Simply Sara

So the other day I was talking with a friend, when I felt God urging me to share a specific struggle in my life with this person. My first response was "No! Not her God." I continued to feel the Lord urging me to let my guard down and open up, but I kept my foot on the break and finally said "anyone but her God." Thirty minutes later, I wrestled long enough and was faced with this from the Lord. "You may not trust her yet, but do you trust Me, because that is the true issue here!" And then this was the double whammy - "Do you believe that I have good things for you?" With that, I went to my friend and shared my heart with her, and I was overwhelmingly blessed by her insight and conversation! We laughed together, we cried and I left so encouraged by the wisdom that was spoken to me that day! So I encourage you to listen to the Lord prompting you! He does have good things in mind for you! I promise!

Today is Day 1 of Phase 2 of my 30 day workout challenge. Basically a month ago, I decided to challenge myself to move every day for 30 days. Whether it was a hard-core Insanity workout or a long run or simply playing tag with the kids, I wanted to get my heart rate up every day. Well, I didn't meet the challenge. In fact, I only "moved" 15 out of 30 days, which is why my weight didn't change this month. I'm starting up the challenge again with the commitment to follow through! I had a great 25 minute workout today while watching reruns on Lifetime. I have never struggled to lose weight like I am struggling right now. I can use all the help I can get!  So if you too are wanting to get in shape and lose a few pounds, follow along with me on this journey to get in shape and get skinny! :)  

I've been reading in the book of Acts for a while now, going thru a reading plan with our children's ministry volunteers. I've never been much for reading plans, because I don't like being told what to do, but this time, I submitted. As I'm slowly making my way through the book (we're also reading Proverbs), the main point I keep focusing on is how specifically God spoke to Paul and directed his life. Paul lived what I think modern-day believers would call "a spirit-led life". For quite some time now, I've prayed "Lord, I want to live a Spirit-led life. I want you to direct my plans, my conversations, my actions, my heart." And to some extent, I've seen Him answer that prayer in my life. But today, Jesus spoke to me while I was reading Acts 18, and the truth just sort of set me free and changed my prayer.  Here's the gist of it: "Sara - I AM leading your life. My Spirit lives inside of you. I lead you and speak to you ALL...

Tomorrow morning, Lucas starts his first day of "real" school! This ain't preschool folks! This is the big leagues and I'm overwhelmed! Thankfully, Lucas is blissfully unaware of the daunting 16 years ahead of him (yes, I'm counting college!). We met his teacher over the weekend, Mrs. Judy, and we all were very impressed! Word on the Kindergarten street is she is the teacher everyone wants to get! She greeted Lucas with an offer for a handshake or hug; he chose hug. They both love reptiles and bugs and watching Discovery Channel. I think it's a match made in Heaven. (Well, I have been praying for her for the last 6 months!) We're off to bed, rather late tonight. I had to watch the finale of "Next Food Network Star" because I love it! Favorite show of the summer, every summer! I also made my first attempt at Matt's birthday cake! I think the flavor is spot on, but the whole thing fell apart while I was icing it, so now it's more of a sp...

I wish that I could freeze time for just a little while. I want to savor this wonderful season in our lives just a little longer without anyone else having a birthday, out growing shoes, and needing a new pair of pants! The month of August is "birthday" month here in the Alexander household, which means my baby is now 1 and our princess has turned 3. The king of the house will be celebrating another year next week, but I'll refrain from telling you just how old he is! (Okay, I'll tell you that he won't be 35 any more!) The end of the summer is bringing about such bittersweet days as we prepare for Lucas to start Kindergarten next week! So far, neither one if us has cried yet, but the first day of school just might change that! Wyatt has become very skilled at cruising furniture and "walking" with his walker. I know it won't be long before he is running after his big brother and sister! Wyatt's birthday meant so much to me as the chapter of ...

Tonight I danced in Wyatt's room, his warm, cuddly body snuggled in my arms. And I sang to him one of my favorite songs. I just love that little boy so much! We put him to bed over an hour ago, but the little stinker wanted to play, so I let him! I would have never done that with Lucas! Oh, how I have changed! My Mom keeps telling me that I will be more slack with the third child, and I guess she is right! We've had such a busy, wonderful and exhausting week! It started with dear, precious friends from our home town coming for a visit. What a gift it was to spend time with a family that we love so much! My Mom and sister Melanie came down with Melanie's girls and we had so much fun, all squeezed into our apartment! Mom, Melanie and I even scored some girl time downtown thanks to my favorite babysitter! Thursday, my wonderful in-laws came down and we all celebrated (early) Ava and Wyatt's birthday! It was a wonderful party, the perfect blend of princess pink and baby boy...

