After sorting through piles of stuff, unpacking the last box and hanging a few more pictures, I am finally sitting down at my computer. I have spent the last 2 days catching up on all of the kind facebook messages and emails from all of you readers and I cannot tell you how much your words, your prayers and your smiles have meant to me through this new transition in our lives...

Today marks the 13th day of being in our new city of Wilmington. So much has happened in the last 2 weeks that I can't even begin to write it all in one blog. But realizing yesterday that we have had so many people cheering for us in this process, I cannot let it go without filling you in on some of the highlights of our new journey.

Moving day could be a blog in itself... Wade and I were flabbergasted at the out pour of love shown on this day. Two weeks prior, I had friends coming over to help me pack up the house (this was a challenge since I had to do it by myself) so I cannot tell you how thankful I am for those ladies. Moving day consisted of many emotions, lots of cleaning and some very sweaty, hard working husbands!! We packed up our lives in a Budget Moving Truck, a van, a pick-up truck and a trailer and off to the beach we went... I have no idea where all of that stuff came from and where we had it stashed in our small bungalow. I was soon told that I was going to be nominated for the Hoarders Show on TLC :: Really?

I didn't think it was that bad...

The trip down... Wade and I were on Cloud 9. We were excited and talked the whole way about all of the amazing events that God had so perfectly orchestrated to make this day possible. However, in the minds of the cities and towns that we were passing through, there was thoughts of terror and fear. Raleigh and surrounding areas were experiencing many tornadoes and many families were losing their homes while we were traveling to our new one. I am thankful for HIS protective hand over our travels and my prayers are with those that experienced loss. We didn't even realize the devastation and the fact that we had merely passed through just minutes before the distruction took place until Monday morning when we had our TV connected.

Thankfulness and Empathy covered us that morning.

When we arrived at our new home I began to cry... We were trying to beat the storms so we were in a rush to start unloading. We slowly unlatched the backdoor to the moving truck (because we were afraid of what was going to fall out) and my friend Ashley pulled out the 1st thing :: A Doormat that said Welcome.

I found this very appropriate :)

Within just a few hours our mighty men had the truck unpacked and even though our garage looked like Sanford and Sons, us ladies had the house starting to look like a home. My friend Jill tackled the closets, while Ashley pretty much did the whole house (she LOVES this stuff) and I was just trying to take in every moment. The girls came over for a few hours and even though I am pretty sure they had no clue what was going on at the moment, they enjoyed running around in all of the extra space.

The next few days and evenings were filled with unpacking and even though we have accomplished a lot, we still have some things to do. It's coming along and we are trying to get settled, while still enjoying the reasons of why God has moved us here.

We celebrated His Resurrection with a Son Rise service on the beach. Remarkable. It was absolutely breath taking to see the sunrise over the coast, while watching my little girls turn ballerina circles in the sand with soft guitar music playing in the background. We then went to my in-laws house for lunch and did our family tradition of hiding Easter eggs. My father-in-law, Richard, loves this activity just as much as the kids and it never fails that we can never find that last egg.

We have had our 1st set of visitors already and are expecting some more lovely people to come later today. In which we will all be participating in our 1st Wilmington event... a 10K for Wrightsville Beach Farmers Market. I am super excited, but extremely nervous about the run. I plan to walk half.

..........................

So to sum it up... Our New Life in Wilmington... Here are the highlights.

:: I love the fact that I can watch GMA while cleaning up from breakfast.

:: Emma Jane has her very own BIG girl bed and has been sleeping through the night since day one!

:: The beach... LOVE IT! Enough said.

:: Our Garage. I can pull in out of the rain and unload groceries without being soaked!

:: We miss our family, but are very excited that we already have a weekend planned soon that they will be coming to visit!

:: Our purpose. Not sure of what it is, but we know that God has a plan for us in this new city. We are so excited about this part.

So THANK YOU. Thank you for experiencing this journey with us and for all of the generosity and out pour of love you have shown us. I would love to write each of you a Thank You card, but I am afraid you would not receive it until Christmas. I appreciate all of you and I pray the blessings you have given us will be returned 1,000 times to you and your families.

