The Goodbyes and The Arrival

Wow! I do not even know where to start. Since my last post so much has happened. We are officially wanderers. April 4th, we moved out of our house and renters moved in! If you have known us for very long you know that when we under take major projects, there is always something unexpected that arises. We bought a new to us, larger camper 4 days before we moved. Long story condensed: we had things in our storage container, our old camper, the new camper, our vehicles, and at Granny's (Johnny's mom). I learned some things during the process of moving,  and I intend on writing a few posts in the future entitled, "What I learned about..."

Since we have become settled in our new home, we have really fallen in love with tiny living (so far). As a matter of fact, Johnny and I had a conversation the other day about how we really wish we had chosen to live like this sooner! We are more organized AND it cuts out the fluff! My closet only has the stuff I wear, and my bathroom drawers...wow! Can you believe that we even have several open storage spaces and cabinets? It is unbelievable. We parked and lived in Granny's backyard until this last Thursday, April 26th. We started our journey and arrived and parked at our home for the next 6 months!

Everyone's favorite question to ask: Are you excited? YES!! However, amidst all the excitement, we have had lots of opportunities to be so filled with gratitude for what God has done in our lives the last few years. We have had the opportunity to see friends we haven't seen in a while, spend more time with our some of our family, and process feelings of sadness as you realize there will be distance within those relationships. I have lots of pictures, but my favorite from the bunch is this one:

Our church hosted a surprise service in Johnny's honor the Sunday after Easter. When I walked up to the back of the church and saw faces of people, I just rudely ignored them all and ran to hide inside while I weeped uncontrollably for a few minutes. It wasn't sadness but a sincere, deep sense of gratitude and joy to have been such a small part of these people's lives. I thought a lot about each relationship and what I have gained from knowing them. Here are a few more pictures from that night. Bittersweet...

We visited a church this past Sunday.  It did feel a little strange. I'll probably write a lot about our experience here a good bit. Who knows where and how we will serve in "formal" ministry? What I do know, we will live our lives daily seeking to Love God and Love People. We will take every opportunity to share the Gospel that presents itself. In the meantime, we will be continuing to pray about where and how God wants us to plug in somewhere. 

In other news, we hugged our families for the last time for a spell. The boys found it very laughable when we got in the car as I just kind of let it all come out as we would be leaving a house! "Are you crying? Why are you crying? You have cried every time we have left a house." YES...but they are sweet tears, not sadness. I really identified with how our family must feel to know we will go longer without seeing each other.  Oh...and for those 3 1/2 weeks, we ate...and ate...ate...I guess they thought we needed to add a few pounds before we left. We ate stuff daily that are like occasional treats for us. At times, I felt like I could just roll around!

Also, I finished my work contract and the sweet ladies I worked with at the Juvenile Detention Center and at Lee County Schools both had eatings to celebrate as well! I have been blessed to have worked with all of these ladies! 

One of the hardest parts...

The bestest friend any person could have. She is fierce ya'll. Full of passion and life, she and her husband have brought so much joy to our family. That is what she is, family. I am thankful that circumstances kept us from seeing each other on the day we left. I am pretty sure it would not have been good! On a side note, I am fully prepared to use manipulation skills to lure her down here if she doesn't do it willingly!

And some homeschool moms and friends took the time to send us off as well. 

As for life here, today I started teaching a course as an adjunct for Southern New Hampshire University. Friday, Johnny starts raft guide training at Raft One. If you are planning on taking a trip whitewater rafting at the Ocoee this summer, let us know!

So, here we are...living a dream we have talked about and planned for years. How will it be? What all will happen? Will we be able to buy groceries 6 months from now? I have no clue! But what I do know, is that we will not live with the regret...the regret of at least not giving it a shot! 

Live a Meaningful Life!

***We are already having some adventures here! Stay tuned!