Front of our Townhouse

This is the front of our townhouse. This is the only picture I've taken so far. I'll take more later. You can see Rodney out front and can actually see our Christmas tree in the window. :)

Our door is the one to the left in the picture, you can sort of see our neighbors door to the right. And, the bottom window to the left is our living room and the top window is mine and Rodney's bedroom. This at least gives you an idea on where we are. I'll post most pics later. :)

Playground

These are some pictures of Joshua on the playground right outside our front door!! He loves going out there to play. :)

The Big Move/November 18, 2007

Getting ready to leave South Carolina in the Big Penske Truck!! Joshua LOVED this truck! (Yes, we fixed his very crooked car seat before we left) We got a little tired from driving so Joshua took over. (JK)


One of many masterpieces by Joshua while traveling.Joshua found the biggest sucker he could at one of our many stops. (no, i'm not talking about Rodney - LOL)

Joshua enjoying some Jello during our trip.

The trip was so smooth. Joshua didn't give us a moments trouble, which is a miracle in itself. We decided we would just break our driving time up and not be in any hurry. We left Sunday and arrived in Fort Worth Tuesday morning at 9:15am. Joshua stayed pretty busy in the truck. We had everything from crayons, cars, puzzles, books and dvd's. So, he didn't have time to be bored. I am just still amazed at how well he did. Of course when we did get out of the restaints of the truck he released all his built up energy by jumping on hotel beds and running down hotel hallways.

Driving in Texas

Ok, so this isn't my official we've moved to Texas post but I had to share my first driving experience in Texas with everybody. I've been letting Rodney drive everywhere since I feel so out of sorts and have no clue where I am. But, I decided that I would give it a whirl tonight and see how I did in Texas traffic. And, believe me traffic is an understatement. There are so many people here. Well, back to the story. We were leaving Lowes and I knew I had to make a left hand turn to get back to the interstate but instead of looking at the OBVIOUS traffic sign that said, ONE WAY I decided to make it my personal one way street. THANK THE LORD there were no cars coming. I made the quickest Uturn of my life. Rodney was speechless and just held on dearly to his seatbelt, and then kept reminding me all the way home which way I needed to turn and NOT to turn.

Quick Update.. more to come

Yes, I know I'm such a slacker. LOL I'm so sorry I haven't updated my blog for so long. We are in Texas and I'm SO BUSY trying to get all these stinkin boxes unpacked. I'm hoping to be able to sit down tonight or tomorrow sometime and post some moving pictures and updates. But, until then I wanted to let everyone know we are still alive and kicking. :)

Reality Setting In

Today is my last day working at the Metro Association. This has been such a great job for me and I really hate having to leave. The people are great and I'm really going to miss the ministry I've been a part of here for the past 5 years.

Everything is starting to feel very final. I guess reality is beginning to set in. I dropped Joshua off at his preschool this morning and it was so sad. He has wonderful teachers there and we are going to miss them so much.

We have 2 more days left in Columbia, SC and oh my word.... we still have so much to do. I will more than likely be pulling an all nighter tonight. I haven't had to do that since college so this ought to be very interesting. :) Lots of people from sandy level will be coming over in the morning to help us load up the penske truck. And, speaking of the penske truck. Joshua is just head over heels in love with this NEW BIG TRUCK sitting in our driveway. We got home yesterday and it was sitting in the driveway. He looked at the truck, his little eyes and mouth wide open and then looked at me and said, "mom, WOW...i ride in that big truck?" I said, yes baby we are going to move to Texas in that big truck and he looked back at me and said, "mom, i ready move to texas" He is so ready to get in that BIG TRUCK. I think he'll probably be heartbroken when we have to turn in back in to penske. I'll take lots of pictures and post them when we get settled in Texas. :)

Keep praying for us. We have got a packed weekend ahead of us and I'm sure lots of emotions will begin creaping out. :( This is going to sound so weird... but it's me and what I'm feeling so I'll share it. I am so sad to leave our house. We have made so many memories in that house over the past 6 and a half years. This is the home we welcomed our precious Joshua home in. I used to just sit in his nursery and hold him and rock him, and I would sing to him, pray over him and just love on him in that room. This is just one memory of millions that we have made in this home. I know that God will give us many more memories in our new home, but I almost feel like I'm leaving part of me in this house. And, it sure does hurt. So, please remember us if you can through this weekend as we leave so many precious family members, friends, and good ol' South Carolina.

I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to post anything else before we leave.

So, I'LL SEE YA IN THE LONE STAR STATE OF TEXAS! (wow, it's so weird saying that) :) :) :)

Matthew 7:7-8

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

This is the verse I have been claiming since July 12. I have been asking, seeking and knocking (sometimes pounding) on Heaven's door. And, God has been so faithful to hear me and begin making clear the plans He has for my life. He has reminded me once again that ultimately it is Him who makes the plans for my life and I am simply to follow Him. He will never lead me astray. And, I am so thankful to Him for all He is doing in my life.

