Say goodbye...

Now, it's never been easy for me to say goodbye. I certainly moved a lot during my youth, and I loved the adventure of it all. But it is never easy to say goodbye to a person, place, or thing that we love.

I've found in life that the places and things that I have come to love I love because of the memories that have been made there. It's hard for me to truly love something unless it has special events, people, memories etc. attached to it. I loved my silky blanket as a child because of the comfort and security that I felt when I held it. I loved the different towns and houses that I lived in because my family was always there with me. I loved the different places that I've traveled to - Vancouver, San Francisco, Boston, Charleston, Grenada, Jamaica, Italy, Denmark, New York, Washington D.C., Spain - because the memories made there emblazoned themselves on my mind and dug into my heart.

In the Fall of 2007 I started falling in love. That love led to an engagement, that engagement led to a marriage, that marriage led to a new life with another person... a wonderful person that I cannot imagine life without! That new life led to a new place to live... a sweet little house on a quiet little street that looks like a cottage from a Kinkade painting. That small house became a home because of the person that I have gotten to share it with for almost two years now.

That sweet house is now being given away to someone else because our expanding family needs a little more room. We put the house on the market in November before we even knew about the sweet addition that we would be looking forward to... and in July - two weeks before we were going to take it off of the market - we received an offer. This offer came with the contingency that we be out of the house by August 2nd. A pretty quick turn around... a little overwhelming.

Now, it's July 29th... we're packing, storing, preparing. We have three days to be out of our house, and I can't help but feel a little sad. I am thankful that the Lord's ways are perfect, and that He has ordained that we sell our house and embark on a new adventure. But as a human being, I'll just miss the sweet little house where Will and I began our life together.

I am thankful, however, that a house is not a home. Home is the place where my family resides. That may range from a shack to a mansion, but the type of covering does not matter as long as the ones that I love are near me. I pray that as we consider our new place of residence, we always remember the words of Psalm 127:1: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain."

So.... farewell sweet house! Thanks for being the place that where we began together. Now - with the Lord's help - on to new adventures and memories together!