Hey friends!! For those of you who still read blogs hiya! I cannot even believe that the last post I wrote was for my trip out to Seattle:0 You probably think all I do is travel;) Not true! But I kinda wish it was:) I've decided a trip once a month for 4 days would be perfect. It's just long enough to break out of the humdrum and then long enough to miss home and want to go back to routine.
So a few months ago I was trying to think up a Spring Break plan for the family. Last year was extravagant. We went to Kauai in the Summer. Ahhh good times! As much fun and adventure that trip was I was craving something entirely different this year. We tossed around several ideas before landing on our SOULcation plan. The plan was to hit the Round Top flea in Texas, stay in Austin, stalk Waco/Joanna Gaines one day and along the way meet the Holden's in Mississippi and the Lowry's in Georgia on the way home.
It evolved from that original plan a bit...including more people:) Imagine me tiptoeing into my Honey's office and plopping this cray plan in his lap. The man who doesn't like to roadtrip and isn't entirely keen on sharing his time with strangers on vacation. "Honey let's DRIVE to Texas and pitstop in strangers homes." :)))) But he went with it and I'm so grateful!
When I sat down to write about our SOULcation it was going to be one big long post, but I quickly figured out that's just plain silly. There is no way I can possibly put it all into one, so I hope you come back to read the rest.
They are the Holden's. Nick and Stephanie Holden to be exact. Her grandbabies call her Honey soooo everyone else does too. And yes I said grandbabies! The girl is only two years older than me and has four! Yes four!!
If you don't know the Holden's you should. I "met" them through Instagram a few years back. One day I got the sweetest letter from Honey. She told me Nick followed me on IG and said she just had to know me and that I really reminded him of her. We took a lot of the same selfies and feet pics. Our personalities were similar etc... And from that point on a little friendship seed was planted. We met a few times briefly...a drive through quickie dinner and she was our group leader at Hope Spoken last year.
But this little pitstop in rural Mississippi really sealed the deal. They're in our hearts now. And once that happens you stay there;) Their sweet home was opened up. They fed us and invited their daughter Lydia and her husband Marcus over for supper. We slept under their roof and went four wheeling. They are kind and wise and generous and most importantly they love Jesus.
I think going home to my mom's house is the only place I've ever felt quite this at home. It's strange really. At dinner on our second pit stop...yes we stopped there TWICE...we talked about dating and raising girls. If a boy wanted to date their daughter once she turned 16 he had to bring a 1,000 piece puzzle to the house. After the puzzle was complete then he could ask to "court" her. What a way to weed out the casual! I BIG PUFFY HEART LOVE this idea.
We talked about the empty nest a bit and how after the girls left Nick softened. He was able to give the girls over to their new protectors! So nice to know;)
They are at that season in life they can encourage us as we head into the future with the girls. It's a sweet thing...mentoring others. Something I hope I can do someday as well.
They high kick goodbyes...which pretty much summed up how I felt when we left. High on love and life. Meeting new friends does fill you up. Being able to share your life with others is such a gift. Don't be afraid of opening your heart up to new places and people...that's where the soulcation begins!
And before I forget to mention it the shop is OPEN for designer cuffs this week:)) We've got some pretty cute designs available for Mother's day and Graduation. We close up on Friday and then reopen May18th-22nd for the regular cuffs. It's coming up!!
Be a blessing.
