Home on the Range...

Well folks, we have finally arrived.  Just wish all of our stuff would. We got word last night that our goods have been split up and the first half arrives tomorrow.  I sure hope my clean clothes and our bed is part of the first half.  I didn't pack enough clothes for this long and I'm tired of hotel life.  Manny hopes that all of his bacon treats also arrive in tomorrow's cargo.

So Manny and I are sitting on the floor in the rental house in silence.  I've spent the last 2 days here waiting on the cable guy & the gas guy.  Of course they couldn't have come on the same day and they both tell you they'll be here between the crucial hours of 12-4.  Makes for fun day.  Yesterday I actually filled my new housewife duties nicely and cleaned this place top to bottom.

The journey here was long-on the way we stopped in Fairhope to see Lauren, Gray & our sweet nephew, and then headed to MS and spent a couple nights with our parents.  Of course we made the necessary trips to Hudson's & the fish camp while there.  For my friends who have never heard of a "fish camp", it's actually a type of restaurant, usually decorated with stuffed deer, turkey, bobcats, etc., and who's main features are coleslaw, hushpuppies, and catfish.  If you want to be difficult, they'll feed you a hamburger steak, but they look at you funny when you order it. My mom threw me her own going away party the night before with steak, chicken, sausage, baked beans, potatoes and rum cake. The next morning she made me beignets. I love how parents are the eternal providers.  My mom also packed me & J "to go bags" for the car full of snacks and an "emergency bag" full of toilet paper, paper plates, and cleaning supplies. All have already come in handy.  Parents still just know what you need even though you think you don't.

J has been at the office the last couple days, so Manny, and the gas & cable guy are about the only other people I've talked to.  Quite the change for me; I'm gonna have to find a hobby real quick.  : )  This afternoon, I'm hoping to explore a little bit.

Once we get our house presentable I'll take pictures and post them.  We've already gotten a notice from the city that our grass is too high, so that's definitely on the To Do List this weekend.  IF our lawn mower shows up.

All Packed Up....

There are 3 little angels in my house named George, Ken, & Willie C.  The sounds of tape surrounds me and the angels are lovingly packing my things and telling me to sit down and relax.  Believe it or not, this part of the packing process has been the highlight of my last few days.  

 In typical Wells fashion, we HAD to make this move more dramatic than it already is.  So on Sunday night, my body decided it was going on strike and I started throwing up uncontrollably.  Add severe back pain, and you got yourself a full on stomach virus.  I pretty much stayed up all night and almost made J take me to the emergency room.  Instead, he opted for a 3:00 a.m. trip to Wal-Mart for over-the-counter-meds.  They did nothing for my fearless stomach, so first thing in the morning, we headed to the doctor, and I was sedated treated by a Phenergran shot.  I was out cold in 3.2.1...seconds. Shortly after our doctor trip, J started feeling bad so he joined me in the bed and we slept from about 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (With bathroom breaks). Back to bed at 10:30 p.m. and slept till 10:00 a.m. the next morning!!!  So needless to say, we were 2 days behind schedule for moving prep. BUT, in our minds, we still had all day Wednesday since the movers were coming Thursday. NOT! When we pulled ourselves off the couch at 2:00 p.m. yesterday, we got a call from the moving company "confirming" that they would be here at 8:00 THIS MORNING! I almost started throwing up again. We had done nothing to prepare. I know you're thinking: "Umm..you lucky thing, you have movers, what is there to do??" But, since our stuff is mixed in with our landlord's stuff, there was much to separate. Luckily, we were able to negotiate them showing after lunch today, so we worked until we couldn't take anymore and went to bed.  

This morning (feeling much better) I went to town to run some errands, and when I came home, this is what I found.....(insert angel voices)

We will probably never have this opportunity again, but I admit, having people pack up your stuff is the way to go!!! 

It is starting to look a little empty around here, which is sad.  This place has really become home for us and holds so many memories.  We spent our first Christmas here, threw some fabulous parties, and took lots of long walks.  So in honor of our time here, here are a few of the "snapshots" that capture some of our memories. 

And on to our next adventure!!!! 

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens"...

Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Wells Weekly: The Final Countdown

So yes, I've been singing "The Final Countdown" all week in my head.....I just CAN'T BELIEVE that we are a week away from moving.  Seven days left in Tallahassee. Sigh.  The waterworks haven't started yet, but I can feel them coming on, and I can see the fear in J's face...he HATES when I cry.  Tomorrow is my last day of work, which is unbelieveable....I have thoroughly enjoyed my job this past year and will definitely miss my co-workers!  It is especially strange to think that I do not have to get up on Monday morning (at any point in the near future) and go to work! Housewife Life, here I come.

