The Move

Hey Everyone! I realize that I have been totally M.I.A. just like I promised I wouldn't be...whoops. We have had so much going on in the past few months- I can hardly believe that I'm still functioning. I do not handle stress well, so when my husband told me that we were officially moving from Charlotte, NC to Brunswick, GA, I knew I needed to prepare myself so that I wouldn't get overwhelmed. I stopped blogging, closed down my Etsy shop, and focused on saying goodbye to friends and helping my family make a big transition.

We learned the hard way when we moved three years ago from West Africa back to the states, that we needed to prepare our kids as best we could for all of the upcoming changes. When we moved three years ago, it was a HUGE life-change for everyone. We went from living in a third world country, surrounded 24/7 by an awesome support system/community to a country where we could get anything we wanted at any time...and no community around us (at least for a little while). John and I had worked together in Africa, so Levi had spent his first two years of life surrounded by us and countless other people to pay him lots of attention. After moving to Charlotte, my husband had a normal 8 hour job and all of a sudden it was just Levi and me in a tiny apartment all day long. Ugh. Talk about an adjustment. He was used to roaming a huge campus at his leisure, spending six or more hours a day outside playing in the dirt to being cooped up in a very small, very sterile apartment. John and I get a big, fat "F" for not recognizing sooner that Levi was struggling big time with all of the changes. We spent way too much time buying new things for our new home, painting, etc. and not enough time just focusing on him. So needless to say, we this most recent move, we were a little more prepared.

It was hard to say goodbye. We literally moved to NC knowing one person (a friend from high school). I remember driving into Gastonia for the first time and just crying. What had we gotten ourselves into? This was not what I was picturing at all. I wanted a city...not some run-down Mill Town. But man, did I underestimate what God had planned for us there! Looking back, we can see God's hand ALL over our time there. He provided every single thing we needed, and then went further and gave us so much of what we wanted. We prayed for a great church. Boom. Exodus Church was by far the biggest blessing we experienced in NC.

We prayed for community. Boom. Not only did we experience true community through our friends at church, but God surrounded us with wonderful, caring neighbors who loved on us and did life with us every day.

We prayed for a little home to call our own, and even though we didn't get the first home that we had really wanted, we got one that was even better. The location (and as I mentioned, neighbors) were EXACTLY what we needed. I can't imagine missing out on them.

We prayed for a good preschool for the boys. Boom. Not only was it a wonderful, nurturing, Christ-centered school, it was close to our house and only cost $15 for both boys for a half-day! God also provided an amazing counseling center for me when I began struggling hard-core with anxiety after Elliot was born. It was exactly what I needed and I know that was a big part of us moving to NC. God healed me from some major junk over the past couple of years.

So yeah, to say that it was hard to leave is an understatement. I cried driving in to NC, and I cried even harder driving away. I would say that that's a pretty good sign that we lived life to the fullest while we were there. We dove in and trusted that God knew what He was doing, and that's exactly what we're going to do here in Georgia.