goodbye

After much prayer and discernment, Keith and I decided to begin a new chapter in life and ministry. Keith accepted a job at church in southwest Atlanta. But, of course we cannot begin a new chapter without first closing another. 


At the end of March, we told our church family in Hohenwald that we were moving. We spent April ministering alongside and soaking up time with dear friends who, over the past three and a half years, have become more like family. We are humbled and thankful for their loving and supportive response to our leaving. 


Then, for the next five weeks we were able to take time to rest up and recharge. We spent time looking for a house, vacationing at the beach, and visiting friends and family. We drove 5,000 miles and spent time in nine different states. It was a treat, indeed. 


This week, we’ve been back in Hohenwald finishing packing, preparing for and having a garage sale, and spending a bit more time with sweet friends. Tonight is our last night in Hohenwald, and after a busy and tiring week, we were able to eat and enjoy time with special friends: friends who have shown us what it means to love unconditionally; friends who have demonstrated patience again and again; friends who have sacrificed their time, energy, and giftedness to bless us; friends who have loved us like family; friends who welcomed our precious boy into this world and loved him like their own; and friends who have supported and encouraged us as we close this chapter and begin a new one. We will forever be thankful for our time in Hohenwald and for our precious church family. 


Not only are we saying goodbye to people, but we’re also saying goodbye to this town. I will miss the way in which its small size makes it easy for me to find my way around and quick to get from one place to another. I will miss seeing someone I know almost every time we go to the grocery store or out to eat. 


In addition to our town, we also are saying goodbye to our neighborhood. I will miss my almost daily walks pushing Carson in the stroller and stopping to chat with neighbors. I will miss the familiar greetings from the older folks and the children that we’ve gotten to know. I will miss neighborhood kids who come over to visit and play with my boy. I will miss hearing Chase holler, “Hey Carson!” when we go out to play. I will miss having good friends living right next door and the ease in which that allows us to share meals and conversations. I will miss the familiar and comfortable way Carson knows our sweet neighbors. 


Furthermore, we are saying goodbye to our house and the memories it holds. Memories of time with one another snuggled on the couch for a TV show, cooking a meal together, hosting out of town family, sharing meals and game nights with friends, and tucking my boy in bed in his sweet and cozy room. This is the house where we brought Carson home and began learning to be parents, where we spent time almost every day hanging out on our big front porch, and where Carson took his first steps. It is the only home my sweet Carson has ever known. He knows it is "you house!" Moving 14 hours from my family and the only home I’d ever known was scary, but somehow this house has always helped make me feel at home and like I belong, and for that I am and will always be thankful. 


I’m anticipating the next chapter, but for tonight, my last night in Hohenwald, I’m savoring the last few sentences in this chapter. Thank you, Hohenwald, for all that you mean to my family and me. We love you.

embrace the camera: march 1

Since I've been in a blogging mood, why not embrace the camera today?! It's been a while:) Carson and I are so thankful to have had such a mild winter. We've enjoyed lots of time playing outside together lately.

and here are our shadows!

Don't forget to get in front of the camera once in a while. Your kids we'll appreciate regular everyday pics of you someday:)

february it list

I've been meaning to steal Jenny's monthly "it list" idea for a while, but never get around to it. So, this month, I decided to go for it. I think it will be fun to look back on. In addition to the normal conversations, meals, church stuff, chores, listening to Slugs and Bugs and NeedtoBreathe, and playing, here's a bit of what we've each been into in February here at Clarksville.

Keith:

doing: walking on the treadmill while reading or watching basketball

getting free books from publishers and blogging about them

drinking lots of water (he went from drinking pretty much only diet dr. pepper to only water a couple of months ago and hasn't looked back!)

watching: Person of Interest and Covert Affairs

reading: Leadership and Self-Deception

snacking: mint chocolate chip ice cream

Mindy:

doing: bubble baths

organizing and decluttering

crafting

making new friends at the library's weekly story time

watching: Parenthood (ohmygoodness, i love that show so much and i'm sad it's already over for the season.)