Since I am counting down my final days here, I've been spending as much time as possible with my wonderful friends.  Last weekend, a group of us went to Painting With a Twist, which was a BLAST!  I can't say that I was the best artist ever, but it was so much fun!  I loved how different all of ours turned out!

I named my painting "Owlfred"...how appropriate.  I don't know where he'll live, but the girls thought that the colors I used were VERY "TEXAS".....

Last weekend, we also celebrated the upcoming arrival of my dear friend, Melissa's, baby girl.  The baby shower was a blast; you know you're growing up when you are excited that your friend got an adorable Boppy.  Melissa is due in May; doesn't she look amazing???

This weekend will be our last Sunday at Celebration, which breaks my heart more than anything.  I have learned so much the past 3 years through all the things we've been a part of at Celebration.  God has blessed us beyond measure, but I know He has gone before us (as he promises) and already found the perfect church for us in the Big D.  : )

Jeremie has been working in Dallas the past couple weeks, so I was happy to welcome him home tonight! I can already tell that J is LOVING his new position, so that makes me very happy.  I do look forward to life slowing down a little bit once we get settled over there so I can spend some quality time with my hubby. 

A busy week is ahead, but I will try to update as much as possible!!!! 

DNOW...and Later...

Guilty as charged.  I haven't blogged in a loooong time.  I was even reprimanded by a co-worker.  Life has still been top speed, but I have just as much time in the day as other people who are better bloggers, so I'd better stop complaining.  ; ) 

So back up the timeline 3 weeks to Disciple Now weekend.  If you've never heard of DNOW,  it's a weekend sponsored by the church for youth to sleepover at a host home, stay up all night, compete in disgusting relay races (such as eating a pie with your hands behind your back), rock out to loud Christian bands and most importantly, listen to an awesome speaker talk about Christ.  For some reason, my dear friend Tiffany and I found ALL of these things appealing and volunteered to be 8th Grade Leaders for the weekend.  I say that dryly, but the weekend was truly a blast and a BLESSING. This was our LIVELY group of nine...

They were fully of energy, and let's face it, they are 8th graders, so they were more than obsessed with the band.  Just look at these faces as they got "autographs".....

                                       

Friday night kicked off with a rockin' concert by The Brighter and a message by Travis Crim (amazing and hilarious).  After being the last to leave the church (see above photo for reason why) we packed DOZENS of bags in the car (only necessities for the weekend, right?) and headed to our host home for our first lesson.  As lively as the girls were, they were so attentive during our lessons and hungry to hear more about Christ.  The curriculum this year was called "Imitator" and was centered around Ephesians 5:1-2: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."  There are SO many false imitators in our society these days, but luckily, the Bible tells us exactly what we need to be imitating.  So our lessons were spent discussing why we would want to imitate God, what NOT to imitate (the "world") and how to actually go about imitating.  I have to admit, this curriculum was totally convicting for me too; it's hard to put imitating into action on a daily basis! 

After a 2 hour lesson (it's now rounding midnight) the girls informed me & Tiffany that they still needed to paint shirts for recreation day on Saturday.  The problem was that there was a shortage of shirts and paint.  So us fearless leaders hopped in the car and headed to Wal-Mart, returning at an exhausting hour of 1:00 A.M. Shirt painting commenced and we shut it down by 2:00 A.M.  Tiffany and I are delirious at this point.  Somehow we pulled it together the next day.......couldn't have done it with her...

Saturday was full of silliness, competition, and worship! Travis Crim wrapped up the night and two of our girls gave their lives to Christ!  It was amazing to see how excited they were and how much they grew over 48 short hours.  Not sure who was more blessed...them or us...it was a great weekend.  

So LATER...the next weekend, Jeremie's mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law AND of course Baby Judah came to visit for one last hoop-la in Tallahassee.  We had a fabulous time catching up and getting some love from our nephew.  He is growing up SO fast and is just too much fun.  His little laugh just fills my heart.  I loved seeing how his little personality has developed.  We took him for a stroll around Lake Ella and shopping at Marshall's,which wore him out because he slept through lunch in the loud Mexican Restaurant.  Jeremie's mom wasn't going to miss celebrating J's birthday, so we sneaked to Lucy and Leo's for cupcakes. YUM.  It was wonderful to spend time with family, especially since we're going to be even further from them when we move to Dallas : (

Proud parents.....

Proud Uncle J and Aunt Katie

Uncle J loves that Judah...doesn't he look good with a baby????  Hmmm...

Valentine's Day!

