Getting Carried Away ...

And then you have the Brickhouse family .... of three soon to be four!! You can always count on Gary to get a little carried away!!! Once again, friendship is such a gift .... even when it gets out of hand :) I think Scott was just thankful it was on the cheek!!! Gary, it is because you have four kids that I can be okay with you kissing my husband!!!! My boys are going to miss your boys like crazy .... and Gary, you better be here for Erica's wedding!!!

Special Families

Two families we miss and love ... the Carters and Saums ... Jeremy is missing in this picture. We are waiting for the Saum family to move to NC .. how we ended up here before them, I do NOT understand!!! We can't wait for our friends to come visit!!!

Our Katy ....

Paul and Lanieve have raised an amazing daughter in Katy. She has been with us the last two years babysitting for us and traveling with us. I have kind of adopted her and Erica thinks of her as a big sister. We really, REALLY miss her ... isnt' she beautiful? I'm trying to convince her to come to NC and go to college!! Room and board at our house!!!

More Special Friends

I won't bore you with all the pictures and some of them didn't come out exactly how I had hoped. So I will spare my friends of the ones that were not the best!!!! I have some really great ones with red eyes and fake smiles! LOL!! I should have just taken the ones when they walked in the door and burst into tears ... Karen A. didn't even make it in the door before she started crying and Katy Imig and I hugged at the door and couldn't stop crying which made her mom cry. It was an exhausting and emotional day for all of us ... the ladies in the pictures above or two of my mentors. They have poured their lives into mine and made me a better woman. I can't thank them enough ..... Helen and Libba.

And then ...

you have Gaines .... one of our babysitters ... she is going to hate me for this!!!!

Goodbye Greens!

We had the opportunity to open our home and say goodbye to our friends. During the last week, there was just no way to see everyone before we left. As much as we wanted to, there just wasn't enough time. Unfortunately, a lot of people had already left on vacation for the holiday. Regardless, we miss everyone and was thankful for those that did make it by. These are our friends Randy, Chris, Meredith and Mitchell. Meredith and Erica have known each other since they were babies!! It was such a blessing to us to have such wonderful friends ........

Last Park Day for the Boys

One more special day was when I picked up Jack and Spencer's friends to spend the morning at the park and to go for pizza. Brady and Landon went with us for the day and we had such a great time. The weather was perfect and the boys played hard at the park and we even played a game of tag football. I was so glad to have this opportunity for them to spend a little more time with them before we left Lakeland. We can't wait to see them again when we go back, too. These guys were so funny. I had so much fun just watching them ....you might be wondering about Erica. She refused to go to LCS to say goodbye. Can you say "12"?? She was content to see her closest friends in a more quiet setting so we arranged special times for her as well. This stage is challenging at best :)

Lasts for Spencer ...

The next day, I took Spencer to say goodbye to his friends. We went in the morning and Mrs. Kregbaum wanted Spencer to stay for centers and the party. This was such an answer once again to prayer and truly a gift. At one point, Spencer started rubbing his eyes like crazy because he was so happy to see his friends and so sad at the same time to say goodbye that he was trying not to cry. Which then sent me quickly to turn around to keep from crying which didn't exactly happen. We had a great cry and the whole morning was bittersweet. He got to spend time with his friends and they got to go outside and play football with his best football buddy Brady. It was such a special day ... the picture of the little girl is Ashlynn. When Spencer walked in the class, she ran over screaming his name and threw her arms around his neck and gave him the longest hug!! I think Spencer turned 10 shades of red and stood there frozen like a statue not quite knowing what to do wrapped in these little girl's arms!! I WISH I HAD IT ON VIDEO! It was absolutely hysterical!!! She is a cutie, isn't she??? He still blushes when you say her name. She apparently had a big crush on him last year according to his little friends!!!

Lots of Last Times ....

We did the Lakeland Christmas Parade ... last time ... went to Cobb Theater .. parks ... we even went to Lakeland Christian so the kids could say goodbye to their friends. I think that was one of the hardest things. I took Jack first for lunch and then to play on the playground. He got to see all his friends and hang out for over an hour. They were all so happy to see him again since we had been home. I truly missed seeing his friends too. Jack had a really neat group of buddies ... just nice kids and great parents ... it is even hard to write about it. I have to remind myself it's okay and life has seasons. But we look forward to being back for a long weekend and visiting again very soon!!! Jack really enjoyed his first grade teacher, too!!! Mrs. Palm was so great!!! We miss her!!!

Reality in Lakeland ...

So we head into Christmas planning a move for January. Scott needed to start his job on January 5th. I didn't want to stay behind so the plan was pack up everything we could that would not make the house feel chaotic through Christmas. We did manage to do that and about died the day after Christmas but it was all okay.

