Wordless Wednesday

Where are we going?

'Where are we going?" is what we used to ask Emily as we were pulling into our apartment complex.  She would respond with "Going HOME!!"  This is the only home both of our girls have ever known.  We have so many wonderful memories in that apartment!  

The other day (we'd been in G'ville for aobut 2 weeks) Emily was looking at a picture of our family where you could barely see our apartment in the background.  All the sudden Emily started saying "Go home?  going home??"  At first I wasn't even sure what she was talking about, but then I saw the apartment.  It just melted my heart....she still thinks of our old apartment as home.  Sweet girl.  

Bert and I were certainly ready for a little more space, but we'll always look back at our time in that 2 bed room, 2 bath apartment on Thornrose Way and smile.:)  

My Sister

Katherine and Brett stopped by the night before we moved to tell us bye.  It was sad.  I cried.  I have lived in the same town as my sister for 25 out of my 29 years (we've lived in the same house for the majority of those).  We've lived in 5 different cities (Athens, Toccoa, Clemson, Dahlonega, and Wake Forest), and three different states.  I have LOVED being so close to my sister!  She understands me, she encourages me, she forgives me, she knows me, and she loves me.  

Bert and Brett are great friends too, and I can't begin to imagine how many dinners the four of us have had together.  Lots of nights we would invite the other couple over just an hour before it was time to eat.  Spur of the moment.  I'm not a spur of the moment kind of person.  I prefer to plan things out days, weeks or even months in advance, but hanging out with Kate and Brett is different. I love that we are all so comfortable together that it just doesn't matter if the house isn't clean, there are dirty dishes in the sink, or we're experimenting with a new recipe....we just love hanging out.  

We had the kiddo's pose for us in front of all the boxes.  Emily loves Jacob like you wouldn't believe.  She gets so excited about seeing him!!  As we were pulling out of Wake Forest, Emily started saying "I go see Jacob, I go see Jacob."  I was already emotional and her insisting that we go see him only made me cry more.  We'll certainly miss them, but I know that not living in the same town any more will just make our time together from now on more special.  

Me and Kate at Bert's graduation party.  

I love you, Kate!  You are what I'll miss most about Wake Forest!  

SEBTS Graduation

Bert graduated from SEBTS (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) with his Masters of Divinity in Christian Ministry on May 18th.  We've lived in Wake Forest for four years.  He's completed 90 hours of course work, worked full time, led a small group at our church, and made me and the girls feel like we were number one.  He's worked so hard.  I've seen it.  I've seen him stay up until 2am many, many nights to finish a paper or study for a test.  His alarm was almost always set for 5:30 so that he could spend time in the Word before heading off to work for the day.  He's done an amazing job, and it's not just me that thinks so. He recently received the Joe B. Brown Preaching Award from Southeastern, which was nominated by the faculty.  

Bert and I have been looking forward to May 18th for quite awhile.  Here are some pictures from the day...

Bert and Dr. Akin (President of SEBTS)

So proud of my hubby!  

Bert with his parents.  They were so proud too!!  I think his mom was smiling the entire time!:)  

Bert's grandparents (Mamaw and PawPaw) drove up from Florida.  We were so glad they were able to come!  

Bert and his sisters...so sweet!  

My parents wouldn't have missed it either.  Even with a flat tire on the way, they were there with bells on.:)  

Us with our good friends, Corey and Sunni!  Corey and Sunni are taking over leading our small group after we leave WF.  They are going to do such a GREAT job!  

Our friend, Whitney Gordon, kept the girls for us during the ceremony and then brought them to us when it was over so that we could take a few pictures with them.  Unfortunately, Emily wasn't in the picture-taking-mood.:)  We did manage to get a few cute family pictures though.  

Hannah is not a big fan of the bottle these days.  She will just hold her mouth open, gag, or cry to let you know that she's not planning on taking that bottle.  She'll eventually take it from her Daddy.  He has learned some tricks on how to get her to drink it.  So, as soon as we finished pictures we headed over to the nearest bench and Bert started feeding Hannah.  I had to get a picture of him feeding her in his cap and gown....he's such a good Daddy.:)  

This is what Emily wanted to do while we were wanting to taking pictures...run around!  

Group shot of Bert's fan club.  

We're all so proud of you, Bert!  You are such an amazing husband, father, son, grandson, son-in-law, and brother!  We love you!  

Graduation Weekend

Graduation weekend started off with Jeff and Linda and Mamaw and Pawpaw getting into town on Thursday afternoon.  Pawpaw treated all of us to dinner at Milton's.  The food was amazing and we had a great time!  

Emily was collecting sugar packets in her little pocket and she was daring any of us to take them away...ha!:)  

Pawpaw had Hannah cackling.  We actually got out the video camera so that we could record her sweet laugh.  Notice all the boxes in the back ground.:)  

Pawpaw also had Emily laughing.  He's just all around FUN!  

On Friday night, after graduation, Bert's sisters and mom gave him a graduation party.  They did such a great job planning everything....we all had great time!  Most of our small group was able to come and then a few other friends/family from the area.  

Mamaw and Hannah.

Aunt Katherine, Jacob and Hannah.  

Grandmama and Pawpaw blowing bubbles with Emily.  

At first Emily was coloring with a permanent marker ( I'm not even sure where she got this), but Aunt Alison quickly replaced it with washable markers so the coloring-on-the-table fun could continue!  

We had such a great time at the party!  We were so thankful to be able to see all of our Wake Forest friends one last time before we moved.

Saturday was a work day.  We cleaned the apartment from top to bottom.  EVERYONE pitched in.  Some people were cleaning, some were taking down shelving, some were packing, some were playing with Em and Hannah, but everyone was so helpful!  There were some things that couldn't be cleaned until all the boxes and furniture were out, but we were actually able to get a lot cleaned.  At the end of the day on Saturday I absolutely couldn't believe I forgot to take a single picture of everyone working so hard to help us.  We really are so thankful.  It was such a huge blessing and made moving day about a million times easier than it would have been.

It was a busy, but great weekend!  We had lots to celebrate and lots to be thankful for!

Aunt Carrie

Aunt Carrie spent the week before graduation with us.  We all loved having her here, and she was such a HUGE help as we were in the middle of packing up our apartment when she arrived!  She spent countless hours holding Hannah and playing with Emily.  

Carrie just loves our girls so well and so much, and they love her right back!  Thank you, Carrie!  Thank you for coming to WF to visit and for helping us pack up our apartment....we all hope to see you again soon!!  Love you!!

Small Group Going Away Party

Our small group surprised us with a going away party the week before we left Wake Forest.  We thought we were going to our regularly scheduled small group dinner.  I had the dessert we were bringing in one hand and Emily's hand in the other....Bert had Hannah and the diaper bag.  We were running a few minutes late (I have to admit this is not totally unusual) and when we opened the door everyone yelled "SURPRISE!"  All of our small group was there plus a few other WF people who are near and dear to our hearts.

We had such a great time that night.  We felt so loved and I hope each one of you knows how much you are loved by us.  It has been a privilege to "do life" with this group over the last 3 years.  They have encouraged us, challenged us, pushed us closer to Christ, loved on us, prayed for us, visited us in the hospital when we had our babies, cooked dinner for us, held us accountable, and helped to give us a better understanding of what it means to live in community.

We love each of you so much!  We'll be praying for y'all from G'ville!