after much consideration, i have decided to start new.

come join me at my new address. 

i would love to have you.

most people are other people. their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. ~Oscar Wilde

we had a whirlwind trip to the coast for christmas that was poorly planned but oh so fun!
the girls stayed behind to visit longer so i've been using this time apart to reflect on the passing year and i've never been more excited to see a year come to an end than 2011. it was a long year full of high emotions and hard choices and it has prepared me for the next chapter so i'm anxious to welcome the new year with all the cliches of a fresh start.

on the road

have a beautiful solstice!

i am having such a hard time blocking out the noisy chatter that comes with the holidays. i keep feeling the urge to buy every want, make every craft, and eat every recipe. i seem to have this issue every year but this year the pull is much stronger. the girls are older and have their own opinions and wants and the consumer world has made its way into their world much more than i had hoped it would and i am feeling the tug to get it/give it to them. i know that they will be just fine without it and better, stronger and wiser for learning moderation, value and individualism. but it is hard to say no now for the sake of tomorrow. but as we get closer to the 25th all of the "stuff" is fading as we anticipate seeing our family and friends again on the coast, and for that i am grateful.

it may only be the first weekend of december but

the holidays have settled right in.
we watched the tree lighting at the park,

shopped the stores of downtown during the north pole stroll,

and went downtown again for the annual christmas parade.
the park and the small downtown district have quickly
become our favorite places here. 

and during our little outings i realized how different
these experiences are when the area and people
are unfamiliar.  it was fresh and more animated
and i found myself embracing this anonymous life we currently have.

it has me feeling very peaceful.  there are no expectations and 

i am free to create an entirely new holiday

experience for my family.  the possibilities seem endless and so
exciting.

it's been a roller coaster of emotions leading up to thanksgiving

and at times i was unsure how i would handle things but

i am happy to say that i made it to the other side and for that 

i am grateful.  i am also thankful for my beautiful life full of family

and friends. happy thanksgiving.

~now bring on christmas... i'm ready.

it's hard to believe we have been in our new city for over a month. 

a month that started as unsettling as any time i've known combined

with excitement for what was to come,

quietly and quickly passed.

everyday i become more and more confident that this is where

we are meant to be for now and feel comfort calling this home.

bits of the weekend

lovely piles of treasures waiting to be packed.

a quiet conversation before the chaos of dinner with 9 adults and 9 kids

waiting on dad to get home to cheer in the first game of the year

this weekend was full of stuff to do yet had the perfect amount of quiet.

we finished packing, made several shopping trips, visited with family and friends,
and enjoyed an overload of football.  but it's always the moments in between
that are the best to me and that seem to stay in my memory as well as the ones
i tend to capture with my camera.

on friday evening between a shoe shopping trip and waiting for the high school football
game to start we picked up a pizza and had a picnic in the car. we listened to the girls talk about what
their version of a successful friday night was and their expectations for the evening. it is always so
touching to hear their take on the world.

watching the happy anticipation of an 8yr old building while waiting to cheer in front of the crowd
at a pee wee football game reminded me to channel the same happy outlook while anticipating this move.

a late night dinner with david followed by a peaceful trip to the grocery store and a very late night pot of coffee to get us through the rest of the boxes while blaring our favorite tunes was just what we needed to finish packing.

sunday was a rush of shopping, errands, a high school reunion meeting, and dinner with family at a favorite mexican restaurant, but it was the conversations in the car that followed that stick out in my memory.

a perfect weekend.

in just a few weeks
we will call this place home.
a small town in the hills of north mississippi.
we are excited to begin a new adventure
and are anxious to go exploring and
learn about the rich history of our new city.