We are in the midst of the long process of trying to sell our home back in Anderson. Would you please join us as we pray bold prayers? We had an open house yesterday, and from what our realtor told us, two families seemed very interested. Our house has been for sale for a long time now, and it's been easy to forget about it since it's over 3 hours away. But this month, God has been impressing upon my heart, through reading about the Israelites in Genesis and Exodus, that He desires for me to be painfully aware of our situation so that I will RUN to Him in our time of need. Because denial is not the same thing as peace. Just as the Lord delivered his people from difficult situations in the old Testament, I believe that He will deliver us. The Lord allowed His people to live in slavery for quite a while in Egypt, but the Bible is very clear that He heard their cries for help and He can to their rescue. Matt and I are confident in God's calling to Charleston to be apart of New...

I can't believe I forgot to share this link. It's the most important, bestest one! :) Please read this if you're a Mommy or if you love a Mommy! It's SOoooo good! Motherhood is a Calling

I want to share a few links of things that I'm enjoying on the web right now: The Art of Losing Myself - I just found this blog tonight and I am so touched by the beautiful writing and this girl's passion to serve Jesus. Make sure you scroll down and read about Esther! Our God is SO good! Knock you Naked Brownies - I want to try these, like yesterday! This is my new, favorite photography blog . I know them from Anderson, sorta. Well, Matt does. And they are A.MA.ZING!! And this is one of my favorite sites to read when I need encouragement!

My Lucas and Ava came home today after 5 days at Grandma's house. They are happy, healthy and tired after a great week with some one whom they love so so much! Can I just say how blessed I am to have such a selfless, compassionate Momma who gives and gives out of her overflowing heart?! I spent the week enjoying our quiet home, working on little projects like scrapbooking, and organizing under the bathroom sink! Matt and I went out several times with Wyatt, running errands that would normally result in frustrated kids and parents. We even went kayaking for several hours as an "anniversary trip"! It was a great week. But I am SO happy to have my family back together again. The kids are asleep in their beds tonight, right where they should be. This week has been such a special time for me as I got (uninterrupted) time to read my Bible and pray, and really hear what God has to say to me. I'm reading in the book of Genesis right now, going over the stories I've heard ...

I haven't blogged in the past few days because I've been rather cranky and I couldn't find anything nice to blog about! I feel scattered and frustrated and down right irritable. My sour disposition naturally effects the kids, so there's been more fighting and temper tantrums then normal. I think my bad mood simply boils down to discontentment. Discontentment with myself and how I handle (or don't handle) situations with the kids and food. That's two separate things - not kids and their food - but kids behavior and my own food issues. I just read a wonderful blog post on my friend Molly 's page and I just have to share it with you! Molly is someone I've admired and respected since I met her at the YMCA waterpark several years ago! She has a beautiful perspective on life and raising children. I hope you enjoy her post has much as I did! I'm also going to take her idea and tweak it for my blog. Instead of sharing 10 photos from my day, because I do not ...

Our Wyatt is 11 months old today! My heart is so full just thinking about all he means to me! To our whole family! When Matt and I first got married, we knew that we both wanted kids. Matt said he wanted two kids and he wanted his first to arrive before he was 30! (Matt turned 28 a month after we were married!) I said I wanted 4 kids, but only after a few years of marriage. (As you can see, I won that argument and we are stopping at 3!) Fast forward many years later and our third child is about to turn 1!!! My mind is totally blown away by God's amazing plan for our lives! Are you kidding me? He totally gave us these three beautiful kids and He trusts us to raise them up! I'm just humbled and so, so grateful! So let me tell you about Wyatt for just a few minutes! Wyatt is a hoot! He loves to laugh, clap his hands, wave good-bye, and pull-up on anything and everything! He especially loves to pick things up and put them in his mouth! He's like my little "roomba"! I ...