We love each of you.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Also, a fellow blogger friend wrote a heart-tugging piece on the devastation in her hometown in Alabama due to the massive storms and tornadoes. Please read here and join her in prayer for all of those affected. Each prayer makes a difference and matters. You can change this world with YOUR prayer!

I am sitting in a living room surrounded by boxes, while 2 little girls who are supposed to be napping are in their empty rooms giggling away.  My friend Ashley just left a few minutes ago in which we just finished packing the last box of stuff and set aside just the bare necessities needed for the next 2 days. 

Reality of this move has just set in.  I am filled with emotions.  My house no longer looks like my house with its bare walls, dusty floors and the overwhelming smell of cardboard.  This house which belonged to my great grandmother and grandfather, has so much sentimental value.  The memories that I have as a child running next door from Mamaw's house to get my apple from Great-Grandma and my quarter from Great-Grandpa.  The quilts that hung from the wall and the rich wooden french doors that I used to shut and pretend that I was in a room fit for a queen. 

Then, there are the more recent memories.  Unpacking all of our wedding stuff, bringing home both of our daughters from the hospital,  the endless renovations and yard work, the good moments and the not so good moments, like our first fight the day after our honeymoon.  Every dent, every aged spot or hole in the wall has a story. 

 Now it is time to pass this story along to someone else....  So with that said, my prayer is that the same blessings, the same happiness that we have experienced in this home will be passed along to the next buyer.  That she will feel the presence of God with her at all times and the she will cherish this wonderful house the same as many generations in the past... with love. 

It is time for the next chapter in our lives... but before we do, I wanted to share some photos of my favorite things about the house that has blessed us beyond words.

What an exciting weekend!!!

Saturday, I ran my 2nd 5K with Wade, Tori and her family and Krissy. The nerves were less this go round and the excitement was even more profound. I was so proud of Wade and Krissy because this was their first 5K. I could relate to the emotions they had when crossing the finish line for the 1st time and their sudden need for a banana and a water after it was over. Wade of course, finished well ahead of me, but soon joined me in the later part of the race to run with me to the finish line. I also had the privilege to run the last part with Krissy and see her heart feel with emotion and gratitude of what she had just accomplished! I was so proud of her!!! The coolest part... Krissy's husband was texting her the whole time during the race with Scripture, which she said seemed to come at just the right time... the HILLS!

It was a tough course.

Then there was lots of Mermaid celebration this weekend... The Little Mermaid that is! Emma Jane celebrated her 3rd birthday "Under the Sea" style. Although, her actual birthday isn't until April 12th, we wanted to celebrate with family and friends before the big move to Wilmington.

She had an absolute blast... Enchanting Music from Ariel herself, an Under the Sea masterpiece of a cake, a treasure hunt full of a girl's favorite things ("bling" and chocolate) and of course presents. She had so much fun playing with her friends and being the center of attention. She was blessed with all sorts of awesome gifts (some of which we are going to "re-open" tomorrow so that she can actually pay attention to what she got). Watching her go from a very shy girl, to a bright, fun energetic star was amazing. I know people always say this.. but it's really like she seemed to grow older overnight. She is 3 (in 1 week), wearing big girl panties, and talking up a storm!

Being a mother is the absolute best... especially of 2 darling little girls.

After about 4 hours of food, fun and friends... the celebration was over, the girls were napping and Wade was packed and ready to go back to the beach. I stood in the empty yard, took one look around at the empty swing set and began to sob. All of the emotion of the day, came pouring down on me at once and before I knew it Wade's arms were wrapped tightly around me. I had soon realized that we had just celebrated her last birthday at the house that we had 1st brought her home to. Not only did 3 years come fast, but our time in the only home that she has ever known was soon coming to an end. With all of the excitement of the party planning, I guess I had done a pretty good job ignoring the inevitable that we are moving. The next time she runs around in bubbles, prances with her umbrella and dances with her friends... she will be in a different yard, house, city.

The day was blessed. The day was glorious. The sun was shining and I couldn't have asked for a better day. I felt that this was God's present to our daughter. I am so thankful (a little emotional), but thankful. I know that this move is going to be harder than expected, but I am excited. Great things are in store.

More birthdays, more celebrations and more 5K's! :)

This was the beginning of the mermaid treasure hunt... they had a blast!