My, how time FLIES!!!

Seriously... it's really been THAT long since I've written?  Last NOVEMBER?!  How can that be?

The big event that we KNEW would happen in 2014... that we've been waiting on for 10 years... was Gram's retirement and move to Atlanta!!  I still can't believe how it all happened so smoothly, and while it seems like we've been waiting forever on hand, on the other hand the time has flown.  I'm still pinching myself that my mom is just a few miles away now!!!

So very much MORE has happened since my last update... so much we DIDN'T expect... I guess I've been making notes in my phone and intending to write... but there was so much, I guess I didn't know where to start, so I didn't.  Yikes.  I guess, too, there was SO much exciting stuff happening, but not all of it could be shared yet... and I DO tend to be "all or nothing."  :-)

Let's see... in December, Matthew went to AZ on the Dude Ranch trip with Mill Springs.  It was a great trip overall (I'll post his blog entry about it sometime), but it did have a few hickups.  He developed a crush on a senior girl and also, probably from the stress and hormones surrounding it all, yelled at a teacher the last day (about leaving his boots!), and as a result lost his level R.  This was a somewhat long and frustrating process, but it was a learning experience for him no doubt.  Our feelings that Mill Springs was not the best fit for him was confirmed through this process.  In fact, later in the spring, he signed up for "feedback" and was blasted by the girl of the crush.  Heart breaking.  We realized that this environment would not be "typical" for him and the life he will live.  It was time for a change, and we were praying things would work out at Wesleyan.

Fast forward to April.  Matthew gets accepted to Wesleyan, Jeff, having accepted the offer to become principal of the high school next year, is very busy doing his Dean job, parts of the Principal job, and coaching baseball.  It was an exhausting but exciting spring.  Maddie was thriving in 5th grade... she was voted as most outstanding 5th grade female rep for Student Council, played an AWESOME "teen girl" in Bye-Bye Birdie and made Honor Roll.  She loved, LOVED the musical and is sure that theater is something God created her to do.  :-)  She also really enjoyed learning the French Horn and was excited about doing band again next year.

So, in the fall, there were three BIG possible happenings for the year... Matthew getting accepted to Wesleyan, Jeff becoming principal, and us getting a faculty house.  It was crazy to think about all of that, knowing that if ANY ONE of those were to come true, life would be so different.  It boggles my mind to sit here now in the reality that ALL THREE came true!  Even if God's answer to all of those had been 'no', we had a GREAT life... but he gave us immeasurable more than we could've asked or imagined.  We even sold our house!!  Holy Cow!

And it doesn't stop there!!  Mom retired in June, and she sold HER condo -- so, so easily!  We found a condo just 5 minutes from our new house, and it couldn't be more perfect for her!  I'm in awe of God's faithfulness... I think we all are.

We celebrated Mom's retirement with a trip to the beach... almost two weeks.  We plan to celebrate more, but there was moving to be done!  We had to come home and move, and Jeff had a new principal's conference to attend.  Then - ready or  not - school was upon us!!

To say I was nervous for this new adventure is an understatement.  But once again, God has shown up in a mighty way........