The Adventure Continues

Dear Blog,
I am so sorry I've neglected you for so long.
Most sincerely,
Me

There. Now that I've got that out of the way, I can move on to say that much has happened during my 2 month blogging sabbatical. We've received visits from both sides of the family, made two trips down south for both work and fun, have been steadily getting beautiful eggs from the girls, planted a 2nd garden, and gratefully welcomed the fall season. Good riddance to the brutally hot summer of 2011!

The girl is 6 months old today. Where has the time gone?! She has continued to blow us away with her developments, and perhaps being our only child, we're a bit enamored with anything she does. Just a week before her 4th month, she decided that laying on the floor wasn't getting her anywhere fast and started her attempts at crawling. Each week since that time has increased her speed and adventurousness. She is now regularly yammering "Mama", and "Dada" amongst other syllables though we're not quite sure she's associated her "words" with the people they belong to. As of these past 2 weeks, she's added sitting up on her own, pulling up and trying to stand to her list of achievements. We love her smiles and very slobbery kisses. She is such a happy and delightful girl to have around! Oh how our lives have so drastically changed in these 6 short months!

Two weeks ago we got some "big news" that has turned our world upside down. An opportunity came up for Andrew w/in his company that will be sending us up north for a while. We're very excited and spent a good portion of last week searching for a new home. It was nice to get a feel for the area we will be calling "home", and hope that the place we fell in love with will pan out as our new respective domicile. **prayers are greatly appreciated**

Being the planning nerd I am, I printed out some graph paper and made a diagram of the house. I also made little graph paper cuts-outs of our furniture, and have been playing with arrangements. Andrew laughed watching me measuring over him to acquire the area of the couch. Despite his teasing, I know he will appreciate not having to move the furniture several times, since I think I know where things will go. ;)

Thoughts of moving have brought along an array of emotions. We're thankful for a new adventure, and excited to see what the Lord has for us up there. However, we're also really sad to be leaving. There are so many wonderful memories of our time here. The wonderful friends that welcomed us with open arms when we first arrived have become like family. The quirky 1950's house with no dishwasher, or pantry, and measly insulation is our first home together. This is the place I learned to get my feet under me as a new wife, homemaker, AND expectant Mommy. It's the place we planted our first garden, jumped into the world of chicken farming, and made the enormous decision to welcome our daughter into the world in our living room! For all of it's quirks, we will miss this place and look back on it with many fond memories.

Even after a few weeks of living in this country town, I gave Andrew a head's up that whenever we would have to move again, he should be prepared for me to bawl my eyes out. I know that we will make new memories where ever we go, but I believe it's perfectly right to mourn a bit, but also to treasure this time in our lives. This will be upwards of a twelfth move in my lifetime, so maybe I should be used to it by now. An encouraging thing a dear friend reminded me on the subject of moving is that "Where ever you go, God's people will be there."

So, for whomever God has for us up there, we look forward to meeting them. For what friends we're saying goodbye to, we will miss them more than words can say. Their friendship has been an incredible blessing, and one we hope to maintain, even from a distance. Things may not be the same as they used to be, but as children of the Lord, we share a bond that cannot be broken, and will eventually all end up "moving" into the same "house" in the end.

I'm going to date myself and my music tastes by referencing the Steven Curtis Chapman song "Great Adventure", but bear with me. ;) I love the line that says: "Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze, through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace, let's follow our Leader into the glorious unknown, this is a life like no other...this is the great adventure." There is a great amount of glorious unknown ahead of us, but as the Lord leads, we are in the exact place He wants us. It's a privilege to follow Him, and to follow my husband into the wild blue yonder. Come wind, come tornado, come earthquake...the Bornes are on a great adventure!