I guess this means it's official

 

 

Driver's license, Kroger card, and most importantly, Chick-fil-a card.

I'm feeling very southern, ya'll.

 

(Just so you know, I linked my Kroger card with my Fred Meyer card.

Not willing to cut all strings.)

Where we do what we do

Will you allow me to take you on a little tour of our new home?

First, you have to picture hills everywhere. I have not managed to take pictures of the scenery. I'll try to do that after I get the grades done. It is beautiful and just continuous up and down, hill after hill.

 

So imagine that you have just come down a hill and around a corner....

This is where you will find us.

 See our van in the driveway? We really live here! Rachel is even peeking out the front door.

Come on in!

 



This is the living room. To the left is the hallway that goes to Mom and Dad's room, computer room, and guest room (where you could soon be staying).

Through the door where Rachel is standing is the dining room and the kitchen to the right.

 Rachel doing schoolwork in the dining room (before we moved everyone downstairs. Thanks Mrs. Youngquist!)

You can see the deck through the sliding doors.

Picture of that will come when it's a little more organized.

 

Here's the kitchen. I would have taken a picture of me doing something, but I was taking the picture:)

You'll just have to imagine me whipping up something wonderful...

Okay, this is the view from the top of the stairs. The doorway just missed getting in the picture of the living room. It's to the left of the piano. Welcome sign courtesy of Mrs. Parsons (my sister).

There is a small landing where the table is, then you turn left and two more stairs to...

This is a small foyer-like space. The bathroom is just to the left and you can see the doorway into mine and Scott's room (what is the correct grammar for that? Scott's and mine, Scott's and me? It's too late, I give up)

Here's the room where Scott and I sleep:)

 

Across the hall is the bathroom. It has a shower, just too hard to get in a picture.

 

 

This is the hallway to the rest of the basement.

The door on the left is a closet. The door on the right is the boys' room. I just realized that I don't have any pictures of it to post right now...I'll give you three guesses why, but you'll only need one.

This is the first "sitting room" where you might like to come and have tea with me and sit by the fire.

 



 This is the view you would have if you were sitting in the big chair.

"Mrs. __ would you like cream or sugar?"

 

 

TV room

This is how the TV room and the sitting room fit together.

School Room.

 I really, really like it.

 Especially now that we have figured out how to all be in the same space.

Here's the view from the other side.

The girls' room is right off the school room, to the right.

Emily's bed is right behind the door.

Rachel's bed is straight across from the door.

Notice how nicely they organized their room, all on their own.

Thanks girls!

This is the view from the french doors. Hills down and then up. Mom and Dad's yard goes as far back as the shed, and then a little more. Nice yard!

 

I guess I still have a few blanks that need to be filled in. I was waiting until it was cleaned up. But, I guess that wouldn't give you a glimpse of our real life would it?

 

Stay tuned for more of the Davis family adventures...

 

 

 

I feel like I'm...

running just to catch myself. Wow. Ever hear of a manster...the image of a man (or lady as the case may be) running on a hamster wheel. Just can't seem to get where I'm going.

 

Grades are due on Thursday. To my consultant in Montana. They are almost finished, but don't think they will get there on time. Frowny-face.

 

Lots going on, I'm going to try to post pictures of our new space. Maybe if I write it somewhere permanent, it will make me accountable.

This is the South?

Nice day, ice day...this was my alternate title. We woke up this morning to a quarter of an inch of ice covering everything. The storm started before dawn and lasted for the majority of the day. It was beautiful, but paralyzing. Dad was supposed to go have some surgery on his eye at 7:30 this morning...not happening. (That's what Scott said as he was sliding down the driveway.) By noon they had declared a state of emergency in Tennessee. I have actually only heard about that happening in places other than where I was occupying space.

These are some glimpses of the day...

 

 

 See the water on the van? Well, it's frozen..and stayed that way all. day. long.

 

 

 Freezing

Freezing

Froze

 

 

Gratuitous Danny shot..eating PB&J

 

Notice the white blossoms on the tree...well it's not blossoms, it ICE

 

The Blessed Mother in the ice

 

 

 

The trees behind the house after the storm

 

Danny cheezing it up

 

So we hunkered down, stoked the fire, and enjoyed a relaxing day. (Just between us, Scott and I are beginning to think our family lured us here under the guise of great weather.) It's supposed to be gone by tomorrow and up to forty-five degrees. By Tuesday it's "supposed" to be sixty.

I'll post more pictures when that happens.

 

 

Hanging by a thread

So, moving is hard. I guess there is no way around it. Packing up everything you own, or at least what you have left after you have sold and purged, and driving your family and all your belongings twenty-eight hundred miles is not for the faint-hearted (in case you were wondering). And don't think I'm just saying that because I want you to think I'm all that. Not only is it a patience-trying, physically exhausting, stuck-in-a-snowstorm, flat-tire changing, stomach virus hard. It's really, really emotionally hard. Grace and joy got me through. (Thanks Jennifer! This is your shout out.)

There are times when I feel like I am hanging on by a thread.

Saying good-bye to friends family in WA, saying so long to our home and the places we have loved to go was harder than I thought it would be. Remembering those moments is heartbreaking. Trying to start over again with unfamiliar places, roads, faces, I have to tell you - hard. That's the sad news.

The good news is that our TN (as in Tennessee) life is really good. As we pulled up in the driveway, Donna and her family were waiting outside with welcome signs, big smiles and even bigger hugs. When we went to mass, Beth and her family were waiting for us just inside the doors. Maggie ran outside with open arms. More smiles and warm embraces. New friends right there waiting with greetings  - "It's so great to finally have you here." "We are so glad to see you."  "Welcome home".
Our new pastor greeted us warmly and welcomed us to Our Lady of Fatima. How many people move to a new place and have that kind of welcome? I couldn't help but think how grace-filled and joy-filled those moments were.

I think it was fortuitous that I was able to see the movie Les Miserable (twice:) before leaving Washington. Things like that always make me stop and think how unbelievably blessed I am in my life. So many friends in Washington, willing to help in any way, and, though it was hard for them too, bless us as we started out toward our new life. So much help and support from my family. Flying (one last time), packing, driving, unpacking, unpacking, unpacking, storing, feeding, hugging. A blessed life indeed. A grace-filled life.

Before we left Washington, and I was thinking about blogging about our southern life, I tried to think of a blog name. Admittedly, I wanted something clever, catchy, maybe even Latin. Thinking, thinking, more thinking...."Lord, what should I name my blog?"  - God really does care about the little things because he answered right away. "Threads of Grace." I was reminded of the comparison of the moments in our lives to threads in a tapestry. At the time, we can only see what is happening up close, a few threads at a time. Sometimes it doesn't make sense, sometimes not even pretty. Only in the light of eternity will we see the completed masterpiece. In the meantime, our Lord is weaving threads of grace throughout our lives. Hopefully we can see some of them in our up close and personal view.  But, if not, surely we will recognize those grace filled times in eternity, if not before.

I must tell you that we arrived in Maryville, at our new home, at 3:30 on Saturday evening. Mass was at 5:00pm. Not much time so shake the dust of the journey off, and prepare for mass. But do you know what was waiting for me? At the end of the journey? Grace. Sanctifying grace. Jesus met me with his own body and invited me to have a share in his own life.

Of course, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. I am happy to receive your gift of grace. Please weave threads of grace in this new season of my life. I'm ready.