3/26/15. 3:13am

I'm sitting in a dark living room, in the only chair left in the house on the Lane. Tomorrow, by about 1pm, this house will be empty. All our belongings will be in the rental.

Today was a fantastic day. I'm a planner and fairly good packer: boxes were taped and labeled. Furniture was tagged for storage or in-house. The movers (two guys around 50) were awesome, and had 90% of our belongings packed, moved, and unpacked by 3pm. Efficiency is super impressive to me. Tonight Richard and I took a few more odds and ends over and we will pack up the rest in the morning. I've been toying with just torching the ever-growing garage sale pile...but I'll move it in the morning and get it gone in a few weeks.

Officially: Closing was at 4:00 today. We have a check. The house is sold.

I've raised my kids in this house, hosted every kind of get together here, planted flowers in the flower boxes for 18 years, but I won't miss it. It's memories are part of who we are, but we are not this house. I honestly can say I am looking forward to the future.

As unsettling as it is not knowing when we're going to Russellville, or where we're going to live...I'm more sure than ever that we are supposed to go. I don't know what God has for us, but He is showing us everyday that He has this under control. And for a someone who is a planner, I'm learning to trust in His work on my behalf.

I'm looking forward to Easter! And HOPE for the future!

Happy Birthday Honey!

I love this man. He's THE ONE for me and works hard to be a leader and provider with our kids. It's not easy being the man of this house...so thankful God gave me someone not afraid of a challenge. 

Leaving the Lane

We moved onto the lane almost exactly 18 years ago. Ryan was 3, Lauren was 1, and Erin was born 2 weeks after we moved in. Sheridan was born 6 years later, and We brought Jordan and Cameron here in 2013. So...lots of memories have been made here. I've been thinking about the best memories....here's things I'll be happy to remember:

Birthday parties...Ryan's train party, Lauren's flower pot party. Erin's craft party. Sheridan's polka dot party.

Ryan and Lauren's graduation gatherings.

Fat Bat games in the front yard. Bocce ball all over the neighborhood.

Baseball and soccer team post season parties.

Having the kids' friends coming in and out every season: Trey, Luke, Alex, Lexi, & Arie.

Parenting Classes, Life Groups and Sunday School fellowships.

Playing games of Nertz on the living room floor with a house full of teenagers.

Driving onto the lane in the fall.

Eating outside on our back deck.

Working in the yard together, hoping Richard doesn't burn down the back fence when he burns the pile of brush.

The kids climbing on the house putting up lights for me. The Christmas tree, hot chocolate and presents in the living room. Stockings hung on the mantle.

Gotcha Day party.

RE-FOCUSING

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3

Had a wonderful weekend, was able to focus on the job God had for me. It was my first time to be a speaker at a women's conference. I was nervous when I saw the stage, I hadn't prepared for that, but God totally intervened on our behalf and I had the best time. 

Sheridan told me before I left, "Be nice and everyone will like you." That was good advice. 

I loved meeting the ladies there, talking to the older and younger ladies, and communicating about contentment 3 times during the weekend. I'm thankful it's over, but absolutely open to doing it again! 

SOCCER HAS BEGUN!

It's soccer season! I missed the first 3 games because I was at my event. They were all in freezing, heavy rain. I stopped by NWA on the way home from Tulsa last weekend and got to see Erin in action against Shiloh. This was one of our better games against their great team, so it was a great day to be able to go. Can't wait to see her senior season! Go Panthers! 

Furry Farewell

Thanks to my friends on Facebook, we found the BEST home for Rolle! Rolle is almost 9 years old and so precious and her new owners were looking to replace some labs they lost. They live on a ranch, with many acres, horses and a pond! Rolle will be in doggy heaven!

Oddly enough, Cameron's fluency passage from the week is as follows:

Rolle followed Cameron around every single time she was out. Cameron loved to try to run faster than her, and tried to ride her multiple times! She was a good dog...but we didn't play with her nearly enough. I couldn't be more thankful to have her somewhere she'll be loved and taken care of! 

THANKFUL.

I have very few words to describe our 14th event in Russellville. The overriding thought I have is THANKFULNESS. We had challenging location and challenging weather, and with those two big things...we had one of our best events ever. We were super organized, and decorated a lot compared to our normal efforts. We planned every detail that we could before we moved in to make the logistics of starting in 3 buildings work.

I'm thankful Richard got us lights to help light up a dark building.
I'm thankful my leaders worked in COLD temps on PreSale night for 8 hours and laughed through it all.
I'm thankful some special ladies helped decorate the fair buildings.
I'm thankful Lauren and her roommate were able to help several days and pull us through short shifts.
I'm thankful Richard could keep the kids during the week, and Mimi could come and help us when he was gone.