In our family, Fridays are our family day, since Matt is off from work! We like to do something fun, something a little different. Last night, we headed out to Blackbeard 's Cove for an evening of pure fun! For a low flat rate, we played miniature golf, drove gocarts, and played on jumpy castles for hours! And we even got a pizza and drinks included in the fee! It was so much fun watching Lucas's face as he got to race with Daddy! Ava couldn't miss out on the fun, so we girls took on the challenge and had a blast on the race track! My favorite part of the evening was watching Ava play put-put golf! Her technique was consistent and fool-proof. She would hit the ball once, then pick it up and place it 1 inch from the hole and knock it in! She "won" every time!! We left Mt. Pleasant sweaty, exhausted, happy and slap-worn out! We will definitely be back for Family Fun Night!

Summer television is simple terrible, in my humble opinion. The only show I'm following is MasterChef and I love it!! Home cooks competing for money and a cookbook! So fun! I have to say though as the main cooker in my home, that I am not nearly as talented and knowledgeable as the folks on this show! Seriously, the judges demand so much of them! There's something about drama in the kitchen that draws me in every time!! I can't get enough of cooking competitions!

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1. Yesterday, I took the kids out to run errands for a couple hours. Normally I limit our time out, even taking multiple trips instead of one long day of errands; but we needed to hit several places, so I decided to go for it! At our second stop, Lucas freaked out and I did not stay calm. Instead, I snapped at him! And just like scripture says, my harsh words stirred up his anger , and the rest of the trip was frustrating for the both of us. I'm struggling with being consistently gentle with my words, especially in stressful situations. Yesterday I was so worked up about our experience that I couldn't hear God's voice speaking to me about the condition of my heart. Thankfully our God is faithful and continued to speak to me this morning when He lead me to this verse in Proverbs. Funny thing is, not five minutes after I read that verse, and while I was still marinating on it, I got the...

Last night, we had some little friends over from next door. The kids had a blast using playdough and just being silly. I loved the company because I got to cook dinner in peace! (Isn't that all that a mommy wants?) While I was busy burning the cornbread, I hear this conversation: Lucas - "Do you know about God?" Friend - "Yes!" Lucas "Do you love God?" Friend - "Yes! I have a Holy Bible!" Lucas - "My Mommy has one. She reads it all the time!" Friend - "I read my Bible!" Lucas - "That's great!" I love how Lucas is getting so bold sharing his faith and talking with his friends about God! Very cool moment!

We stayed home yesterday; my Ava is sick with a cold, so we decided to stay in and not take her germs to church. But I missed it so much!! I truly do love going to church each week! I'm blown away and so thankful for the community I've found with the wonderful people I serve with in KidSpring! And I just love the service each week! So - I decided to watch the service online so I wouldn't miss going to church! I have to smile when I think about how I can't separate "Mommyhood" from any part of my life! I turned the t.v. on for the big kids, then took the laptop into my room so I could have church! Of course, Wyatt woke up from his first nap pretty soon into the preaching so I got him up to feed him. My computer kept crashing which watching Perry, so I finally gave up, and turned on some worship music so I could continue to pray and listen to God's voice. Just as the moment was getting "holy", I felt a very warm and wet sensation spreading down my ...

I'm feeling rather frazzeled tonight. My day started off great with a KidSpring rehersal, but then I was ambushed by a terrible tension headache! Tonight I have been frantically trying to salvage my pound cake (which is supposed to be a birthday cake for a friend) after the top half separated from the bottom half! I decided to make a chocolate butter cream icing as an additional topping in hopes that no one will notice that the cake slices are half their normal size! Right now I'm watching one of my all time favorite movies, Pride and Prejudice. The music, dialogue and subtlety is simply enchanting! This movie is the reason I plan on taking up the piano again just as soon as we get it out of storage and into a house! Three days into my new goal setting and I am blogging more, yelling less, and eating too much. Here's to good intentions!

Well my day certainly has not started the way I had hoped it would! Well, let me rephrase that and say it started way earlier then I had hoped! Ava, Lucas, and Wyatt were all up at 5:50 this morning!! Ava had a sleepover last night in the boys' room, so they were all up searching for Ava's paci which had fallen under the bed! (Okay, Wyatt wasn't so much searching as he was crying because he was hungry!) So my plan to get up before the kids and have some time with Jesus didn't happen. Thankfully the Lord reminded me an hour later when I did get time with Him, after I had fed Wyatt and my amazing hubby surprised me with breakfast in bed, that "His Grace is Sufficient!" and that "I am saved by faith, not works!". My prayer is that my heart will hear His voice throughout the day as I am busy about my work! When do you moms of little ones find time to read your Bible and pray? Most of the time, I do it while Wyatt is taking his morning nap and the big kid...

