Wow!!!

Wow!

With the best of intentions, I began a blog.  Then.We.Moved!

To briefly recap, the move went well.  With some “educational” hiccups along the way!

 Walkin’ in Memphis- ya know like the 80’s country song??  Not nearly so fun in reality!

The moving truck’s water pump went out.  Thankfully, we were able to pull into an industrial complex where there was a large lawn and we weren’t in danger as we waited 4+ hours to get a plan into place!

After our delay, we got back on the road and were able to pull into Atlanta midday on Friday.  Since our beds and household items were in the moving truck (which was at the repair shop in Memphis) we stayed with family for our first several days here.  On Tuesday at 10pm our truck arrived with all of our stuff, and with help from Generations church, we were moved in by midday Wednesday!

The conspicuously ‘extra’ member of the move-in crew is LeRoy the Choirboy.  He welcomed us to our new home on Tuesday night late, and had us wondering what these city folks are up to by putting out Christmas lawn ornaments in July…thankfully we learned that he was the Welcome-wagon representative from the church.  He pops up at the most unlikely places and has been known to frequent Chick-Fil-A.  We look forward to paying back someone by placing LeRoy in an unexpected spot!

We have finally begun moving our books into bookshelves which makes our house a home!  We are comfortable and happy to be settling in.  The neighborhood is very nice and neighbor kids have come to the door most days to ask Jesse to come out to play.  Jesse has enjoyed having boys to play with, and since this is the first neighborhood we’ve lived in, it is meeting all of his expectations- he’s still waiting for the ice cream truck to drive by!

Southern Hospitality is just like they say- neighbors have welcomed us with pineapple, (a sign of hospitality) gift cards to grocery stores, and home baked bread.  They have made us feel very welcome.

The weather is…WOW!  On our move-in day the temperature was record setting, with a heat index of 105!  We consider it an accomplishment that we all lived through it!  It cooled off the next few days and the weekend was actually pleasant!  It is soooo different, but we are acclimating well- Praise God, he has given us healthy bodies to adjust with, and we are enjoying the accompanying ‘GLOW’ that we never before understood!

Since our arrival, we’ve been able to go to an Ethiopian restaurant, which we loved!  We’ve been to a men’s league hockey game, which was nice and chilly! Went to a pizza buffet called Stevie B’s which left us reminiscing over the 80’s singer of the same name…Aaron even found a clip of a music video for Spring Love- It wasn’t pretty, but we rocked steady!  The International Farmers market is a grocery store that we went to yesterday- food items are organized by continent.  It has a meat department that sells EVERY part of the animal.   Again, I say, WOW!  We bought some Korean Sweet Potatoes, which were a big hit, and fresh made corn tortillas were excellent.  I was able to attend a Ladies Night Out with church ladies, and I navigated the big city driving successfully- Yahoo!  And the biggest blessing so far has to be…Wildlife in our yard!!  A mama duck and 6 ducklings cruised by last Wednesday, and a deer was in the backyard on Thursday- We were delighted!

Thank you so much for praying for us.  In the craziness of the move, family devotions and personal quiet times are difficult to get in- which obviously leaves us feeling ‘off’ and like something is missing- So prayer support is sooo appreciated!  We are thankfully back in the swing now and are getting back to feeling like ourselves more.   I will begin brewing up some recipes for natural mosquito repellants next week, and I’m very open to any tips or suggestions you may have. 3 of the 5 of us are yummy to mosquitoes, so we will need to ward them off daily, and I’d like to avoid the chemicals if at all possible!

We are happy, healthy and thankful to have arrived safely.  Whenever people ask where we moved from, they follow up with asking what the weather is like there- All I can think to say is that it is “Perfect!”  We sure miss the people, the ‘feel’ of being at home, and all of the beauty there- but we are already seeing opportunities to share and serve, we can see God’s divine appointments daily!   

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will do it. Psalms 37:4-5