no turning back now.

well, there is no turning back now.  80% of our house is completely packed in boxes.  the big red boxes have been redelivered.  a team of guys are going extreme makover: yard edition on our yard at this very moment.  packing will be finished later this afternoon.  the loading of “The Mayflower” (as William calls it) will be today and Monday.  amelia’s last day of playschool was today.  the boys’ last day of school is monday.  we’re staying at will’s dad’s house monday night and hitting the road Tuesday morning.

our dear friends hoyt and sarah hosted a beautiful farewell party last night at their home.  sarah, jeannie and allison made some delicious treats and everyone signed a different page in this beautiful book.   it was such a bittersweet night after a really, really hard day.  fortunately i had already lost my “emotional marbles” bright and early in the day, so i was emotionally spent by the time the evening had rolled around.  it was wonderful to relax, laugh, have a couple of [not bud light] beers and be together.  we’re all looking forward to a giant playdate at the park tomorrow for our family friends.  william is most excited about playing baseball with his friends, so if you’re coming tomorrow, please bring your glove!!

the surrealness of it all is definitely gone.  reality has hit.  this is happening.  and it’s happening right now.  saying goodbye is waaaaay harder than i anticipated, but in a way i’m thankful it’s hard.  that just means we truly, genuinely have people we love and who love us right back.  we’re 100% confident God is taking us to Pittsburgh, but leaving is hard. allison and i beat the living snot out of a boxing bag yesterday after kettlebells.  i mean, that bag is huuurting today, probably almost as much as my knuckles hurt.  it felt so good beating that bag. (side note: the boxing gloves i had on completely matched my workout clothes and i looked like a cuter version of rocky. end side note.)  i laughed, cursed, and cried while i hit it, and i loved it so much i’m considering getting a bag for our basement.

i have the best friends a girl could ever ask for.  yall, they are THE best.  we all had the you-better-not-stop-talking-to-me-or-i’ll-track-you-down-and-go-kettlebell-on-your-butt talk.  and i love them.  that is all.

so as i sit here and watch the guys in the backyard make it look beautiful and the guy packing up our entire bedroom, i can’t help but feel confident that ” he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6)  i am trusting that God is doing something great in our family and in each of us and i’m excited.  allison reminded me yesterday that God didn’t create us to be comfortable.  it’s during the discomfort that we trust Him and seek Him.  He’s brought us this far, so there’s not a doubt in my mind that He’ll take care of us from here to Pittsburgh and beyond.

a good day.

this week has been hard.  really, really tough.  really, really sad.  we’ve officially started saying our real goodbyes and are tying up loose ends from morning until night.  it’s exhausting, physically and emotionally.

so indulge me and let me tell you about my wonderful day yesterday.

my friend gwen and i had planned on spending the morning together, as we have for the last few months.  we had planned on going for a really long run, but i just didn’t have it in me.  fortunately allison called 2 minutes before gwen and i met up and told me about a matilda jane trunk show.  i hadn’t ever been to one and i really wanted to check it out.

so gwen hopped in the car and we went to the trunk show.  fun, fun, adorable clothes.  i got amelia a cute dress and matching skirts for both of us:

oh so cute.  so then gwen and i tightened up our running shoes and headed out for a great run on a beautiful morning.

great conversation.  i love that girl.  a whole lot.

we finished up and got back to the van.  gwen needed water, so we headed down to the gas station on the corner.  as she’s got out of the car she pulled out a big ol’ bag of doritos.  oh how i love doritos.  and gwen loves them just as much.  she headed into the gas station to get water and returned with a bottle of water and 2-12 oz. cans of bud light.

oh yes she did.

and at 11am on a thursday morning, we found a corner of a park far, far away from any kiddies, pulled out my reusable grocery bags, sat down and ate doritos and drank beer.  and it was good.

so very good.

it was just what i needed and i suspect it was just what she needed too.

 

i picked amelia up from mother’s day out and met up with my sweet friend Mary Beth at Groucho’s and put a hurtin’ on an STP sandwich.  mb is awesome.  she is one of the most real, tell it like it is people i know and i love that about her.  and she loves jesus a whole, whole, lot.

 

in the afternoon i was able to take some sweet photos of allison’s kids mac and lawson.  one day i’ll actually have a minute to look at them, but that may not be for a few days or weeks.  i seriously cannot remember when my life has ever been this nonstop.

 

we capped off the day with a great dinner with some friends at pawley’s front porch.  and by the time i pulled the covers up, i was asleep.

 

we’ve got a great few days up ahead–william turns 8 this weekend!

Happiness is…

Rolling down a hill on a perfect warm February afternoon.

POLAR BEAR CLUB!

I have absolutely nothing to blame on this insanity.  Will loves a good Polar Bear Club.  That is it.

It’s been quite cold here (for SC anyway) over the last week.  We got 4″ of snow on Sunday night/Monday and the temps haven’t gotten out of the 30s yet.  (And the kids are now home for the third day in a row.)  Will texted his buddies, seeing if anyone wanted to jump in the pool.  Nothing.

Until last night @ 5:30, I was on the phone with one of my closest friends, Jeannie.  Her husband Kelly was up for it.

He really was.

So, I called Allison and Leighton and Uncle Chris.  At 7:00 it was on.  And it was no more than 30* outside, 40* water temp.

I don’t know what came over me,  but I suddenly had the urge, for the first time ever, to jump too.  And somehow I managed to talk Jeannie and Allison into doing it with me.  Uncle Chris was having none of it and agreed to be the videographer.  We went first because if we waited any longer, we knew we’d bail.

You can’t see much in the videos, which is probably a good thing.  But turn the sound up a little and you’ll be very entertained.  (We actually jump around the 1:45 mark, if you don’t want to listen to the pre-jump party.)

The guys were much more carefree, let’s just say that.

No one’s heart stopped.  No one sank to the bottom of the pool.  And  I’m happy to report I can check that off of my life list.

snow day!

so in case you haven’t heard, it snowed in columbia.  like really snowed.  i think columbians are starting to get bored of the white stuff b/c yet again, there were not that many people out and playing in it.

and they missed a good time.

we. were. ready. for. it.  we have stocked up on snow pants, thermals, and REAL SNOW BOOTS (for pittsburgh).  will’s best buddy, whom we have always called uncle chris, gave the kids a suh-weet toboggan for christmas.  he made it very clear that the gift did not come with our health insurance co-pay for any injuries acquired.  it’s similar to this one, but slightly awesomer.

we were enjoying a nice, leisurely morning and i asked the kids if they wanted to play in the snow?

nah, not right now, mom.

are you sure?

silence…

william and i made eye contact and we both screamed at the same time, “THE TOBOGGANNNNNN!!!!!!”

20 minutes later (we’re still getting used to this snow dressing thing), we were all outside.  the boys were dragging each other around the yard in the toboggan.  then they all piled in and that’s when the real fun began.

I was perfectly content going down the nice, gentle hill.  Not Will.  So we set off in search of the “big hill” in the neighborhood.  We brought along Maggie and I think she has a love/hate relationship with the snow.  There were lots of our friends and neighbors there and Will’s dad watched from his window.  He likes neither wet, nor cold.

This is my husband not killing himself.