My Sweet Joshua

Good News!! Joshua has slept in his bed, all night long the past two nights. I think he was just ready for some "normallcy", and so was mommy and daddy. Monday night we all just ate our dinner and sat in front of the TV watching Joshua's new favorite movie "Cars". And, then we played "race" with Joshua, something Joshua made up. He has a WONDERFUL imaginiation. He went running through the house like he was a race car (making the vroom, vroom sounds) and ran into the living room and slid across the carpet (thank goodness he had pants on.. carpet burns.. yicky) and as he slid he was making the sound (uurrrcchhhhhhh, CRASH). Then he looked up at me and said, "Oh no mommy.. help me.. help me." Then, after all that of course he wanted mommy and daddy to be race cars too. :) It was quite a sight to see.

He is such a NUT! I love my little Joshua soooooo stinkin much. God has sure blessed us with a wonderful son and I know that the Lord has a very special calling upon Joshua's life. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses him.

Transition Time

We said goodbye to Sandy Level yesterday. It really doesn't feel real yet. We've been there for the past six and a half years and it just seems so weird knowing our time there has come to an end. I'm not sure when reality will set in, but when it does I hope I'm ready for it.

We also said goodbye to my granny yesterday. I won't get to see her again before we leave. That was sad too. She is my rock. My granny is everything to me and I can't imagine life without her. She has always been there for me and I can tell her absoltely anything and know that she genuinely cares for me.

I think Joshua may be starting to feel some of the transition. He has woken up the past two nights and came into our bedroom to sleep the rest of the night. I think the yard sale on Saturday really got his attention. We are just going to spend a "normal" night at home tonight (no packing, no nothing related to moving) and hopefully that will help him.

Well, I'm off to get somemore work done. I'll be in touch later!

1 Peter 5:7

"Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."

New Email Address

I had to change my email address since we're moving, so here is my new one:

cwlivelaughlove@aol.com

off to dream land...

We had a great yard sale today. Got rid of lots of stuff!! YEA!!! I'm totally exhausted now though so it's off to bed for me and it's only 8:30pm.... man, am I getting old or what? :)

Tomorrow is our last day at Sandy Level. It's going to be a tough morning so please say a special prayer for us. I am also going to see my granny tomorrow and it will be the last time I see her before we leave for Texas.

I'll write more tomorrow. I'm so tired I can hardly hold my eyes open.

9 days to go

Well, the count down has started. We have 9 days before we pull out of South Carolina! I can't believe it. The reality of everything is really starting to set in. We are having a moving sale tomorrow... so if any of you are in town you should come!! :) 7am-2pm

I can't even begin to say how excited I am about this new opportunity. Of course we are sad and hate saying goodbye to so many wonderful friends and family members. But the thing that excites me the most and I think I've said it before, is that my God.. my HUGE, AWESOME GOD is ordaining each and every step towards this move. I know that He is in it. Ever since I was 11 years old I knew that my life would always be totally sold out for Him and I've never thought twice about living any other way. I only want to be in the center of His Plan for my life. I've got chills all over me right now just thinking of how He is going to use me, Rodney and Joshua to show His love to others. I want to be a firm, real example to all those around me that I belong to Christ and that life without Him is meaningless! Living my life for Christ gives me so much purpose and meaning. I can't imagine not having Him at the center of everything I do.

I'm listening to the song, "The Stand" by Hillsong United and each word of it just describes my heart's desire. I want my "ARMS HIGH AND HEART ABANDONED to Christ alone. MY SOUL, LORD, TO YOU SURRENDERED. ALL I AM IS YOURS!"

YEA GOD!! You're Awesome!

Saying Goodbye

Saying Goodbye is definitely not one of my strong suits. Today, I had to say goodbye to my dad. I won't see him again before we leave for Texas. Even though I don't get to see him a lot now anyway, it's still hard leaving because at least I knew he was close by before. Now, I'll be in Texas and can't just drive over to see him. So, that was a tough and very emotional time.

And tonight, I'll be saying goodbye to my little doggie, Belle. A lady contacted us wanting to adopt her so we will meet her tonight around 6pm to leave Belle with her.

In midst of all these goodbyes that have to be said between now and next Saturday I have got to remind myself to keep relying on God to get me through this. I have never wanted anything more in my life except to be right smack in the middle of God's plan for my life. And, Texas is where He is leading.

Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God."

Texas Bound - November 16th

Well, I got a call from Southwestern Seminary and they have offered me a job. WOW>>> WOW>>> WOW

I never would have thought back in July, when we received the news that Rodney was being asked to resign as youth minister at sandy level that this is where I would be now. For so many months I was so devastated and just plain angry. But, God has opened so many new doors for us and if you ask me He's just starting to "SHOW OFF" a little. (LOL, just kidding) I'm so excited and through this whole thing I'm falling more and more in love with my Savior!! He is truly amazing.

Rodney will be able to attend school absolutely free since I got this job. God is truly blessing us and has turned what started out as an awful situation into something wonderful.

Pray for us, because this job offer was for an immediate position. They want me there this month. We've gone through every possible scenerio and feel like leaving on the 16th, even though we will miss Thanksgiving with our families, is the best way to go. And, also just pray that we will be able to really focus and get everything ready to move.

TEXAS BOUND!!! Thank you, Jesus!