Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

This is my last week working at my hospital. I had my last clinic last wednesday, a clinic full of patients I have known for many years now. My favorite married couple patients came to see me. The husband prayed for me at the end of our visit and I cried. Another patient who I have seen through two pregnancies came to me with a brand new pregnancy. I got to show her the tiny little bean flickering away inside her and rejoice. I was touched she wanted to have one more visit with me before I left. I am feeling wistful as I say goodbye to so many colleagues - the nurses, techs, therapists, cashiers, and technologists I have gotten to know over these last 6 years. I really am going to miss them. I have been incredibly blessed working at such a great hospital. Greenwood is not a big town, but we have a big town kind of hospital. Lots of people have asked me what I'll do when we move. I do want to work, although I don't have a job yet. I didn't really want to ...

We took a quick weekend trip to Charleston so we could see my brother and visit that fun city before our big move. We also took a short trip to the beach, something I was hoping we'd be able to fit in. I wanted to see the Atlantic one last time before moving to the West coast. As you can see, we had a great time. Naomi makes a rather adorable beach bum.          

I wish that I could say that the dark december tear-filled walk magically made me super excited about moving. It didn't, though in that moment God reminded me that his plans are perfect and that if he wants us in California, it would be the best place for us. Starting in high school I had a strong interest in missions and I spent three of my college summers in Peru, working for a mission agency. I had always imagined I would spend my life working abroad in some mission hospital, so I'm not sure why I found it difficult to understand that God would call me to California. After Naomi was born, we made plans to go out to California for a visit and candidating weekend. I was surprised by how beautiful it was. I had been to San Diego before, but never to LA. I had always imagined LA to be a sort of mass of concrete and traffic. While there definitely was some heavy traffic, the mountains out there are really beautiful. The beach, too, is lovely. I didn't realize how close...

[As I started writing this I realized that it was getting long so I decided to split it up into two posts. Here is part one. Part 2 to come later.] Many moons ago, when Jeff first started applying for jobs at churches, he mostly focused on churches in the southeast, with a few in Colorado and a couple near Kansas, all places near family. As the months dragged on, he widened his search and started applying to basically every job he heard about. His first interview with the church in California was sometime in the fall, and I didn't think much of it at the time - he had numerous phone and skype interviews with lots of places that didn't go anywhere. Then they flew him out for a live visit in October. I started getting nervous. I didn't want to move to California. I prayed we would find something else. We had a few more leads and I prayed that one of those would pan out. If I'd made a list of all the places I didn't want to live at that point, California might have...

I love my kids. My two beautiful kids. How did they get so wonderful? I'm not sure.    

There has been a lot going on lately with our family, and I feel like I can finally spill the beans. Jeff has accepted a call to a PCA church in Burbank, CA! Early June we'll be moving all the way across the country to Los Angeles to start the next adventure. We are, of course, super excited. And  bit terrified. (At least, I'm terrified.) I've never lived in such a big city. Or so far away from South Carolina. It is going to be a big adjustment, I'm sure, but I am so excited for Jeff to be at this new church. I wrote a few weeks ago about small things . In some ways, this move feels like something bigger. LA is definitely bigger than rural South Carolina. But the church we are moving to isn't huge - it's about 50 or so people total, a church that has had some rocky times over the last year or so, so in many ways it still feels small. We certainly hope and pray that the church will grow larger, but I most pray that the folks there will come to a deeper unders...

My family spent a fun weekend at a lake house this past weekend. It was dreary, wet, and cold, but we still managed to have a bit of fun. A little bit of soap + a jetted tub = a great time for four busy boys.      

I love this shot of my mom with the kids - it just captures really well being with Nana. The swing, bird watching, and getting rocked to sleep. I love it. And her.