Black Friday

This morning we left the house at 7 to start our shopping adventure. We went to Kohls and Target first. The line at Kohls was wrapped half way around the inside of the store so Mrs. Carol stood in line while Liz and I went to do our shopping at Target. Then we drove to another shopping center and proceeded from one store to another. We walked so much today not only in stores but from store to store, through parking lots, through the mall and across intersections. It was a ton of laughs! Above is Mrs. Carol and Liz coming down some of the rough terrain we experienced. Haha! Mrs. Carol just started running down it and Liz sat down and slid down it. Too bad you can't see the grass stains she got from slidding.
At Michaels Liz got a plain wreath and some decorations for it. This is what it turned into. Nice job Lou!!This is my exciting buy for the day. Ten bucks at Target, it is a 2-in-1 vacuum and it is purple. Don't be mad mom I really needed it for my rug and it couldn't wait for Christmas. After shopping Lou and Mrs. Carol put up Christmas lights while Handi mowed and then got out the leaf blower to get rid of not only the grass clipping on the driveway but also the couple leaves that were still in the yard. :) Hehe He makes me laugh! Guess that is why he often refers to me as giggles.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Chattanooga was great! We got up watched the parade and then kept Mrs. Carol company in the kitchen while she finished getting everything ready. We had mashed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, biscuits, broccoli, cranberries, stuffing and some veggies. I definietly missed my family insanity but the Huster House was the without a doubt the next best thing.
After lunch we made Christmas cookies. Mrs. Carol and Liz decided to try and make their own "stain glass" cookies with Jam. It was quite entertaining and they actually turned out pretty good. Then we just sat around and watched some t.v.

The List

Here is The List of all the events we already have planned for the weekend. In no particular order...

1. Make Christmas cards

2. Watch the parade

3. Shopping

4. Cut down a Christmas tree

5. Get boxes out of attic

6. Decorate the house for Christmas

7. Go see a couple movies

8. Make cookies

9. Make Bobby's Christmas gift from Lou

10. Make Handi play the Wii

The fun already began today with racking leaves and dinner!!!

ATL

Yesterday was quite the adventure. I woke up drove straight to Ryne's play, had Thanksgiving lunch there, then went out to drop off some flyers for camp. It was definitely a learning experience and walking away from it I have some new ideas to consider. Then this morning I got up spent some time with Ryne and then headed back to Robbinsville. It is so great to be out of Atlanta. If my nephie wasn't there I don't think I would ever go there. Oh wait crap I have to go back on Dec. 6th but it is for the GATORS so that will make it ok. Yep SEC Championship game here I come. Oh and Trey (my soon to be nephie) if you could plan to grace us with your presence before then that would be wonderful!! ha ha :)

Tomorrow it is off to Chattanooga for Thanksgiving with Liz, her mom and Handi. This WILL be entertaining!!

C-Diff

Clostridium Difficile! Well we finally have a name that could explain why my mom has been sick on and off and why she has such pains from time to time. Yesterday my mom was suppose to leave Ft. Myers spend the night with me and then today be on her way to Kentucky to help Mrs. Michelle with a craft night. However what ended up happening was my mom got test results back from the doctor right as she was about to pull out of the driveway. The informed her that she did have a bacteria (c-diff) and that she needed to start some meds to see if they could get rid of it. I'm so glad she has an answer for what has been going on, and I am so glad that as of right now it isn't life threatening . However I part of me is so sad. 

1. Because I would have loved to have seen her and gone to Atlanta with her on Monday for Rynes play

2. Because it ruined her trip

3. Because I am not there in Ft. Myers and I'm already having a tough time being so removed

4. Because honestly even though we now have an answer it doesn't mean we have a solution. Meds aren't a guarantee and if untreated it will get worse.  

I know God doesn't give us anymore then we can handle but man right now I feel like I'm on the brink of a breakdown!! God has blessed me with some amazing people up here though to help me make it through. Also a trip to Charlotte might be in the works for tomorrow and that would be simply AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!! 

Videos + Promo Trips

Today I am in the office going through all the video we have from camp trying to figure out what we have and what we need to put together a camp video. Yeah I have no experience in this department but we shall see what happens. Besides it is great to look back over all the happenings. There is a video from the first summer and it is all out on the trails. Ahh GORGEOUS!! Wish it wasn't freezing I would be hiking right now!! haha!! Also I am planning out some of my promo routes. Looks like Monday I will be in Atlanta for Ryne's Thanksgiving play and then going out and about there to different churches! Thanks to Allison for getting me some names and numbers. Then after Thanksgiving I will go out with Marty or Shaun and go to Franklin and then Knoxville!! 

Thanksgiving Play

This morning I came into the office to work on promo planning all day. However when I got in we found out that Selah had a play today that would start at 12. It was a nice break in the day and very entertaining. They read stories and poems about Fall and Thanksgiving and then sang a song that was funny. I also was able to see Kinsley and Lydia as we walked through the halls of the school. And next to the play my other favorite part of the day was seeing a pencil and gel pen dispenser in the elementary school hallway!! I didn't even know such a thing existed. Sorry I didn't get a pic of it maybe on my next adventure to the school!!

