying for us. It has helped more than I can even describe!

 

**On a funny side note, I went to brew a cup of coffee this morning with the Keurig and totally forgot to put a CUP under the spout. Brewed the whole cup of coffee in the little piece that holds the cup. Thankful that the piece is hollow and all the coffee gathered inside there rather than spilling all over my counter! Where is my head these days?!?! HAHA! Just thought I’d share!

Checking back in…

Hi there blogger friends! And, by that I mean the only people who actually read my blog – my mom, grandma, aunt, and a few friends out there! HA! I’ve been on quite the hiatus these days. As many of you know, we have spent the last 6 weeks packing up our house and moving to the great state of Alabama. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and literally haven’t stopped unpacking since. And, we aren’t done yet – not in the slightest! Needless to say, blogging took a seat on the back burner. I desperately longed to blog, post pictures, journal my thoughts, etc. But it just seemed that time never lent me the opportunity to do that. And even as I sit here now in our new “Alabama Home” as Cori calls it, there are many things to be done, but I wanted to take a few minutes to check in and blog about my thoughts on moving. I’m going to just be real with you and say that my thoughts on moving aren’t all roses and daisies, but I think (hope) that’s completely normal.

Moving with children is a difficult task to say the least. Since we also changed time zones, their schedule has been off and they are starving for lunch at 10:30 am everyday. Dave headed back into work today for orientation and I think I unpacked one box, which unfortunately didn’t even get put away. The girls have been taking turns napping and when they are up, they long to play with their mommy. It’s tough as I want to play with them, but I want to get things done too. If you know me at all, you know disorganization is number 1 on my pet peeve list. I can’t even find my dish towels and it’s making me crazy! I know everything will come into place and eventually this house of ours will become a home – it just takes time – and the slow process is the hardest thing.

I’ve also been a bit emotional these days. I wasn’t too sad leading up to the move. I only cried once at our going away party, but since getting here, I think I’ve cried more days than not. It’s over little things like loosing my hair brush or not knowing where to find a dish scrubber brush in our local Target. But, there are bigger things too like being away from everyone I know (other than my amazing husband and kids) and the whole getting adjusted thing.

We did go to church yesterday and that was so wonderful. I LOVE our new church and am so thankful God lead us there. We are attending Church of the Highlands and there is a huge network of people there. Service this weekend was on being the message of Christ with our everyday actions. It was extremely relevant to me as this whole transition with moving has been tough. It reminded me to make the most of every opportunity to be the message to someone, even if my day is a littler harder than others. I can be the message to my kids as I unpack all day. I can be the message to my husband when he comes home from work. I can be the message to someone I meet in a store or talk to on the phone. I just need to be focused on the Lord and not letting Satan get the best of me just because I moved states.

I’m sure when I look back on this post in a few months, I will laugh. I know I’ll get unpacked and settled. I know I’ll make new friends. I know I’ll find a mom’s group, small group, etc. I know God has a divine plan for our family here. I know I’ll end up loving it here. I know Premier will flourish. I know all of these things because I believe and trust in the Lord with all my heart.

 

As we get settled and I get more time on the computer, I have so many things to blog about … our last trip to Disney as Florida Residents, Finley graduating swim lessons, our going away party thrown by our dear Gainesville friends, our trip to the beach, our new home, Finley turning ONE, Cori turning two and a half, and a few others surprises too. If our family happens to come across your mind in the weeks to come, I just ask that you’d pray for us as we make the transition from living 11 years in Gainesville to a new life in Birmingham.

Whatever is true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy – think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Much love to you .. until next time.