Scott met with a friend to list the house. After they left, I am pretty sure Scott was going to have a heartattack after they shared some things regarding the market in our area. But we talked through it and continued to believe we can't live in fear. We walked through the worst case scenarios and once again came back to this conclusion: it is really nice to sit around thinking we are "in" control and we "own" things and we "are" in charge. But the reality is we own nothing. All we have has come from the hand of God and we are simply stewards. So do we live our life in bondage to the systems our society has created? Would it be wrong to go and live it out? What if it goes bad? What does that mean? Failure? In whose eyes do we allow failure to rule us? What if it goes bad? We go back to Lakeland --- big deal. Sure it is a pain but what if God really reveals Himself more, builds faith, stretches us in the process and grows us a family? Do we just miss that out of fear? These are the things we had to process and work through. Regardless, we felt God leading. There were multiple times Scott said let's stop the process over my fear and anxiety. But it came down to what I told him: now, it wasn't about anything but obedience. I felt God wanted this and if we didn't do this because of my emotions, it would be complete disobedience. I think God wanted to do a work in me through the process and honestly, I didn't want to miss it.

I visited my doctor and shared my issues .... she prescribes great drugs for anxiety and sleeping. I filled them as precautions!!! What I do understand through all this is two things. 1. My body responds to stress through anxiety/panic. And 2. don't be afraid of emotion. I learned it is okay to "own" emotion, to walk through emotion of fear, feeling out of control, and own the feelings of it. It is okay to cry and pitch a fit and be scared and share it with God!! In the end, I was able to walk through the move without needing anything but two sleeping pills when I couldn't shut my mind off .... and that was not me ... that was all Him......again, He provides what we need. I continue to cling to that and I hope this will one day help my kids to know they are not alone... no matter what it may feel like.

Another Visit to Raleigh

Last minute, we got the kids in the car and left for a weekend to Raleigh. All week long, I spent time doing research and getting things together. I found a company that does a lot of rentals in Raleigh and left multiple messages. By Thursday, I still had no one call me from the office which was beginning to frustrate me to pieces. I started wondering if this was the red flag on the whole thing. I was thinking how can we move if we don't have any way to find a house? Finally on Thursday evening, I made contact with someone who informed me the company does not work on Saturday. What? A real estate company that doesn't work weekends? Are you serious? As we drove up Friday, the woman finally agreed to leave two homes open that evening on her way home from work and we could see them and lock them up as we left. Wow ... this was really weird. We visited both and ruled the one out quickly. We then spent the weekend with the Huckabees, our old neighbors, which was another answer to prayer for us. A hotel room for the weekend would have been miserable! Bob and Kathy were so gracious to host us and pull out mattresses, sleeping bags and blankets! They have an empty house now. One in college, one in the Marines overseas and one married with a new baby!! I think the added chaos may have been enjoyable for them even though we were on the kids constantly to chill!!! LOL!!

We got up Saturday and began the house hunt WITHOUT a realtor. I had multiple houses to see and we ended up looking in windows all day and narrowing houses down that way!! Unbelievable!! The realtor was "kind" enough to tell me if we could narrow it down by windows (!!!), then maybe she could open a few Monday morning after she gets to work....don't mind the fact that we are leaving on Monday and have a 10 hour drive home.

So we searched and drove around and did narrow it down. We found this house on Larkwood Lane that we really liked. So I decided to knock on the neighbor's door and ask about the area. I met this really nice lady who invited me in and I shared with her our situation and search. She was surprised that we couldn't see inside the house and she had the owner's number. She said she would call him even though I told her it wasn't a big deal. Needless to say, we got a phone call an hour later and he called us to let us know he would drive and show us the house on Sunday. And wow, wasn't he mad about the company he hired not showing houses on the weekend!! Nothing like stirring a bee's nest ..... but we did see it on Sunday and we really liked it. But we had one to see Monday morning as well.

The house we saw Monday morning was also possible, just different. It was in a close neighborhood setting while Larkwood sits on an acre. I knocked on doors again and met a lady in the smaller lot neighborhood who has five kids and homeschools. She was very nice and easy to talk with. We drove away and headed to Larkwood one more time. We prayed in the driveway for God to provide direction since I was totally confused. My fear was do we take the larger lot home? What if the kids don't meet other kids? The other neighborhood was guaranteed to have TONS of kids ... what if ... what if ... I was totally confused. As we left Larkwood, we got lost and past this large church that looked really nice. We wrote the name down to research when we got home. We pondered the whole way home to Florida. When we arrived, Scott looked up the church we past by accident and the women's bible study in January was titled, "When the boxes are half unpacked." Are you serious? The next day, we woke up and felt the house on Larkwood was the best one. And I realized in the process that my fear was living on an acre might isolate me. And the realization was I could easily live in a neighborhood with everyone on top of each other and stay in my little cocoon of a neighborhood and isolate myself even more. Living in an area that has more space made me realize that it will force me to get out and meet people and that was what I needed to do....so we settled on Larkwood and felt peace about our decision.