Isn't there a saying like "it takes 21 days to make or break a habit"? Well, whatever it is, I'm making today day 1 of habitual blogging! That's right - I'm going to blog for the next 21 days straight! Not sure what I will write about, but that's okay because I'm building the habit. I'm also using the next 21 days to break a nasty little habit of over eating. My eating got way out of control while I was pregnant with Super Wy, and I've struggled the past 10 months to break the habit! So now I'm focusing on smaller portions and not eating late a night! Hmm...I'm sure I can come up with more habits to break and or make in the next 21 days...... Going to bed early! That's a good one! Oh and getting up early to read the Bible before my little ones wake me up! I struggle with both - lacking the discipline to turn the t.v. off at 10 and then setting the alarm to get up before the kiddos wake us up! Keeping on contact, via email/fb/phone/s...

My little boy is not so little anymore. Lucas no longer wants me to kiss every bump and bruise. He doesn't climb into my lap anymore or ask me to lay down with him at night. Instead, we play the Wii together and go on adventure walks around the neighborhood. We discuss things like lizards, and superheros and race cars. My boy can play in the pool without me and pick out his clothes and brush his teeth, thank you very much! He even gets his sister out of her car seat now without me asking him for help! Lucas is tender-hearted, inquisitive, competitive, loving, and very, very silly. He loves to make me laugh with knock-knock jokes, crazy dance moves and general foolery. He drives me crazy with his drive to be the best, always wanting to be heard, recognized, and the leader. He wants to know "why" and "how" and "when" about everything. Lucas loves chocolate, just like his Grandma. He's an "appetite" and often finds himself "hydewated...

My house is so quiet right now. I can hear the childrens' noise machines coming from their bedrooms. The television is off. Matt is out with a friend and I'm not ready to go to bed. Tonight I got to hang out with three sweet little girls in addition to my precious brood. The house was full of laughter, toys and happy children. Now they are all asleep. It's funny to me how people always say "wow, you get to live in Charleston!" when in truth we live 30 minutes away from downtown and hardly ever go there. I went downtown on Friday for lunch with a friend and a quick stop to pick up a birthday present and it took me 4 hours with driving, traffic and parking. And I shelled out 4 dollars for parking! I'm back on my granola kick! I made a double batch today! I heart granola. Especially with yogurt and berries! My all time favorite breakfast! Did you know that granola is good on ice cream? It makes a wonderful topping! You should try it sometime! I'm going swimm...

In our bedroom, there are 6 boxes stacked at the foot of our bed. I like to think of them as a "foot board". Not really. These are boxes that we simply can't figure out what to do with. One is a box of clothes that I can't fit into yet. I'm still working on losing the "baby weight", while several other boxes contain scrapbook supplies, multiple photo albums, and an untold amount of photos that need to be put into an album. I am simply terrible with keeping up with family photos! The task is so overwhelming to me, I try not to think about it very often, let alone do something about it! Last year I made a pathetic attempt to stay on top of our 2010 family album. At the end of each month, I printed about roughly 20 photos capturing the joys and everyday moments of our lives, and I carefully put them into an album, complete with captions and dates. I got through the month of April before stopping and never returning to the project. I pulled the album back o...

Tonight, Ava helped me make baby food for Wyatt! Green beans and sweet potatoes! Over the years, I have found that making my own baby food is not only cost effective, it's super easy! Seriously, I popped a few sweet potatoes in the oven for an hour, blended them up in my mini-food chopper, and here they are! I like to store my baby food in canning jars! They are just so pretty! Green peas, which I buy frozen and them steam, are the prettiest! A gorgeous shade of green! This is just one way I try to be resourceful and save money for our family. I'm so passionate about being a stay at home mom, and I'm willing to do what I can to contribute to our family. I'm honored that my husband supports my passion and works so hard so I can be with our kids. Couponing is another way I feel like I "earn income" for our family. I am by no means a super-couponer, but on average I try to save 50% at the grocery store. I truly believe with all my heart that if you too want to be...

