After our time in Charleston, we made our way up to Virginia for a long (but not long enough) weekend with Glenn’s sister and her husband.
We don’t get nearly enough time with these two (the frustrations of living in separate parts of the country), so it was a true blessing having some time together with them.
Devon also achieved another “first" while we were in DC- his first ride on public transportation/a train!
We love Charleston. Downtown is beautiful, the food is awesome, it’s right next to the beach, and it has just the right amount of “southern-ness." So it is pretty fortunate that my brother’s family lives there- now there is just one more (or five if you count each person) reason to go visit!
Isn’t sweet little Isabelle precious?
We celebrated Devon’s first birthday at my brother’s house in Charleston, SC. It was a hot air balloon party (hence the “growing up, up up" slogan).
At long last- we finally managed to get a couple family photos!
(taken in Charleston, SC)
When I first started this blog a couple years ago I entitled it “Our
Joyful Wanderings" with the intention of it being a diary of sorts of
our time living in the UK. Well, we’ve been back in the States for almost two years now and I’ve realized that I should probably retitle
the blog to “our joyful yet kinda crazy and unexpected and seemingly
never ending wanderings." But that’s a bit of a mouthful. I am
beginning to accept the fact that this blog is more than an
opportunity to share our traveling exploits and daily lives. And while some might think that blind dogs and rambunctious babies aren’t nearly as
exciting as foreign countries and strange customs, we love the all of
the new additions to our life. They certainly keep us on our toes!
Our family is, once again, in the midst of quite a big upheaval. After
living in the swamplands of Louisiana for the past 17 months we have decided to move. And we have no idea where to.
Here’s a condensed version of the story:
There are a multitude of reasons why we felt like Glenn needed to quit his job. But beyond the frustrations with his company and the difficulties that came with the long hours, ultimately we just both knew that God was leading us in another direction. Glenn had looked at other jobs, and received a few offers, but none of them seemed right. And so, after much prayer- and undeniably clear direction from the Lord- Glenn put in his notice and quit his job at the end of March.
On the one hand, it was a difficult decision. It is hard to agree to set aside all of your supposed security: a monthly paycheck. But while we were wrestling with the decision God really convicted my heart that we need to remember where our true security comes from. It is God who provides our daily needs. He is who we trust for our health, our shelter, our future. Who are we to deny the Creator of the Universe and Sustainer of Life when He asks us to step out in faith and trust Him? Isaiah 26 promises us that “He will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You." We have decided to trust God and follow the deep conviction in our hearts, and truth be told, as difficult of a decision as it was to make, once we chose to obey and trust, God immediately gave us that perfect peace. I know that a lot of people don’t understand our decision, but we couldn’t be happier about it because we know that God is leading us somewhere-even if we aren’t sure where that place is yet.
So what are we doing now? Well, we are currently taking a little “sabbatical." We have packed up all of our possessions, put it in a Pod in storage, and hit the road with just a few suitcases, Devon, and our dog. Our plan is to visit a bunch of our family and friends and to just enjoy having a little bit of time off together as a family. In June, when our travels die down a bit, we will resume a job search and try to get back to a little more “normalcy."
Here’s a snapshot of our travels (past and future):
After moving out of our home in Louisiana, our first stop was Charleston, SC, to visit with my side of the family. My parents were in town and we all had a great time being together (we also celebrated Devon’s first birthday!!!!!). After Charleston we drove to Washington, DC and spent a really fun long weekend with G’s sister and brother in law before heading to Wilmington, DE for a couple weeks to hang out with our friends Jon and Ashley (and their son Reed). We then flew to San Diego for one of my best friend’s weddings, and then flew to New Mexico, where we are now, to see Grandma and Grandpa (G’s mom and stepdad). From here we plan on hitting Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Chicago, and Nebraska…all before June! In other words, we’re keeping busy. We are loving seeing so many friends and family and are truly feeling blessed to have the extra time to do so. If you happen to be somewhere around those areas, let us know! We’d love to see you.
Sooo- that’s our big update. If you think of us, please pray that we will have discernment about what the best job will be for G to take. But in the interim we are relishing all of the travels and quality time. I just can’t wait to see what God has in store for our family!
