Easter Weekend.

Living He loved me. Dying He saved me. Buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified. Freely forever. One day He's coming! Oh glorious day!

                                                                                                                     -Casting Crowns

   Our Easter weekend was jam-packed full with sightseeing, visiting, cooking, and doing all of the other traditional Easter festivities. Justin drove home from Mississippi on Thursday night, arriving in SC around 1:30 am on Friday. Needless to say, we spent the majority of Friday morning sleeping in - time well spent. We eventually peeled our tired eyes out of bed to cook breakfast and piddle around the house. Justin cut the grass and did other necessary (manly) chores that I just couldn't seem to get done while I was home alone.

   We headed to Athens, GA Friday night and the adventures began.

   We mapped out our schedule for the weekend and decided we would take a trip to Helen, GA on Saturday to enjoy the weather in the mountains. We very thankful to be able to take Mrs. Mona on our mini-exploration, as she added great humor and enjoyment to our trip. We visited Unicoi State Park, hiked to see Anna Ruby Falls, and fulfilled my craving for boiled peanuts! Oh the joy of the mountains!

    After a long, enjoyable day, we returned to Mr. Tony's abode to dye Easter eggs... like most kids our age, right? I guess it is hard for me to let go of traditions...

    As Justin tried to play mind games with his eggs - writing RAIN on one and dying it purple - I proceeded to make simple smiley faces and the traditional Happy Easter slogan.
 

   Easter Sunday was truly a blessing. Mr. Tony, Mrs. Mona, Justin and I all went to church and celebrated the day.  We returned to cook lunch and Travis and Brii (with a 5 week til baby- belly) joined us for a good time full of laughter.  And as a side note: I've got to say, after seeing an active Baby T in Brii's belly, I'm more curious than ever to find out what the gender of this baby is!! I supposed the little squirm-er will be here soon enough! :)

    Although our Easter was full of the traditional dying of Easter eggs, family gathering, and good food, we pause to remember the reason for this precious holiday - the loving sacrifice our Lord Jesus made for the forgiveness of our sins and his resurrection. For it is this that our faith is based on. We are truly thankful.  

8 weeks.

  The countdown begins. The arrival of Spring Break meant there were only 8 more weeks of school left until summer break. Eight more weeks for me to be a first-year teacher at my lovely little middle school in Aiken. Eight more weeks of seeing my little bundles of joy walk into my classroom with a partial smile and a half-hearted 'hello'.  And then hit me. Not only am I leaving my first job acquired by having 4 years of college behind me and a bachelor's degree, but I only have eight more weeks until I will no longer be a South Carolina resident. There are only eight more weeks until I will officially receive mail in a Mississippi zip code. There are only eight more weeks until the changes Justin and I have meticulously discussed, planned, and budgeted for, come to a climax.  To be honest, this is all very exciting and overwhelming all at the same time.

Today a representative from the company that will be moving all of our belongings across 3 states came by to take inventory and get an idea of how many boxes, trucks, and men it will take to pack and ship all of our things. As I was showing her around and looking through cabinets I was suddenly very grateful that we do not have to move all of this ourselves - or even pack!

The time in between now and June is going to be busy: Easter in Athens, Mother's Day in Georgetown, my birthday, and our one year wedding anniversary! June will be here before we know it!

Our Humble Abode

I already blogged about this, I know, however Justin and I are still very excited about the adventures that are in store for us in Mississippi. Everything seems to be falling perfectly into place, even if we are 9 hours apart and our closing date kept us on edge.  The day finally arrived and we were able to move our tiiiiny little twin bed, a dresser, and a fraction of Justin's workshop into our house.

Over lunch last week, Justin and I were discussing our poor excuse for furniture with his boss, not really complaining, just explaining, when he unexpectedly offered to give us a queen bed and mattress that he had in storage. Free queen bed? Sure, we'll take it! So, our house is looking slightly less pathetic while it waits for all of our other furniture, that currently resides in N. Augusta, to come accompany it. :)

Here are a few more pictures of the house!

First item on our to-do list after closing:
Take down the FOR SALE sign!

Look at the roses!

Front.

Side porch.

Front porch.

Part of the backyard.

Grapes!

Bathroom ceiling.

One of the two bathrooms.

One of 3 bedrooms.

Old fashion door bell.

All of the door knobs and locks in the house are antiques.
They're all different! 

The countdown has begun. After spending a week with my lovie, it was harder returning to an empty house than I originally thought it would be. Only 8 more weeks of work left until I'm with honey all the time. Time will fly.

Welcome Home.

After having 4 closing dates pushed back, requests for more paperwork, and very little communication with our mortgage broker, our hopes were down, but our fingers stayed crossed that we would eventually, actually own our dream home.


Yesterday Justin received another call from our broker to push back the closing...again. This time only from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm on the same day. This was acceptable.  However, we were still having a hard time believing this time would stick, and we would actually get our keys today.

As we climbed in bed last night Justin said, "It feels like Christmas Eve!" I was a bit more skeptical, but still excited. We showed up at the attorney's office the next day almost half an hour early. Within ten minutes, Justin was busy signing papers. Twenty minutes later, it was over - all the papers were signed and dated, and the keys to our new home were in our hands.

We hurried to our house to move in what little furniture we have here: a twin bed, a dresser, and some tools for Justin's workshop. We looked around at the empty house, and for a moment, we didn't notice the spots on the walls that needed a touch-up of paint. We didn't see the shelves that need dusting, or the carpet that needs steaming. We looked around, and all we saw was our home. Then we looked at each other, and we shared a big hug, and we were happy.