Sunday, July 29, 2012

We moved into this brand new house in February of 2007. It was such a neat idea that we were the very first family to move into this house. Samuel was only 2 years old and it was perfect for our family of 3. We had also decided that we would be starting the adoption process again shortly after we got settled, so it was exciting to plan for the future of our growing family. We moved in on a cold February 1st and we had friends and youth group kids help transport our stuff in several loads to and from our houses. By the end of the night it had started to snow and we woke up the next morning to a blanket of fresh snow on the ground. Later that month we sat at our kitchen table making plans and filling out paperwork to adopt a little girl from Guatemala. We would later change our mind and proceed to adopt from Korea, but I believe that love that was planted in my heart for Guatemala only made my connection with Karlita and the other girls so strong. It was in this house that I experienced the agonizing wait for Emma to come home. I would sit most nights in a nursery that was only missing the my little girl crying and begging God to bring her home. God answered our prayer and we finally went to Korea to bring her home. I will never forget coming home from that long trip and my dear friend, Lisa, and her girls had cleaned my house, stacked my pantry and refrigerator, had supper waiting for us and there were balloons to welcome us home. I can still see our social worker sitting on our couch doing a post-placement visit for Emma and she closed Emma's file and said, "Okay, let's talk about your other baby." She told me that the Korean agency had decided to let us adopt Chloe. I was speechless!! About six months later, our family of four was now a family of five as we brought Chloe Mee home. It was in this house that I was able to stay home with my children and enjoy them as babies. I have so many memories of our house filled for birthday parties and a living room full of teenagers on a regular basis. There has been so many good times in this home. Lots of love and laughter have filled these rooms.

I also realize that there has been some sadness in this house. It was in my living room that someone I love had to tell us the news that a broken relationship would not be repaired. I have sat with friends who were going through life shattering events and I had no answer for their hurts. I had to say good-bye to my sweet Maggie in this house. This is the first move we have made without Maggie. It was here that we had to tell our precious youth group that we would be stepping down from the youth group.

I guess with everything in life, there are times are great joy and great sorrow and each chapter we are in in our life is writing the story of our lives. I hate when I am reading a great book and I come to the end and the story is over and there is no more to read. I have felt the past few weeks that this book is over, but I am looking at it more like the end of the chapter. All the 8 years we have been living in TN have laid the story line for the next chapter in my story. We have been spending time with friends this week and it has been hard to say good-bye. This morning we went to our old church and it was heartbreaking to tell those precious people good-bye. The truck is loaded and this place that has been our home is empty and I wish I could shake the sadness. I am truly blessed and beyond thankful for all of the wonderful memories I have had in this house and in the town.

Well, we have had an emotional week with the house. We had an offer made on the house on Thursday. We countered on Friday and they countered back. We accepted their offer on Friday and Saturday they have decided that they may not want to go through with the offer. We have given them until tomorrow to make their final decision. I am very disappointed, but the truth is that they were getting a great deal and they still were not satisfied. We felt like we were getting a raw deal, but we wanted to be done with the house. We have a lease to own option on the table and I believe that we will get something worked out so it will not be sitting empty. We are staying with Jeremy's parents tonight and tomorrow night and heading out Tuesday morning. We are staying with my parents until we get a place to live. Thanks again for the many prayers that have gone up for us! I will keep you updated on our move.

I am very thankful that my husband is a former UPS and FedEx employee. He knows how to pack a truck:)