Move-In Day!

Well...today was move-in day & it was quite an adventure to say the least!

We are so excited that we've found a new house to live in until we find a more permanent home in Knoxville. The Lord really placed this house in our lap & we found it, leased it & moved in it in about 4 days. Wow!

First thing this morning, we saw our moving truck pull up in front of our house. It was a relief to finally see our stuff arrive. The movers really worked quickly today because a huge storm was headed our way. They finished moving everything in & setting up beds just as the rain began.

Our family then spent the rest of the evening hiding in a closet from all the tornadoes & hail storms. It was the worst storm I've ever been a part of. Now our house has to be re-roofed & re-sided, but at least our family is OK & has a place to live. Happy Move-In Day...I'm glad it's over!

Happy Easter 2011!

Happy Easter! We flew into Knoxville, TN this past week & began our search for a new home. Park West Church put us in an amazing suite for the week & that is where our Easter morning began.

Josiah was so excited to know that even though we moved across the country, his Dad & Mommy hadn't forgotten his Easter basket. He was super pumped that not only did he get an Easter basket, but it was full of Super Hero stuff! His favorite right now!

Here is Josiah thoroughly enjoying going through every part of this basket.

He got Super Hero action figures, a video game, books & stickers. He was in heaven!

Next, Josiah got a card from Granddaddy & Grandma Moody. He loves it when they send him cards, because every card sings to him. This one sang, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail." Inside the card there was a check for $25 & a letter. The letter explained that he could use that $25 to buy any Super Heroes he didn't already have. Oh boy!!!

Next, Dustin & I got a sweet card from my parents that even had a little moolah in it!

What a fun way to start our Easter Sunday morning!

Our family traveled 1 hour to Cleveland, TN to attend our former church, North Cleveland Church of God, for Easter since we haven't begun at Park West Church.

After a wonderful church service, our friends Mitchell, Kim & Shalom Owens had us over for an Easter Feast (steak, potatoes, salad, bread, etc.) & an Easter Egg Hunt.

Shalom & Josiah ate lunch so fast & begged us to let them go have their hunt.

Josiah was very happy with all the eggs he found.

After hunting, we returned inside to see what the kids got. Shalom & Josiah both wanted to hunt only their eggs...ha! So, Josiah had M&M's or Super Hero stickers inside his eggs. I don't think Shalom would want super hero stickers, but she was really happy when Josiah shared some M&M's with her.

After hunting for eggs & filling up on chocolate candy, we went upstairs to their Music Room. We had an all out jam session. Shalom & Mitchell played guitar, Dustin & Josiah played drums, Kim played keyboard & I napped while playing the tambourine...ha!

Here are our beautiful friends whom we love dearly & have really missed.

Shalom was a newborn when we moved to Seattle, so Josiah had never met her before. They seemed to really love one another. On our way out the door, Josiah reminded Kim that she had not served that chocolate pie she had told us about. That kid loves chocolate (like his Mom) & doesn't ever forget when chocolate is involved. So, Kim ran straight to the kitchen & packed us half of the yummy pie to take back with us to our suite in Knoxville. As we were driving back, I got a text from Kim. She said that they got back in the house & couldn't find Shalom. She was in the kitchen quietly stuffing her face with the other half of the pie she had left out for them. Too cute! I think these two kids had quietly made a chocolate plan together.

What a great way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord & Savior! Happy Easter!

Goodbye Seattle!

This morning at 4am, we woke up to begin on our new journey to Knoxville, TN. It was a gorgeous Seattle morning.

Here we are on our 6am flight from Seattle. Josiah was waving goodbye to everything. This city will always be in hearts & we will pray for it often. Goodbye Seattle!

Moving Day!

It's moving day! This morning we looked out to see this in our front yard!

We began the day exhausted because we were up late packing the last few boxes! It didn't seem to matter how organized we were ahead of time, we still ran around until the last minute.

We are so thankful we were able to sell Dustin's car to be able to afford a moving company. I cannot imagine moving all of this stuff across the country by ourselves.

After 6 hours, the moving company had everything loaded in their truck. We waved goodbye as we watched every possession we own roll down the street...hoping to see it again in TN.

Next, the car shippers came to tow our van across the country. So, we've now watched our possessions drive away & now we watched our only vehicle drive away. If you've never experienced this before, it's quite sobering.

This afternoon, my friend, Lori, came & picked us up to take us to the airport. We took one last walk through our now empty house & stood on the porch for one last shot of our home in Lynnwood, WA. Goodbye house, goodbye church, goodbye friends...we'll miss you!

We'll Miss You!

This weekend we went to Yakima, WA to say goodbye to Dustin's family. Papa & Meme will truly be missed by this little man.

It was so wonderful to go back one more time & say goodbye to Todd, Shelly, Cody, Justin

& Nan. It's been nice being a couple of hours away from them.

Papa & Meme remembered that they wouldn't be seeing Josiah for Easter, so they gave him an early Easter bag. It was full of toys & goodies!

We all had such a good time over the weekend, but especially Josiah. He was emotional leaving there on Saturday, but knew we had a lot to do before Monday. We love you guys & we'll miss you!

See Ya Later!

This week has been full of emotions. This is our last full week in Seattle before we move to TN. We moved here & made friends as though we were going to live here forever.

I went to my last MOPS meeting this week & spent some time with my girls, Lea, Lori & Lisa. I will truly miss them.

We said goodbye to Holy Seed Community Church & had a few of our families come for a time of celebration!

We scheduled playdates to say goodbye to our dear friends.

Josiah had to say goodbye (several times) to his sweetheart, Bella. From the moment they first laid eyes on each other, they were smitten.

We are so thankful for the friends God gave us in Seattle. We pray blessings upon all of our friends & will miss you greatly! Remember, "This is not goodbye, but we'll see ya later!"