The kids were so excited and up for the adventure. Never once did they have a hesitation about the move. They truly were on board and ready for the move. They are so much more adaptable to life than we are to some degree!!! ... and what do we do with our house .... in Lakeland .....

Chicago ... BBBbbbrrrrr

We visited Chicago the following weekend after in Raleigh. Yeah, we really get around don't we??!!! LOL!!! We went this year with John and Dana Sabat. We had such a great time with them. This was their first time in Chicago and it was an eye opener for a country boy like John Sabat!!! It was so cold, too!! We had fun shopping and eating! We ate at some of our favorites like Wild Fire and we did the Hancock building again. The view was just as amazing the second time and the food was incredible! Scott and John got to meet someone in Macy's. She was declared all-out crazy and determined that people were out to get her. She really liked having a conversation with John! And "hello" man on the street ... and we can't forget the man in McDonalds who was staring in the mirror saying "I "chit" repeatedly ... but we didn't get to see snow unfortunately :( It was a great trip. I was having a few issues with all the stress from the upcoming changes but God provided exactly what I needed during this time. Friendship is one of the most precious gifts God has given us. Relationship, friendship and love.....He continues to provide exactly what I need at the right time. I hope everyone I know and love is experiencing the very same ....

Flying to Raleigh

Well, we ended up flying to Raleigh the first week in December. Scott had the opportunity to meet Rick, the General Manager of this location. We went not knowing what to anticipate. Would we like the area? Would he meet Rick and like him?

Prior to us going, I received a phone call completely out of the blue. Our old neighbor, Kathy, called me Friday evening. Scott had just assumed I called her because they moved seven years ago to Raleigh themselves. Well, little did he know, I had never called and we had not talked for a couple years. When he gave me the phone, I was totally freaked out!!! It was hysterical! She said we had been on her mind for several days and she thought she would just call and see how we were doing. Coincidence? Really? I don't think so. We caught up by phone and made plans to have dinner with them while in town the next week. What a great resource they would be for us!

We flew up and had the afternoon/evening to ourselves. This was helpful since we immediately began looking around the area and seeing what felt right. We located his office and went from there to surrounding areas. From what we could see, we really liked it. The area is beautiful with rolling hills and lots of two story houses. The kids will love that!

After meeting Rick, he offered Scott the job. Scott was 1 out of 400 applications that they looked at. Rick is a Christian and he kept going back to Scott's resume. Really? We really felt like God would not have done that if this wasn't right. After meeting Rick and talking with him, we also felt his testimony and walk with the Lord was another sign of God's leading.

One glitch --- his signing bonus was half of what they originally told him. Once again, we knew what we really needed to make this transition work. We communicated that to them and trusted God to close the door on this if it wasn't right. They came back to the original agreement again. Another way of God's provision and direction for us. Trust me .. I was waiting for the red flags and God just kept showing Himself instead!!!

We returned home with a sense of peace but knew we would not make this decision until the kids had the opportunity to see Raleigh for themselves. We told them we trusted the work of the Holy Spirit in them just as much as we did in ourselves and this would be a family decision. Ultimately it would be our final decision since we are adults but that we would trust God to speak through them as well as we prayed about this as a family. All this transition has made for great conversations.........

Thanksgiving at Home

We spent our Thanksgiving at home this year. Last year, we spent it in Lexington, KY with friends. It was a nice lazy day with the usual fixings. Everyone came to our house and had dinner. It was enjoyable, especially thinking it might be the last one in our home. Scott continued to have conversations with Scotts and God keeps opening more doors for this. So we walk slowly and pray alot. This year, on Black Friday, it was pretty cool! I got to actually go out shopping that morning with Scott - a first for us to let the kids stay home while we went out on date!! We got some shopping done for Christmas and that was fun!!! He is fun to shop with ... and the crowds really weren't very bad. All in all, it was a nice weekend. Scott continues to have phone conversation with Scotts and they are considering flying us up for a few days to see the area. Wow .... this is freaky!

Catching Up Slowly...

Have I really not blogged since November 15, 2008? I am so far behind these days but I am attempting to get things caught up. And I mostly will blog the things that have happened for my kids. Feel free to read along. I don't want our children to miss the amazing things God has done for our family in the last several months. So I am using this blog for our children so they can look back on our family and have a memory of life in the Pearce Family!!! LOL!!! And then, of course, they can ask us to pay for their therapy :)

We will start back in November after returning from our trip. While in Vermont, Scott and I had said in the kitchen, "Wouldn't it be fun to live somewhere else? We should stop in Raleigh and stay for a week after DC and you could look for a job!" And we just sat and dreamed for a little bit. Coincidence? I think not ....

While in Asheville, Scott did a job search on Monster and the first one that came up was for a management position in Raleigh with Scotts. He put together his resume and sent it thinking he may not hear from them. When we got home, he received a phone call from their Human Resource department and the conversations went from there.......at this moment, we felt the chain grab the roller coaster and we were looking at eachother ... oddly.