A midst one of the busiest weeks of our lives, we managed to squeeze in a very special Valentine's Day.  SEVERAL weeks ago I made a bold offer to Jeremie that I would plan Valentine's Day.  I insisted that if this "Day of Love" was about true love, then it's not fair for the man to be the one to plan a romantic date every year.  I insisted that for 6 years, he had successfully (with the exception of one year) planned Valentine's, so it was my turn. Now, keep in mind that about 3 weeks later, he told me he was moving me to Dallas, so I did lose that lovin' feelin' a little bit, but stuck with my commitment. : ) 

For our date, I wanted to do something that Jeremie would truly enjoy.  Well, I know that hands down, Jeremie's idea of a quality time date would be me & him by ourselves at home cooking dinner together.  So I stuck to that theme, but asked to borrow our landlord's lake house as the setting for our dinner.  Relaxing ambiance: check. Next was the menu. My very talented and dear friend, Morgan, cooked a delicious menu of salad, shrimp and grits, and chocolate cheesecake.....fabulous food: check. So one week while Jeremie was out of town, I packed up all my lovely china and a ton of candles and hid them in the closet.  The morning of Valentine's I hauled it all to my car and raced to the lake house after work to set everything up.  I arrived home, telling Jeremie to hurry and get ready so we wouldn't miss our reservation.  Lies to husband as a diversion:  check.  So when we started riding through the woods towards the lake house, J asked where the heck this reservation was!  I was about to bust to tell him about my scheme.  He was quote "ecstatic" that we weren't headed to a crowded restaurant to sit elbow to elbow with the rest of the poor Valentine's crowd.  

The set up really turned out beautiful if I may say so myself.  

I was really disappointed at first that it was raining because I wanted to set the table out on the dock by the lake.  But there was a beautiful screen porch on the side of the house that was perfect....in fact it was quite nice to sit out there and listen to the rain while we ate. Even though it would have been much easier to make a simple restaurant reservation, this date was priceless and perfect! And my hubby is totally worth it. : ) 

 I realize this post was a little mushy, but hey, who doesn't love love, right? 

Catching Up: Apalachicola

I am definitely behind a few weeks in blogging, so I'm attempting to catch up.  A few weeks ago, Jeremie and I took a much needed day trip to Apalachicola.  Since deciding to move to Dallas, we needed some quality time together, plus we have wanted to go ever since we moved to Tally.  It has taken us the full 2.5 years to pronounce this town's name, but we finally got it.  Apalachicola is the most adorable little fishing town settled on the bay.  It's almost like it's frozen in time, with its historic homes and shops.  There isn't much else to report from the trip, so most of it can be told in pictures.  : ) 

We took in the views, the shopping, and of course.....the food.  The seafood was delicious!!!!!

 

Country Come to Town....

Well folks, we are back from the Big D.  And honestly, I think "Big D" is an understatement.  I'm thinking more like "Gigantic D" or "Humongous D".  I really did feel like a country girl come to town.  Tallahassee was a huge "upgrade" for me when I moved from Brookhaven, MS, but Dallas makes Tally look like a little village. If I had a nickel for how many exits and turns we missed, our first month's rent would be paid.  The roads were CRAZY and there were just hundreds of neighborhoods!!!  Thanks to our fabulous realtor, Helen, we were able to get around town and find something.

So after 2 full days in the car, and looking at over 15 houses, we settled on an adorable home that has a 6 month lease, so we can hopefully buy our own house soon! 

It even has a fenced in yard for Little Buddy.  The comical thing is that it was the BIGGEST yard that we came across, and it is .25 acres.  One house that we looked at had a "yard" that was essentially the size of a large puppy pad; just enough room for Manny to squat and come back in the house.  We left that one pretty quickly. Little adjustment from living on +500 acres. 

Jeremie and I were almost delirious last night by the time we got finished with everything.  We ordered To Go from Chili's, went to the hotel, and ate our food on the bed in our pajamas.  Isn't that sad...in a town that hosts famous restaurants and we ate eggrolls and sliders.  Sigh.  

Anyways, aside from the house hunt stress, we are excited about our new city.  There is every restaurant and store you could ever think of.  We did manage to squeeze in our first ever trip to IKEA and it DID NOT disappoint.  That place is unreal; J even enjoyed it, mainly because they sell wood, so maybe he'll build something.  The suburb that we will live in also has a precious downtown, which reminds me of Thomasville.  

I have to admit, it was nice to get back to Tally, which I refuse to stop calling "Home" until the last item is packed and I am driving out the driveway for the last time.  But you know what they say...Home is Where the Heart Is....and this is my heart: