Our last week...

in Raleigh. Sigh. We've come to that time after what seems like forever. Its been a difficult road to get us to this point and nothing has been particularly easy about this move, but God has been faithful and has seen us through as He promises to do so when we completely trust Him with our every move. And, if for nothing else, this move has already allowed us to grow closer to Christ in so many ways and depend on Him in ways we never have done before. And even though things didnt turn out throughout this process like we were hoping, wanting, praying for, we know that He has a perfect plan and His timing is perfect. I have had several verses I've clung to during this time and one in particular sticks out to me for this week: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.." Deuteronomy 31:6. He has shown me that home is where my family is and not where a house is, and that each "journey" He gives to me is my responsiblitiy to fulfill in being a disciple for Him. God has also given me 3 songs since June when we found out about this move that have literally gotten me through some tough days and taught me some priceless characteristics about the God I serve. "No Matter What" by Kerrie Roberts, "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller, and my fave of all time, "I will Follow" by Chris Tomlin. If you dont know them, go search them and listen to them, they are awesome.

We spent our last week in Raleigh/Knightdale with friends who we love so much. It is hard to say good-bye to so many people who you are so close to and even though an hour and 1/2 away is not terribly far, it's far enough when you have kids' schedules, schooling, church, activities, and life in general that happens b/c with all that comes little time to make time for other things! There have been too many tears shed during this moving process over SO many things, that I really tried to make our last week a happy one...and have a good attitude as we move forward to our new life in Greensboro, and I think I did that but have exhausted my children! Thank you to those speical peeps who took time to see us this week, love on us, bless us with gifts, and for those of you who have prayed for us during this process. We have had some of our most exciting memories here in Knightdale over the past 3.5 years and will hold dear to our hearts all the events and memories we made during this "journey" of our life. Here is a recap of our last week and all the fun things we did before saying good-bye to yet another part of NC that we've lived in! (I dont have a pic of Rachel and Eli coming over to say goodbye and exchange gifts, but they too are super special to us and will be missed-especially the scrapbooking nights talking about Barbie! ;)
Hailee's BFF, Elisa. Kara had the girls over one day to play while I packed...these girls are crazy over each other. Drew, Christian, Matthew, & Aunt Jen came over & brought them a tree and Tinkerbell ornaments, pink snowflakes and green balls and the boys helped the girls decorate their very own tree for their new room in the apartment! They are crazy over it! I cant believe these were "my boys" who I've known since the twins were 6 weeks old...now they are 9 and 12!
We met Dana, Jenali, & Charlotte at Chick Fil A Tues night for family night and the girls had a blast playing together! Luckily we wont be to much further from them in GSO than we are here in Knightdale!

We visited the HUGE Christmas tree and Train in Knightdale!

Angela, Rob, & Isabel had us over for dinner Wed. night-it was a real treat and blessing! Iz and Hailee have been sweet friends since the month after we moved here!Hailee and Hannah had their last Little Gym classes this week with their favorite instructor, Ms. Nadine! This was the 1st evening of tears for Hailee. We will miss this little gym so much, even though we are transferring our membership to the one in GSO.

Hailee had a playdate with her sweet friend, Darcy, one afternoon and made a special friendship bracelet that Hailee has informed me she will "wear forever and it will always make Darcy close to her heart"...precious. More tears came from knowing she wouldnt see Darcy anymore at preschool.

We met our bff's (Elisa and Charlotte) at the mall on Thursday to see Santa!! The girls did great and were so happy to tell him what they wanted for Christmas! These 4 girls have a special friendship that wont be replaced!Hannah had to take "Baby Jesus" to show Santa. They did great sitting with Santa!

The girls got to ride a special Cho-Choo Train all around the mall! Notice Hannah's excitement on her face! It was even cooler for them b/c mommy and Ms. Kara let them ride all by themselves!

Me and Kara: 2 friends with increddibly parallel lives. They just found out they will be moving to Wilmington with Chris' job so we are so sad that we will be 4 hours apart but I know distance wont change the bond b/w us!

We went over to Mycah and Caleb's for a fast, short playdate Thurs. afternoon! The girls always dress up together, so Mycah's attire was perfect for the occasion!Hailee had her Christmas program Thursday night at preschool and did an amazing job singing, playing bells, and signing the words to several songs! God has blessed us truely at FBP and we are going to miss being apart of this family sooo much. Thank you Mrs. Heather for being an awesome teacher to Hailee this year, she loves you so much!

We ended our crazy week by taking the girls after Hailee's program to Lake Myra for the awesome Christmas light show that they do to music. This is about 1/4 of the amount of lights they have up and the message they portray is all about Jesus! We took the girls here last year and its a wonderful show to see.

The girls go to Greenville tomorrow to be with Mom-Mom for the weekend and then we leave on Tuesday morning. I hope they treasure all the fun things we did this past week and there will be more smiles than tears come Tuesday. I will get back to blogging after we get settled in sometime next week. Here's to a new chapter in our lives....