Our Last Post

From Atlanta, Georgia. Tomorrow we pack it up and head to Brandon, Mississippi, where we'll start our new life close to my family and closer to Jeff's. It is a moment we have been planning for for many months, but still doesn't seem quite real. Our house still looks the same - we're only taking what we need this trip. It almost feels like we're headed on an extended vacation, and not moving for good.

I have to share that any reservations or second thoughts I had about this move evaporated this week. Many of you know that we took a huge leap of faith with this move, going into it 4 months ago without a job for Jeff, or any certainty we would sell the house quickly. Amazingly, in the past 2 days, Jeff was presented with, and accepted, a great offer from Wachovia to work in Jackson and we also accepted an offer on the house. It almost seems to good to be true. I realize the house deal is still in the early stages, and could easily fall through, but I still had to speak to God's amazing faithfulness in all of this. For months we have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for everything to line up and confirm to us that we were making the right decision. I guess God wanted to make sure we were really serious about everything because He waited until we both quite our job to fill us in on the rest of the plan:) Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining at all, it just never ceases to amaze me how He works, and how I just need to stop worrying and get out of the way and let Him do His work. What a great God we serve!

I've mentioned before that the hardest part about leaving Atlanta is leaving our dear friends behind. Two weeks ago three of our closest couple friends threw us a beautiful farewell party. It was the perfect send off and a great way to celebrate 5 years in Atlanta. Here are a few pictures from the day. I didn't get shots of everyone, but these cover a lot of ground.

What a great sign - thanks Brian!

Boy I'll miss that smile!

Lots of laughs with these two...

Thank you Gina, Brian, Julie, Todd, Mike and Suzanna for a beautiful evening we will never forget!!

A little over a week later, my coworkers threw me a center wide farwell party (the one from a few weeks ago was just our department). It was also a great send-off.

My wonderful coworkers and friends...

The amazing Alana Shepherd of Shepherd Center

To top it all off, a bunch of my coworkers chipped in and bought me a very generous Ann Taylor Gift card to buy some new clothes for my new job. What a treat that will be!

This was also a special month because we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. For those of you who know our story, you know that it is by the grace of God that we are still together today. Although the past 2 years have been great, our first 3 were far from that. Looking back, I can see and appreciate why things happened the way that they did, even though it was hell at the time. But the important thing is we are still together and going strong today, and I feel very lucky to be married to such an amazing man. He even planned a special night for our anniversary up at Glenn Ella Springs - a quaint little bed and breakfast 2 hours north of Atlanta down this dusty old dirt road (literally). It was a beautiful evening. '

Goofing around in the room - there are no tvs up there.

The view from the balcony outside our room.

The restaurant/inn

To top it all off, we wrapped up the trip with a 2 hour horseback ride through the north georgia mountains. I love horseback riding, and I love my husband even more for putting up with it to just for me. We did get a little scare though. On the way down one of the steeper inclines, Jeff realized his saddle wasn't cinched down when is slipped up over his horses' neck. She (the horse) danced around a bit, something I would have done to with 250 pounds hanging around my neck. Fortunately, Jeff was able to get his feet out of the stirrups and roll to the ground relatively quickly. He was a little sore after that, but thankfully not hurt, and like a good cowboy got right back on (after the saddle was tightened) and kept going. Way to go, cowboy!

This past weekend my friend Julie and I hit Whitewater - something I've been wanting to do for years. We had a great time, although I believe they've added one more ride since the last time I went, back in 1996. Here's our one picture from the day. It was a little chilly and windy, but the crowds were small so we weren't complaining.

In summay, it's been a wonderful and memorable 2 weeks. We will miss everyone dearly, but will hopefully be back mid September with the Uhaul, and see some of you again then. I will most likely have sporradic posts between now and the time we get a house in MS, as my parents don't have internet (I know, I know..). But I'll try to keep you all updated on what's going on, I just may not have many pictures.

Much love to all!