Since Lucas was a toddler, I've been making up stories for him, either before bed or whenever I needed to keep his attention and I was too tired to play trains. Our stories typically revolve around whatever interests him at the time, so we've covered snakes, dinosaurs, Buzz Lightyear, and "kill-off" whales. Our stories almost always include the same set of special friends, Sammy, Jenny, Lightbulb, Flashlight, and Flipflop. Sammy and Jenny are ducks and I'm not sure what the other three characters are supposed to be! This crazy crew has gone on quite a few adventures and typically gets into a lot of trouble! What I love the most about storytelling with Lucas is watching his imagination take off as he creates story lines and plots. His creativity knows no limits as he artfully crafts his stories! I love praising him and seeing that innocent joy on his face as he soaks it in! Tonight, as I was getting Lucas and Ava ready for bed, I told a story about a princess, a pr...

So I feel like it's only fair if I write another post about my day. A non-lovey-dovey- day. A day when I forget to take a shower, or even go to the bathroom. Or how about a day when I do get to take a shower, but not alone. Instead I have one kid in the shower with me, while the other is causing mischief and another is crying. Forget shaving my legs or washing my hair. It's a quick wash, rinse, get out and start referee-ing. Or how about a day when the kids watch way too much t.v., and I secretly eat any and all snacks in the house, until the kids catch me and want to know why I ate all of the goldfish. Oh this is a good one - I'm at the grocery store and only realize after I get back in the car, that I forgot to brush my teeth or take off last night's make up, and what in the heck is going on with my hair today? My clothes are frumpy, because my baby weight prevents me from fitting into my cute clothes, and I wear flats all the time because my feet hurt every night. Th...

Our day has this sort of beautiful rhythm to it. I wake up to the sound of Wyatt babbling in the baby monitor, so I quietly bring him back to bed with me where I get to snuggle and enjoy a long, lazy feeding. Lucas and Ava typically get up during that time and either play, watch t.v., or snuggle on the bed with us. I particularly like it when they snuggle and all of us are in the bed. Kind of reminds me of a children's book..... "Five Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed". Definitely my favorite time of day. The day starts to simmer as I brew coffee for myself, make the kids breakfast and Matt gets ready for work. Our morning schedule kind of varies and depends on the weather, the amount of errands I need to run, and the amount of energy the kids are oozing with. One of my favorite moments of the day (and it doesn't happen every day), is when I'm busy about the house and I can hear the kids playing in their rooms. Wyatt loves to watch Lucas as he creates a fant...

Today I am thankful: 1. That I can leave our back door open and hear the birds singing 2. That we bought cereal in bulk at Sam's this weekend because Lucas and Ava seem to be perpetually hungry ("I'm an appetite, Mommy!"- Lucas) 3. That I am still nursing Wyatt, even though he's on a strike again and I'm very frustrated! 4. My beautiful new niece Rachel is growing and seems to be a very content baby! 5. I can meet a friend for a play date in 45 minutes without taking a shower first - and she won't judge me! 6. I get to eat fish tacos tonight with the same dear friend and other precious ladies as we celebrate her birthday. 7. That my children seem to have forgotten that I used Ava's potty in the back of our van in a McDonald's parking lot. (3 children in a public restroom = ewww!!) 8. That our apartment does not have hardwood floors - carpet is so much easier for babies! 9. Lucas still enjoys watching "baby" shows on the Disney Channe...

I'm in the middle of a very busy week of a very busy season of life. A dear friend from college is getting married this weekend and I'm in the wedding!!! I'm picking up my bridesmaid dress today and buying gifts for a bridal shower that's tonight! It's so much fun being part of a wedding again! The parties, the dress, the shoes (oh the shoes !!), getting my nails done, all the excitement! And yes, those heels are almost 4 inches tall! The kids are doing great, even with my scatter-brained, trying to keep my cool and not yell, attitude. I am savoring this final year with Lucas at home. My Momma heart is sad knowing that kindergarten is just around the corner. He's so smart and so observant. Just now he informed me that a particular show on Disney Junior is "teaching kids to not use their manners! They never say please or thank you, Mom! It's not good!" We've been cruising through a workbook, and I'm just amazed at how his brain works. Both L...

One shelf in the bookcase in our den is dedicated to books that I have started and not finished. I'm embarrassed to say that there are quite a few books on it! If you know me, this shelf should be empty because I love to read and typically devour a book in a day or two! Give me a Karen Kingsbury or Francine Rivers novel, and I will neglect laundry, cleaning, and even sleep to get it finished! I am a Christian Fiction junkie. (Please don't roll your eyes at me!) It started with Robin Jones Gunn's Christy Miller series back when I was a preteen. I was spellbound by the relationship between Todd and Christy. I then moved on to Lisa Tawn Bergren and Francine Rivers. When Karen Kingsbury burst on to the scene I was obsessed. I've read every single one of her books, many times over. So you're probably wondering what's sitting on my shelf unread, right? Here's the list: The Mission of Motherhood Prayer Just Walk Across the Room Discerning the Voice of God Healing...

