I really am going to give this a better attempt this year. There are a lot of people who fuss at me for not keeping this up. Shut up, already. Been a little busy.
2012 was not the best of years and I can honestly say I'm not horribly sad that it's over. We are ready for a new start. Might as well be, we can't have any more of a new start than this.
If you haven't heard, we've moved. After being in KC for 10 years, an opportunity was presented back south and we decided it was time to pack up and head home. Home for Jamie, close to home for me. There are pine trees and pine cones here so it feels right. The palm trees keep throwing me off a bit but I sure love seeing the signs for the beaches!
Leaving KC was one of the hardest things I think I have ever done. I had made some amazing friends there and was so sad to leave them behind. I know we'll always be friends but being able to go have a quick lunch, a cup of coffee, a glass or wine or even go hunting for Chupacabra on a whim will never happen again.
But it was time to move on.
A lot of amazing memories were made in KC. And a lot of life lessons were had. I learned a lot about myself as a person and a mother. I learned how far I could be pushed and how little I was willing to take when my children's safety was at stake. I learned how much I could care about another person and I learned that family isn't always bonded by blood but rather by life, places and time.
So here we are, back south. Boiled peanuts, sweet tea, pine needles and gorgeous sunsets.
We have settled into Jamie's parents old home. His father remarried in November and moved about 20 minutes away (closer to the beach!). Rather than just any old joe moving into this house, we have decided to purchase it and make it our home. I feel that Bonnie would be okay with this. I know how much she loved this house and this land. She'll enjoy watching her grandbabies run around her house creating new memories.
Faith and Caleb have both started school and are doing quite well. Faith is at the Kindergarten center which has all kindergarten for the entire town. Beautiful, brand new school with top notch everything. It's really wonderful! She goes from 8:00 until 3:00. Things here start an hour earlier. I guess everyone gets up when the rooster does. Still adjusting to that.
Caleb has the same hours so I drop him in the morning and rush to the opposite side of town to drop Faith. Then at pick up, I grab Faith and reverse my path from morning. Yes, there is a bus that rolls right by our house but even though our zip code changed, I can't totally let go off my insecurities. I need to SEE my children walk into the school and I need to have them with me at the end of the day.
Caleb has been quite popular, being the new boy and all. Has already had a couple of sleepovers and many phone calls. I hear him chatting with his KC buds on XBox and makes me so thankful for modern technology. He's just growing his collection of friends and I'm so proud of him for making good choices along that path.
Jamie is working at Ft Rucker. He is actually working at the Safety Center. I have no idea what this involves or even means. He is still a systems engineer and no longer works with classified information so I really have no reason why I still don't know what my husband does. I'm sure I would be enthralled by that conversation shall it ever happen.
Ashley will be 2 on the 19th of January. Two. So hard to believe. She is such a funny, sweet, sensitive little girl. She prefers ruffles and purses to anything dirty. And she loves any kind of animal just like her brother and sister.
I am so lucky to still be home with these kiddos. Of course, its just Ashley and I from 8-3 but that is fun too! I feel like I had that with the other two so only fair I have it with her too.
So we're adjusting. We know this move was the best thing ever and we are so excited to be back in the south. But as you get older, change is harder. But change is also good. It just needs time to grow on you.
It's starting to grow on me.
