Moving is a physically hard and terribly emotional back breaking job that I really hope we don’t have to do again.  If we could have stayed in our Evans home, we would have been happy forever.  But change comes and it really doesn’t matter if we are ready for it or not.

Our oldest daughter Necole lives just ten minutes away and her children Luke, Matthew and Gracie spent so much time here with us in the pool and were here every Sunday for dinner.  Every birthday, holiday and Christmas.  Necole is also our Relator and has done a superb job looking after our needs in listing, selling, and now with the move.  From cleaning, to packing, throwing out junk we don’t need, to bringing up dinner, to encouragement, she has done more than any Relator I have ever known and we will be forever grateful to her.

Our youngest daughter Shanena and husband Shane with their three daughters Natalie, Heidi and Samantha live not five minutes from us.  They were all born while we lived here, learned how to swim in the pool, spent every Sunday here for dinner, and we were able to spend countless hours with them.  For eight years my husband drove the girls to school and picked them up every day.  I’ve seen the beautiful faces of those little girls run through my garage door a million times and felt their precious arms wrap around me.

Our middle daughter Dana and her daughter Noel lived here for eight years.  Giving us days, months and years of memories we will forever cherish.  My husband cooking Noel a heart shaped egg for breakfast every morning, watching cartoons and reading the Georgia Handbook to her over and over again, all these things have given us such joy.

Our son Brent would drive down from Atlanta with his great group of friends to shoot and swim out back.  I’d get to fix them lunch and dinner and so enjoyed watching them having so much fun outside.  He was here every Christmas…years of being together that we are so thankful for.

Every Christmas this house was packed with every member of the family and filled with an insane amount of gifts and love…all these memories make it very hard to leave.

As we approach the week before we move, the new owners asked that our trash can garden be taken out before we leave.  After just having back surgery I wasn’t any help at all getting this huge task accomplished.  Thankfully Necole and her fiancé Jon came to the rescue and cleared it completely out for them.  All of it leveled and Joh has the bruises all over his arms to prove it.  Although it was very sad to see all the work and beauty destroyed that we put into the amazing garden, I need to constantly remember that the the new owners need to make their own changes here as they should, just as we made to this house when we moved in and will do again in our new home.  I believe the Lord brought this sweet family to this place and I pray that they will have just as many wonderful memories if not more, than we did here…and believe me…we had many!

We are also thanking the Lord that Langdon, our new son in law, wanted all the cans and garden tools that we took out and is excited to use them in their new home.  Unfortunately all the dirt and plants were destroyed in order to get the heavy cans out, but Langdon has a wonderful ability to grow anything, so we are very excited to see what he will do.  I bet his tomatoes and herbs will put any I was able to harvest to shame.

As we downsize to our new home, we are able to look back on all the many blessings we were given while here.  My momma lived with us for eight happy, amazing years, along with our daughter and granddaughter.  It makes me smile when I think about the four generations that filled this house.  My only sister Denise lives only 15 minutes away.  We found Parkway Baptist Church, right down the road that we absolutely love.  Pastor Russell Davis and his wife Sheila were a true source of joy with sound teaching straight from the Word of God.

I was only 15 minutes away from Bible Study Fellowship at West Acres Church, and that was such a special time of learning and sharing each Wednesday.  When we first moved here, the above picture was of all four generations that attended together.  The very best memories were being so close to family, and it will be difficult now that we will have a three hour drive between us.  There is always a silver lining to every situation, sometimes you just have to look hard to find it.  I will be living alone with my husband for the first time since I was 21, and this is a gift I am looking forward to.

I haven’t been on my blog much at all since momma died, but once we get settled in our new home, hopefully that will change and I can get back to cooking and blogging.

Life holds so many changes, twists and turns but especially through the sad and difficult times of leaving, I’m determined to stay focused on the happy times to come and where this new journey will lead us.  I look to the One who has my life in His hands and my only goal is to glorify Him.