Our Wyatt is 6 months old today! Can you believe it? I sure can't! I can't believe we're here already! He's rolling over, pulling himself to his knees and today he tried his first vegetable! Our little baby is growing so fast! Wyatt has found his voice! He laughs, coos and shrieks with delight! When he sees someone he loves, his smile starts in his eyes, then spreads all the way down to his toes! He smiles with his whole body! Hooray for green pea puree! He ate it all! Wyatt has brought a wonderful feeling of completion to our family. He's our caboose! Both Ava and Lucas are crazy about him. They love to hold him, feed him, and they will even throw away his dirty diapers! Wyatt is fascinated with his feet and hands! They are like constant entertainment! He sleeps on his tummy or side all night long! His head is so soft! I must kiss it at least 200 times a day! This boy is so beautiful and kissable! I am so thankful that the Lord heard our prayers for another baby an...

It's been kind of a crummy day. I'm not going to lie to you. I woke up tired. And my mood went downhill from here. I was snappy with the kids, distant from Matt and just downright ugly. It wasn't until tonight when the house is quiet and everyone else is asleep that I finally got my attitude adjustment. I struggle with wanting so badly for life to be easy and pretty and rosy all the time. I want my words to always be gentle; for wisdom and creativity to be my constant companions. I want to be diligent in my work as a homemaker and be all that my family needs me to be. For years I have put pressure on myself to be a certain way (i.e. perfect), and then I carried around the disappointment and shame for not meeting up to my own (unrealistic) standards. It wasn't until this past year when my eyes were opened to the self-destructive path I was on (and still struggle with) that I realized what I was doing to myself and the people around me. I was rejecting grace and withholdi...

Everyday I wrestle with wanting more time for myself, by myself. I wake up when the kids get up (before 8:00) and then it's the usual business of the day. The kids exercise along with me, Ava and I take showers together most mornings and since we started potty training, I never get to do that alone either. Most of the time, I'm okay with it my lack of alone time. But there are some days.... some days that I really, really want to be alone. Days when I want to do nothing more then close the bedroom door and curl up in bed with a good book and the t.v. remote. Growing up, I can remember sitting in the bathroom talking to my Momma while she was in the bathtub. Poor lady! I had no idea that she probably wanted just a few minutes to herself! She was never alone because someone was always talking with Momma. (She's a really great listener!) Naptime is no longer alone time for me, since Wyatt is on a different schedule from Ava and Lucas no longer naps. I do require Lucas to stay ...

Today I woke up feeling behind. That's never a good start to the day. And I didn't seem to catch up until about 8:00 tonight. (I'm okay with leaving the load of clothes in the dryer overnight.) This is pretty typical for me, being it's a Thursday. Thursdays are now my Fridays and Mondays are my favorite days. Don't ask me why, but I always have more energy, more umph on a Monday. Cold weather kept us in for most of the day. We did take a walk to the mailboxes at the front of our apartment complex. It's so weird not being able to scurry out of my house in my pjs minutes before the mailman arrives with a bill that's due soon. Not that I did that, too often. I've never lived in an apartment before. Most of the time I forget that we do. That is until the family who lives above us wakes up at 5:45 - every week day morning - and starts stomping around and rearranging furniture. As far as apartments go, our place is wonderful! Of course, I have nothing to compa...

Um, so yeah. It's January 8th and I'm waiting for my precious hubby to come home so I can go to bed. I hate going to bed without him. We've been Charlestonians for a little over a month now. The move happened a few days after Thanksgiving and we're still unpacking. If history repeats itself (and it probably will), there will still be boxes that need to be opened when it's time to move again! Cuz' that's just the way I am! The kids and I trekked to the Upstate yesterday for an adorable birthday party for an even more adorable little one year old. It was a sweet reunion with dear friends and joy-filled community. We are so blessed. Tomorrow is the big day. And I do mean BIG! NewSpring Charleston officially starts tomorrow morning!!!! I can't wait to see what God is going to do! Matt is on his way home! Funny how hard it is to relax when your other half is gone. Goodnight!