Revenge (i love the suspense!)

*My sweet husband watches my favorite shows with me, but I end up browsing pinterest during his faves.

reading: Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider (motivated me to declutter!)

Room by Emma Donoghue (a seriously fabulous novel. five stars from me!)

i've been surprised how much i've enjoyed reading. the kindle app on my phone has been really nice.

new blog discoveries: emerging mummy, steady mom, and beautifully rooted

snacking: peanut butter m&ms and coke zero

Carson:

doing: talking (saying new words everyday!!)

exploring anything and everything he can get his hands on:)

saying everyone's names as he thinks about them throughout the day

praying before meals

finding the letter o everywhere

reading: Llama Llama, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and Take me Out the the Ballgame

singing/requesting we sing: "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "Thank you Lord"

snacking: yogurt and ice

my little artist

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to let Carson paint a birthday gift for his daddy. With this tutorial as inspiration, we made our own smaller version. I cut out sticky vinyl letters with the cricut and stuck them on the canvas. Then, I gave Carson a brush with blue paint and another with green paint. He loved it and would sign and say more when his brush got dry. It was lots of fun for both of us!

It was a great big mess, too! When your nose itches, you gotta scratch it, even if your hand is covered in paint, right?! After I got the everything cleaned up and the paint was dry, I peeled the letters off to reveal the message for Daddy. Carson was excited there was an o! O is his favorite letter and he loves to find them everywhere:)

I thought it turned out pretty cool. Carson was excited to give it to his sweet daddy, and Daddy loved it!

playroom decor

I've had some colorful crafty fun lately. Using this tutorial as my inspiration, the first is a rainbow-colored list of playroom rules. My canvas is 16x20 instead of 24x20, and I cut the paper instead of tearing it, but the idea is the same. I had a hard time deciding what to write, and I wish I would have thought to use the cricut instead of my handwriting (duh, why didn't I think of that?), but it was fun anyway!

I decided to paint the edges multi-colored too, so sponging a bit of white paint on the edges seemed to give it a more finished look.

Then, I did one of those fun crayon melts with the hair dyer that you've probably seen on pinterest. It was fun and a bit messy, too:)

More crafty fun to come. What have you been crafting?!

happy birthday keith!

We celebrated my sweet husband's 28th birthday this week. It's hard to believe we've celebrated TEN birthdays together!

Keith's 19th bday

On his 19th birthday, our love was new and exciting. We'd been dating for almost a year and though we weren't yet engaged, we both knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.

Keith's 28th b.day

Ten years later, on his 28th birthday, our love isn't as new or exciting, but I love him even more than I did then, because it's committed and normal and comfortable. Living life together has grown our love, and not just the big moments like marriage, graduation, new jobs, moving, and birth, but perhaps even more, the everyday comings and goings, conversations and simply being together. We know and understand each other more. We've laughed and cried together many more times since then. We've talked and listened and thought and questioned and prayed.

I am thankful for my sweet husband and for the ways that he loves Carson and me everyday. I'm thankful we had a day to celebrate him, and I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays together. I wonder what our family will look like in ten more years?!

happy heart day!

For Valentine's Day this year, Carson and I made heart-shaped sugar cookies. He had fun "helping" and especially liked to grab handfuls of dough and squeeze it:) But, he ended up having even more fun "washing dishes" and making a big mess!

The final product!

After a fun story time at the library Tuesday, Carson and I delivered cookies to some sweet friends and neighbors.

And a couple of pics with my sweetie with our new camera! The other one has been sickly since I dropped it on the porch a couple of months back.

Keith and Carson worked together to make me a sweet Valentine and got me peanut butter m&ms and hot chocolate and surprised me with it when I got home from class Tuesday night. It was perfect! My boys know me well:)

I hope you felt loved yesterday...and everyday<3