We made it!

I don't have time for a big update today, but I just wanted to let you all know that WE MADE IT! After a 2 day - 15 hour drive (about 7 and 1/2 hours each day through quite a bit of rain) we finally pulled into our driveway in ALABAMA!

We've been working non-stop since we arrived, trying desperately to get unpacked and settled in (I forgot how much WORK moving is!) but I promise as soon as everything is set up I'll share some pics with you. For today, I thought I'd leave you with our moving shots.

Here we are at the edge of our front yard in Michigan - standing by our (full) moving truck! We were tired but ready to hit the road!

And here we are in January 2009 (newly engaged) when we moved to Michigan! (This is actually in Kentucky. There was a LOT more snow when we arrived in Port Huron later that day!) I think it's funny how much bigger our truck is in the picture above.... married life means lots more stuff to move!

We're taking a break from unpacking today to drive over to Arkansas, and we would appreciate your prayers for Rusty's grandmother. She is in the hospital and hasn't been doing very well (she actually gave us quite a scare in the middle of our drive down) so we're going to head over and spend some time with her. We weren't planning on traveling again so soon, but it sure is nice to only be 5 hours away (and able to visit) instead of 16!

If you could pray specifically for HEALING in her foot (there is a chance it might have to be amputated), for the fluid to stay off her heart and lungs, and for her heart and kidneys to be strong and healthy, we would really appreciate it!

Goodbye Michigan..

Today, we start the 14+ hour caravan (Rusty in the 22' Penske truck + towing his car, me in my Explorer, and our friend Mark in his Tahoe) to Alabama. As much as I hate packing and moving, I am thrilled to be coming HOME!

Some of you know that the past 2 years and 8 months in Michigan have been one of the hardest seasons of my life. (For many reasons... maybe someday I will elaborate more on that.) Michigan is not my favorite place (helllooo, I'm a Southern Belle! If there's no SEC football or sweet tea or Chick-Fil-A then I'm not really going to feel 'at home'!) BUT with all that said, there are still plenty of things we will miss about the place we called "home" for our first 2 and 1/2 years of marriage.

We will miss our house. Our 3 bedroom, beautiful little house that the Gutierrez family worked so hard to prepare for us, and our dear, dear friend Arlene let us rent for only $300 a month! (I know - we were crazy blessed!) This little house was our first home as a married couple. It's where we came home from our honeymoon, and where Rusty carried me over the threshold. It's the first place I was able to truly call my own, and the place I realized I love to decorate! It's where we decided to make The Sound of Hope our own non-profit. It's where we laughed and planned and cried and fought and dreamed. We will miss that familiar feeling of coming "home" here after a long trip... we will miss the way the light floods through all the big windows.... we will miss our big front porch and the swing Rusty napped in.... we will miss the big back porch and the back yard full of flowers. And of course, we will miss my cute little "backyard bunnies" I have chased since we moved in (though I never did catch one!). After all, that's how I got my pet-name "Bunny" from Rusty! ;)

We will miss our church. The people who welcomed us in before they even knew us and made a place for us. The people who gave all of us (World Racers included) lots of furniture when we first moved to help us get on our feet. Pastor Mark & Tracee, Doug & Carrie, the Leadership Team, the people I sang on the worship team with, the guys Rusty played softball with, and all the amazing people whose stories we told through Rusty's video work with CC... not to mention the wonderful individuals and families who have chosen to support us & The Sound of Hope financially! I wish I could name everyone we'll miss from church but I'd surely forget a name (there are just too many people!) I look at all the sweet kids from our church and I can't believe how much we have seen them grow up over the past few years! We will definitely miss our hugs from sweet little Zoe, Haven, and Saige Gearhart, and watching Cory Wargo play football! :)

We will miss doing iStock shoots with Shawn and Rosie! I seriously had SO much fun with this "side job" over the past year a half! Brainstorming ideas with Shawn, pulling together costumes and props, and then the shoots themselves were just a blast! I've been a rockstar and a renaissance queen, a cowgirl and a cook, a nurse and a nerd, a "couple in love" and a 50's/60's girl, a businesswoman and a bride, a wife and a mom. We've done a Fall shoot, a Christmas shoot, a New Year's shoot, and just recently, a shopping shoot! It's been great to have this creative outlet, and SO neat to see where these pictures have started turning up! Plus, Shawn & Rosie are so talented! I have been amazed at the photos they've taken! We've been really blessed to have spent so much time with them and their sweet family!

