Preparing to Say Goodbye to Our House

Today was the last day in our house as a family... 
  

which is feeling more bitter than sweet right now.

Daniel took Jack out for a last ride on the four wheeler on this property. 

We have no idea when we will get to this kind of thing again. Based on the property's we have looked at, it's unlikely there will be ATV rides from our back door...

After a very cold ride, they took a hike into our woods.

When we bought this house, the 3 acres with woods was a big selling point. 

We didn't have kids yet, but we knew that once we grew our family, the woods would be an integral part of their youth. 

We have looked forward to Jack getting to build a tree house in those woods and now those dreams are going to stay dreams (at least at this home).

We really do love our house and are sad that this is period of our lives in coming to a close.

Bittersweet -- The Beginning of the End

With new beginnings, you sometimes have to experience endings as well. We are in the midst of some of these types of endings. Tuesday was my last local group workout. Wednesday night I went down to Huntsville to celebrate with many of our friends at a baby shower. I am so thankful that I was able to go, but I am also a little sad that this may be the last shower we attend with this group.

Yesterday, the Bellefonte engineers had a retirement party for two of their managers. It was also their last day to be onsite together at Bellefonte. Most of them will be at Watts Bar next week, but in different capacities and not necessarily working together.

Last night I went back to Huntsville for a girl's night. We meet periodically to visit and share the good and bad parts of our lives and to pray together. It is probably the last one that I will be able to attend since we will be going with Daniel (Lord willing) to stay wherever we can find temporary housing until our house sells. 

I have been so blessed by this group of girls. We really love our class at church and have been so blessed by meeting together in each others homes and grabbing lunch on Sundays after church. 

We have always found a place in life groups (in Cookeville, TN and also in Charlotte, NC) and have made some really good friends over the years, but this time we have felt the most connected in the shortest amount of time. We are hoping to still be around on Sundays until our house sells, but it is sad knowing we will be leaving such a good group of people. I can't say enough about them. If you ever move to Huntsville and want to become a part of a church family, we would say go to Mayfair CoC and find the Servants at Heart class. They make a big church feel small and welcoming.

Bittersweet -- The First Goodbye

Over the years I have learned the importance of surrounding yourself with groups of people that will fulfill different needs in your life. For me this includes being a part of a life group (or small group) at a church, participating in group exercise and having a couple of close girlfriends to confide in about life.

When we first moved to Hollywood, Alabama, I really only had one friend. She was the wife of one of Daniel's coworkers. We bonded through working out at the local rec center and we both took our first step towards running – I ran my first 5K with her and then we went on to train for a half marathon together. Sadly, she moved away just over a year ago. 

Working out was one of the few things that kept me sane when I first moved to Hollywood. It kept me from being lonely. It got me out of the house on a daily basis. And it helped me survive my first pregnancy – I even did a 60-minute kickboxing class the day I went into labor.

After Jack came along, I had a hard time getting back into the workout routine. Jack's naptimes and feedings seemed to always fall about the time my workouts would be, so I kind of dropped out of the group workout scene. This made me sad because I had trained with Desiree (of Inspired by Desire) and did Yoga with all of the retired ladies at the rec center for 1.5 years.

After 10 months of trying to jog when it wasn't too hot, I finally made it down to the Core Fitness studio in Scottsboro. Without daytime childcare, I really felt like I could only make it to evening classes when Daniel was available to hang out with Jack (they normally went to the park to walk or ride bikes). For the last 8 months, I have really enjoyed getting pushed to work hard by Betina. She really cares for her students and is not afraid to make you do tough things (which I appreciate). I would rather run two miles than do Zumba so I like it when she does things like make us do 50 burpees in class. I am not afraid to push myself.

One of the things I will be sad to leave (due to our impending move) is my weekly workouts. They are distraction from when life is crazy or for when I just need some time to myself. I know I will join a new gym wherever we move, but I have been really blessed by the women in Scottsboro, Alabama that I have been able to work out with over the last 3 years. Any time I have a "last experience" it always makes me a little sad. I can now check the "first goodbye" off of my list. Tonight was sad, but I have a feeling that when the time comes, the other goodbyes are going to be much harder.

Bittersweet cont.

Last night we attended a goodbye party hosted by our church life group. We are definitely sad to be leaving this group of wonderful people. It is amazing how you can move to a town and not know a soul and then attend a church and find community through a small group of complete strangers. Our weekly Sunday get togethers have been so encouraging and have seen us through many ups and downs.

We have so many fond memories with this group. We will always remember the ski trip to Snow Shoe where I skied for the first time. Attending Melissa and David's wedding in Charleston. The backpacking trip to Linville Gorge where so many trees were down that the trail was almost impossible to traverse {and then having to hike almost vertically out of the gorge on day two, in the rain}. The weird fact that EVERY TIME Tim asked us to go backpacking with him {after the Linville Gorge trip}, something terrible would happen that would prevent us from going (example 1: Daniel cutting his leg with a chainsaw; example 2: we had car trouble at the last minute and couldn't go; example 3: I had a blood clot and ended up in the hospital for a week).

We have truly enjoyed getting together on a weekly basis and laughing and eating good food and sharing our lives through our common beliefs. We are excited to be joining Chris and Courtney in Chattanooga, but we will miss all of you.

Bittersweet.

Today was my last day at work. It is always a little sad to leave a place that you know so well. Walking through the doors of 520 Elliot Street has had a certain measure of comfort to it that I will miss. The brick walls. The wooden floors. The leaky roof. I love all of it.

Things have changed a lot in the last two-and-a-half years... the creative department went from a team of ten to a team of three. There has been an ebb and flow that happens in every company {especially in a recession}. But through it all I have grown tremendously. The good and the bad have been a part of molding me into who I am today and I am thankful for that.

I have been able to take a magazine and make it my own. I have had the opportunity to be a part of a television show. And most importantly, I have made good friends and have found wonderful mentors who have encouraged to pursue my personal dreams and to value my professional worth.

Thank you all. I will miss you.

Around the office. 

Photos from enventys.com