My New Mantra............

Every New Beginning.......

My flight leaving ATL for MN....for the last time.

The city of Minneapolis

We closed today on our new house.....it is officially and legally ours!!

Comes from some other beginning's end........

The moving truck packing up the house in GA.

Last look at our house in GA after the movers cleared it out.

Leaving our neighborhood.

Trisha and I having breakfast. We taught together at Stripling. She was such a source of teaching expertise when I started our last beginning. And continues to be a great friend.

This was taken as I was leaving our church. Yes, we may be gone...but it will forever be, our church. This was the church that supported Wade and I through two kids. This was the church that our kids were dedicated in, went to school in, choir in, Praise in the Park in, AWANAs in....they felt so at home in this church. Oh, how we miss the people of NFBC.

Our friends, Teresa and "Lizabee". Maddie and I dearly miss them!

My partners in "crime". Becky and Barbara have been the best friends anyone could ever have. They have stood by me in good times and bad.....and are still standing by me. Meeting another friend that shares as much history as these ladies share with me.....is impossible. Becky said it best very few can say they have known my kids, literally, since birth. But the great thing about friendships like these...the stand that test of time and distance.

Leaving Atlanta on I-85 south......bye bye Atlanta We love and miss you!!

I hate to sound cliche, but this weekend was, "the best of times and the worst of times." I was blessed to be able to go back and say goodbye to "home".

Wade and I arrived in Atlanta, 7 years ago, a week after our wedding. I felt so lost the first few months. Slowly months turned into to years and somewhere along the way, it became home.

I never considered myself southern. Actually, I never thought about it. Until I moved here. Suddenly, being southern is very important to me. The language, accent, and manners define me outside of the comfort of southern states. In someway, this move has helped me define who I am, a strong Christian, sometimes klutzy, southern lady.

During the "goodbye" weekend, as I have started calling it, I rediscovered that home is where the heart is.....or in my case, husband and kids are. I went into my house in GA late on Wednesday night. Instead of being greeted with the calming familiarness that I have craved for months, I was met with the deafening quiet and stale smell of a house without the love of a family in it. It was a monumental moment for me. I stood in the doorway of the house and realized that it wasn't my home anymore. I was a stranger in the house that I had lived, worked, and played in for years.

Still, it was sad for me watch the movers box up all our belongings and load them on a huge truck. Though I knew we weren't moving back....I still hadn't come to terms with the fact that my beloved Georgia wasn't my home anymore. I am so glad that I didn't take the kids with me. I was emotional enough and I haven't had to sleep on the floor for months on end like Maddie. I think it would have been devastating for the kids to see their GA house, only to watch it be packed up.

Before I locked up our GA house on Friday, for the last time, I took on last tour. Memories of friends, laughter, and stories whispered like ghosts around me while the creaking wood floor echoed in the empty house. I am so blessed to have called GA home. I am so blessed to have the friendships and memories to carry with me.

Then, it hit me....my kids would never remember it. They are too young to remember the place they were born. So I decided to take one last drive and take pictures of the places that I felt were important to them.

First on the list, NBFC. Though, I didn't plan it, the sign outside the church said "Prayer Changes Everyone." And isn't that true. Prayer is not only a way to communicate our love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ, but it gives a sense of peace that nothing else can. No one can say they have truly prayed and not be changed.

Then, I drove by the school that I taught at before "my early retirement" as we like to say. Or in other words, before kids. I also drove around to parks and places that had meaning to our family.

I spent the rest of the time catching up with old friends. I didn't get a chance to see everyone....and if I didn't please don't hold it against me. Doesn't mean you weren't an important part of our lives and not important to us...just means I am only human with a limited amount of time.

So, dear Georgia...we say goodbye once more. Though we don't have an actual set time to come back for a visit...I am sure that we will not be able to stay away. Once more....till next time.