The house

There she is my new home! I have been moving in/shopping/settling for the past 3 days and I am soo glad that it is almost all done. It has been a lot for me to handle. I don't do so well with transitions so yesterday afternoon I just broke down and stopped. It kind of just hit me then that this was it, no turning back. I don't think I made the wrong decision and I am still so excited to help out camp and love on all the people here. My mom left yesterday shortly after my break down so I decided to just go hang out with Dana and the kids. It was so nice to just get to sit there with her and be upset. It's nice when you can just be and don't have to explain everything. Also when Luke woke up from nap he came and laid on me for a good 15 mins, just snuggling. I needed it. Later David and Dana came out to the house and helped me get everything put away and David built my bookshelf. Dana offered to stay the night with me so I took her up on it. We just sat and chatted the night away.

Today I am in the office and it feels good to be back in here!!

Robbinsville

After waking up at 5:45, finishing packing, loading the car, hugging my brother, and an 11 hour drive I am in Robbinsville! Now tonight I am staying at David and Dana's, then in the morning my mom will get here and hopefully we will get everything situated at the house! Ahh, it is crazy to think that I am here. I'm still a little nervous but on the other hand I am so excited to see what God has in store and to be honest I just have this peace. It is great to be here. I had dinner tonight with David, Dana and the kids, and it was a blast. I do feel slightly bad though because when it came time for bed I think I had the kids all hyped up. I love the Thacker family and can't wait to spend some time with them. Oh and Marty, Patti, Shaun, Cassi, the girls and Tegan are over in Charlotte today and will be back tomorrow! Yeah I can't wait to just hug the girlies, we will be having some sleep overs very soon. Also I can't wait to catch up with the Crowes. Maybe I will post some pictures so you can have some faces to put with names. ha ha!! I'm pretty sure God has already blessed me with some amazing families to be a part of here. Stay tuned to see what this chapter has in store.

Packing

Ok a final decision has been made and I will be leaving for Robbinsville sometime on or before Monday. I am still so nervous and go back and forth wondering if I have absolutely lost my mind. However my heart has a peace that I can't explain and that is what I am holding onto. I am so excited to see what God has in store for this adventure. So this weekend will hold some packing, and just spending as much time as possible with the people here. Please pray that God would continue to give me strength and courage. Pray for the divine appointments God has in store, that I would see them and seize them. Thanks for reading!

Cage of Fear

I finished reading Wild Goose Chase today and have been thinking a lot about some of the points the book makes. First of all the Wild Goose Chase is all about pursuing God and all the ups and downs and twist and turns that come with the adventure of following the Wild Goose (God). The author discusses a couple different cages that keep us from the chase. There is the cage of guilt, the cage of assumption, the cage of fear and some others. Right now I am thinking about that cage of fear. I am so nervous about the decision to move to Robbinsville because I have some definite fears. If you know me I tend to not give myself credit and tend to feel unwanted and am not big on being by myself. With that I have some fears about living on my own and wondering if I will even be able to do anything to help camp and the people there or simply make a difference. I know that is a crazy thought but none the less it is a lie satan feeds me and often I believe it. I want to fight that. I don't want to put God in a box or not trust him. Now a final decision hasn't been made and I'm not packing my bags just yet, however I think that it will be soon, and I think I will go. I don't want the cage of fear to keep me from investing in something I love. Nor do I want my fear to keep me from the adventures God has for me. The next few days should be interesting! 

Missin NC

I just wanted to say that I have a bad case of missing NC and all the AMAZING people! I saw this little blonde girl yesterday and she was just running all around and from a far she looked like Lucy and at first I was like "oh Lucy and Ashley yeah!!" oh but then I was like yeah they don't live in FL. Then I was driving my car and there were two girls riding their bikes and I thought man I wish that could be Kinsley and Lydia or Abby and Paige. Yeah but again they don't live in FL either!! I miss you guys all SO MUCH!! I pray that I get to be back up there again SOON!!

*I am thankful for all the people in the fort too!! And when I go back to NC I will miss you guys!! It's a vicious cycle!! haha

A Full Saturday

Well I finally unpacked my bags yesterday! Yes I have been home for almost a week but I just dropped all my stuff in my room when I got home and left it where it was. Honestly I think I did it because I didn't want to settle in here, and I still don't want to settle in but I could barely move around in my room. Also I was able to do some reasoning in my head that I wasn't settling rather reorganizing. I mean if I'm going back to NC then I need to pack up some winter clothes and get rid of some of my summer attire. After that adventure and a load of laundry, Matty and I washed our cars. Bethany, Jordan and Joel stopped by and Bethany also washed her car. It was quit the event! ha ha! 

Then after such a productive morning I got ready and headed to Shannon and Justin's wedding. It was very nice and the reception was pretty. Shannon was beautiful and I wish the best for them. Wow another friend married! How did I get this old!?!