Happy Birthday Beautiful One

This child of mine, I've seen grow into such a beautiful young lady. My words cannot express how proud I am of her and how there will be a huge hole in this mama's heart the day she packs up her car and moves on to pursue life on her own. She is my treasure. I've poured all of my mothering into this one so my reward with her has been great.

This little love of mine is not only beautiful on the outside but as gloriously splendid on the inside.

She indeed is my treasure.

She is full of compassion and grace. She holds her tongue when she should and speaks her mind when it's time. She cares when others are hurting and always goes the extra mile, even when no one expects it. She is a natural born leader and she does that with love and grace that few have mastered at her age.

I love that she reaches out to those younger than her, mentoring with an understanding heart and sharing the love of Jesus.

She does love deeply. She speaks softly. She is fair and forgiving.

And she gets all her good looks from her mama. It's so lovely to look at her and see myself. I thank God for a little mini me.

Happy 18th Birthday Princess!

Little by little

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Our first week here has been pretty busy and slightly crazy. Let me explain. 

We literally had company all weekend long. One of my "sons", Bubba & the mama to be brought out their baby princess to play with the little lumberjack on Friday night. As they were leaving, my right hand girl, Lady Wonder came bearing bags of groceries through the back door. I'm ever so thankful to her for that. She ended up staying the night. Meanwhile, the youngest princess had two friends over for the new farm experience. On Saturday, our old next door neighbor came out with her dogs. Our lab and Newfoundland had a great time running and chasing each other in the fields. We also got a visit from a new friend, a horse lady, who walked our stables and hayfields and helped us tremendously with information. 

On Sunday, the princesses friends went home and it was pretty quiet. 

I am thankful for visitors. We were able to get some target shooting in, our first home cooked meal and each night we've all fallen into bed several hours earlier than when we lived in the city. 

Each day, we've caught a glorious sunset along with debris blowing around the farm from the two day windstorm. 

We have literally been working from sun up till sun down every day trying to find a home for everything. Our office has been the biggest challenge so far. We've gone from four times the space as before, to a shared space with too much stuff. That process is still underway, with more purging on the horizon. 

My new horse friend brought this lovely picture. As soon as I put it up on the porch the windstorm started. I'm excited about decorating around it. I think it's absolutely perfect!

We are in!

It's been a long hard couple of days. We finally made it though. 

After closing on the old house Wednesday, we finally were able to close on the farm, Thursday. It took a few hours before we were given the go- ahead to actually move our stuff, even though we were legal owners. We will just leave the fact that the selling realtor was more than a real peach to work with. I'm thinking she needs a huge dose of Jesus. 

Anyway, we brought several loads down to the farm on Thursday night. Everyone pitched in cleaning. It ended up taking over eight hours to shampoo the carpets. Guess what? They left us fleas! I'm so freaking mad tonight. One jumped on baby lumberjack and hubs thankfully saw it. I've been vacuuming like crazy, and I pray this is just a small infestation. All in all, it's now in pretty good shape. 

We were blessed by the amount of help we got moving. Many hands made light work. The movers only had one fatality and that was a lamp globe. They were in and out quickly. I'd highly recommend them. 

Everyone is settling in here nicely. Just in time for a major two day windstorm. 

One thing I want to share real quick. Sunsets! Oh my goodness, they have been so glorious the past four nights. It's more like an event that you stop for. It only lasts a few minutes but it's so glorious to behold. I hope I never get so busy that I don't stop for the sunset. 

Finally time to move

Can you believe it? The time is finally here for us to go sign papers on the farm and empty out this house. A few weeks ago, I wasn't sure if it was going to happen. A week ago, I got cold feet and wished it wasn't happening. Nearly twenty years we have dreamed of this moment. It's surreal. I thought I would be more excited, anticipating this more. It's more being in autopilot. 

We met the family that is buying this home yesterday. Their realtor did a walk through to check all of the items we agreed to replace or repair. It was strange not being able to speak to the wife, having to use a translator. Ultimately, I think she is really going to love living here. We have two other Hispanic families that live on our block. Hopefully they can each help one another acclimate to their new lives. 

I saw this picture today and it's a great reminder about this situation. Maybe someday I'll be willing to share how we hit wall after wall because people have very little integrity. As a business owner, I've learned another great lesson. I'm not going to speak poorly of anyone, I don't have to. God is my champion and I've seen his faithfulness to us all of these years. 

This little house is about to be turned upside down. I'm off to get the youngest to co-op for the day, grab the sitter, and start a new chapter in life. 

If it's not packed, it's going to the trash. 

Freaking out- just slightly

I'm roughly 45 minutes away from selling my little home. My stomach is turning and I feel like I'm going to be sick. Maybe it's the coffee? The lumberjack on the other hand just asked me if I wanted an egg sandwich. Obviously, he's not experiencing this case of nerves. 

For about 24 hours, I will not own a house. 

If you see a Honda pulled over on the side of the interstate, don't worry. That's just me emptying the contents of my stomach. 

Home is...

Tomorrow is the first of two big days. We head to the title company tomorrow afternoon. This is where we sign the papers that relinquish the ownership of our little home. This is more than my home, it's been the place in which I burnt meal after meal as a young bride, chased toddlers through the halls, bribed young sons to come down out of the tree tops, hosted an abundance of birthday parties, Christmaa Eve open houses, graduation parties. I have spent all of my adult life here in this little house, rocking babies and learning to love the lumberjack. One of the hardest things I think I will have done to date is say goodbye to the home that has been my refuge for so many years, through so many storms. If these walls could talk...

Two grown sons, two teen daughters and a plethora of adopted sons and daughters have called this place "Home". It's been their home base, the place that never changes, their sanctuary. As a mom I wonder how they are going to adapt to this change. 

I anticipate some very real emotions over the next days. Saying good-bye to the older lady behind us, who's always been "Grandma Dee" from the day we moved in. Saying so long to our friendly biology teacher, who in his spare time, helped my own kids learn amazing things. I'm even going to be a little wet eyed over saying goodbye to the young military couple that lives next door. In some ways, I worry about how each of them will get along with the new owners. Will they all still look out for one another?

I'm going to miss this place. Miss my gardens, my flowers, my kitchen cupboards, and the boards that sqeak in the hallway. I'm going to miss the reminders of moments that have passed. Miss having friends drop in unannounced. 

Today, I'm sad for all that I'm leaving behind, but ready for all that lies ahead. 

Home is where mama is, and love grows, and children laugh. Home is where children smile and friends feel safe. 

Home is blooming where you're planted.