And believe it or not - we will miss the weather! Okay... not all of it (about half the year here it is just miserable!) but we actually love the snow! We think it's beautiful. It will be odd not seeing it this winter (though I will be glad when it's not snowing in April, blech!) I am proud to say that this Southern Belle actually learned how to adapt to the snow and ice! We also LOVE Autumn here... there is no where in the world I've ever seen the trees turn so beautifully! And the fact that it really "feels" like Fall with a crisp, cool breeze tops it off! And then, there are the summers. Granted, they are short, but they are incredible! 70's to 80's with very little humidity and a cool breeze....ahhhh! If we could find a way to live up North July - December, and then down South the rest of the year, I think we'd be in heaven! (Weather-wise anyway! :)

I'm sure there are other things we will miss over time, or just find odd that we don't see anymore. It will be weird not to see signs for Canada (we live on a border town here), Canadian car tags and money, and not to hear people speaking French in Target and TJ Maxx. It will be odd not to see the river or the lake - both are truly beautiful (even in the ice and snow!) and the seagulls they bring all over town. We have a lot of "adjustments" ahead, even if we're returning to somewhere familiar!

But, on the way out of town, I just wanted to remember all the things we loved about Michigan. And to say "thank you" to the people here who have welcomed us, loved us and prayed for us while we've been here. We hope you all stay in touch!

Goodbye Michigan! Thanks for the memories!

His Eye is on the Sparrow...

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

 ~ Matthew 6:25-34

This scripture has always spoken to me. I come from a long line or worry-ers, and it's taken years to attempt to break the habit. Actually, it's something I still struggle with sometimes, and have to remind myself not to do! We live in a world that sells FEAR - on every news channel, in every newspaper headline, and with every advertisement of safer cars, better insurance, and new drugs. It takes reminding ourselves (every day) that God is in control of our lives, and we are supposed to TRUST HIM, instead of worrying about every little thing.

For me, that reminder often comes in the form of a bird. Call me silly, but whenever I see a sweet little bird hopping around in the grass, or looking at me from the branch of a tree, I feel a wave of peace. I'm able to smile - remembering that God is near, and that He has not forgotten me. And it's a good thing too, because I tend to take crazy leaps of faith like starting a non-profit in the middle of an economic recession, or taking a job as a support raised missionary, or moving to far away places "because God said to" without knowing where I'll live or how we'll make ends meet. In the midst of "leaping" like Rusty and I do - it's nice to be reminded that God will always catch us before we hit the ground.

So, imagine my delight when, the day after we returned home from Thailand, we were greeted by a tree FULL of these little fellas!

I have never seen even ONE of these bright yellow birds in our yard in the 2+ years we've lived in Michigan.... but on this morning, there were 10 or 11 of them perched in our trees! I was delighted when I saw the first one...but when 10 of his friends joined him Rusty and I were in awe. Aren't they pretty!?

Then, a few days later I saw this happy little bluebird in our back yard. He was BEAUTIFUL and I was completely taken by him. This picture cracks me up because of how puffed up he was as he was checking me out - he looks like he's got some attitude! Like, "Yeah, I see you lookin' at me. You may be big, but I can take you!" haha!

When I realized he was living in our little birdhouse later that week, I was thrilled! Now I get to see him all the time!

You may think this post is silly, but in the midst of struggle and sacrifice - as we continue to do everything in our power to make The Sound of Hope successful for the precious kids we care for overseas - these little birds are a blessing. It means so much for me to feel God's presence reminding me, "If I can take care of these little birds, then Baby Girl - I've got YOU!"