when one door closes...

Well it's here!  We pull out of our Minnesota driveway today!!!  I can't believe the day has finally come:)  I wish I could tell you that the last few weeks have been pain free and easy peasy, but that wouldn't be true.  I expected hiccups and we've had a few.  There was a 24 hour freak out period where we questioned everything...where fear snuck in and took root. 

It was torture.  Worry is evil.  It really is and it makes you physically sick.  You know that punched in the gut feeling?  Honey and I both struggled with it, but we pulled through.  We prayed hard, sought the Lord and He has melted them away, and today as the movers load up the last of our belongings we are more sure than ever that this is right where God has us.  He has ushered us along this path.  He is moving us into a new territory and it's got every hair on my arms standing on end.  I'm still fighting down the emotional lump in my throat, but it's good.  We're good and ready:)

Not sure if I've ever told you this before, but this is our 9th move in almost 19 years of marriage.  When we decided to move to Minnesota the decision was so easy.  We were ready for change.  The Twin Cities offered so much opportunity and promise.  Someone actually knocked on our door and offered to buy our house.  We never even had to list it.  Faith wasn't really an issue.  This time it's complicated.  We are leaving without a buyer.  That's hard.  We've loved this house.  It's been our dream home for 7 years and to leave it empty is painful.  I want to see it lived in and loved, but it is what it is and we are praying for that perfect family to come along.


I'd love it if you could pray for us as we make this final trek to Virginia.  We are going to take our sweet time.  With every mile that distances us I pray for closure and peace to reign.  With every new bend in the road I pray for new memories to be made.  We close on the new house Monday the 18th and move in on the 19th.  I'll try to post after our computers are hooked up. ** FYI...I closed my Etsy store until July 25th and custom home paintings until September when the girls are back in school.  If you are interested in a painting still let me know.  I've got a wait list ready:)**  Love you girls!!! 


*Oh and two things I learned this week. #1 In a pinch paper towels work great as a coffee filter;) And #2 goodbyes are a necessary thing. It's almost like a death. When a person dies the funeral is your final goodbye. Seeing the casket, hearing the sermon, the hugs in line...they are part of the process of moving on...as painful as it is. If you don't have that private moment, closure eludes you. So with that said I made the rounds. I squeezed those near and dear to me and felt emotion so raw that I thought it would literally kill me, but you know what it didn't. I'm still here and so are they and our friendships, although different...will always remain:) 

Have a blessed day.

 

Pictures taken by Alicia Hutchinson.

things i miss

It's the night before the movers come.  I'm sitting in an echoed room, in disbelief that we are actually moving our things this week.  Saying goodbye to our home and all of our loved ones here.  It's surreal to say the least.

I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my favorite people over the last few days and it's been a hard pill to swallow knowing goodbyes are coming.  A friend asked me if she wanted us to have her there as a farewell as we pulled out of the drive. 

What I really want is to sneak off in the middle of the night and not have to say goodbye to anyone.  Including this house.  UGH!  It will be alright.  Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the actual thing right?  In either case it's inevitable. 


I'm looking forward to the day when I have more to talk about than this move.  I miss normal.  I miss order and clean floors;)  I miss blogging...I miss you.  Thank you for listening to me and relating with me and praying for us.  I so appreciate each and every one of you.  So glad you are coming with me!!

Have a blessed week.

 

the ultimate love letter

 My mom sent me the most beautiful email this morning.  It was just what I needed.  I think it may be just what you need too.

My Child,

You may not know me,

but I know everything about you.

Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.

Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.

Psalm 139:3

 

 

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.

Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.

Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.

Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.

Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.

Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.

Ephesians 1:11-12

 

 

You were not a mistake,

for all your days are written in my book.

Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth

and where you would live.

Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.

Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented

by those who don’t know me.

John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,

but am the complete expression of love.

1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.

1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child

and I am your Father.

1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.

Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.

Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.

James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.

Matthew 6:31-33

 

 

 

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.

Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless

as the sand on the seashore.

Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.

Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.

Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you

with all my heart and all my soul.

Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.

Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,

you will find me.

Deuteronomy 4:29

 

 

Delight in me and I will give you

the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.

Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you

than you could possibly imagine.

Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you

in all your troubles.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,

I am close to you.

Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,

I have carried you close to my heart.

Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away

every tear from your eyes.

Revelation 21:3-4

And I’ll take away all the pain

you have suffered on this earth.

Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you

even as I love my son, Jesus.

John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.

John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.

Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,

not against you.

Romans 8:31

 

 

 

 

 

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression

of my love for you.

1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved

that I might gain your love.

Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,

you receive me.

1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you

from my love again.

Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party

heaven has ever seen.

Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,

and will always be Father.

Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…

Will you be my child?

John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.

Luke 15:11-32

 

 

 

Love, Your Dad

Almighty God

My heart's been a little heavy this week.  A blogging friend contacted me via mass email to pray for a family I didn't know.  The husband went to Costa Rica on a missions trip and while he was serving somehow he got underwater and they had to resuscitate him.  The wife flew down there to be with him and while she was with him he passed away. 

I got this picture this morning and just wept.  His name was Dean and this was him last week, sneaking away spending time with his Father...reading His ultimate love letter to us.  I'm rejoicing with him as he is face to face with his savior now, but my heart is so heavy for the family and friends left behind.  I don't understand God's ways...no one does.  Things don't make sense to our human minds, but I know we serve a loving God and that He is fulfilling His purpose and plan through this man's life.  Please take a minute to lift up the family.  Lord give them YOUR peace,  YOUR comfort and meet their every need.

Have a blessed day.

wrapped up

Good morning friends and HAPPY 4th of July!!  I actually slept in until almost 9:30 this morning.  I did a big stretch in bed, looked over at the clock and did a double take!  I love summer.  Hope you are having an awesome weekend.


Okay this is quite possibly the dumbest picture I've ever put up of myself, but you get the point;)  We are wrapping things up rather nicely around here.  We had a goal of getting the house packed before the movers came and I'm happy to say it's almost finished.  I just couldn't imagine moving all of our things to Virginia without going through it first.  We're talking 7 years of stuff here.  It was time to clear the clutter.  I'm actually a little mortified by all the crap we've held onto over the years.  It was time to toss.

I got a little emotional in a few rooms.  This is my blogging/artsy space and do you see what's missing??  The FARM is missing from farmgirl.  It's SO wrong!!  And then in Big Chick's room she had her name written at the top of her chalkboard wall.  She wrote it up there the first day I painted it.  When we erased that it was like a knife to the heart for some reason.  Honey's like just rip it off like a band-aid.  It's true you almost have to do that. 

Have to admit I can't wait until this is over.  I hate chaos and clutter.  Having boxes and stuff everywhere is driving me nuts.  We've stopped cleaning.  What's the point of vacuuming or dusting when it's in complete disarray?  It's official I live in a pigsty!

 

We are making the most of our time.  Having dinner with sweet friends and enjoying our kids company.

We got out on the boat again with Steve and Michelle.  Remember last year??  Love having friends with connections:)

Connected again with a dear friend who moved away.  It's just a reminder to me that despite the miles you can still pick up right where you left off.

Finished up one of many painting projects.  Remember this day??  These are the kids paintings I did:)  Since then my friend Amy has started her own blog.  Check it out here.

Things have been so busy.  The movers come in one week...YIKES!  Honey starts his new job tomorrow:)  This week is filled to the brim with last minute days with friends and playmates.  My head is spinning.  I can't believe that we are in the final stretch.  I'm so glad that it's wrapping up.  This time in-between has been a little torturous.  My mind is on Virginia.  The house is finished and just waiting for us to drive up the lane.   It's hard to focus on anything else.  We are inching toward the finish line and I'm more than ready for what lies ahead:)

Have a blessed day.