Last Trip to Archer (for a while)...

Tim grew up in the small town of Archer, Florida, west of Gainesville. I remember Archer as my sanctuary away from college when we were dating. All of Tim's father's family lived there, as well as Cale's mother and brother. It was a mini reunion every time we visited.

My favorite memories surrounding Archer take place around the Holidays. Before we had children, we would spend the days leading up to Christmas there with his family. The family gatherings, the smell of the fireplace, the delicious foods, picking out the Christmas trees and the Christmas Eve Candle service are among my favorite times. I love seeing all of his Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and now his cousin's children.

One Christmas Eve Aaron drove Tim and I to the farm, and on our way we stopped to watch a newborn calf rest with its mother. We waited and were given the gift of seeing the infant calf take its first steps. One of my favorite memories ever.

Now when we go back to Archer we visit Aunt Ann's house and the farm. I really love Archer and all the peace it provides. This visit took place the day after we got Trixie Bean,  consequently 2 days after we found out that we were moving. We met Tim's parents there to celebrate Aunt Meggan's 29th and holding birthday (wink wink). I tried to take in all of the smells and warmth of the farm, realizing that it would probably be a while before we visited again. Saying goodbye to Aunt Ann was very sad. However, these memories and pictures make this my own personal favorite entry for 2012:


I love the old Florida architecture at the rest stops



A tree that we were searching for arrow heads near



I love this picture of Cole!

 



Throwing Citrons for a good time

 



Shae actually won a beauty pageant that day!

My favorite picture of 2012!

 

WE ARE MOVING TO MICHIGAN...

So here is the back story:

The Tuesday before we got Trixie, as you know, I bought her over the phone. It turns out that she was a very timely gift from above because 2 days later, that Thursday, at 10am I got thee phone call. The phone call that I had worried wondered about for years. Tim told me that will be moving to Michigan. Let me just say that again: Tim told me that we will be moving to MICHIGAN!  General Dynamics Tallahassee laid off most of its division in Tim's department and is transferring 4 people to MI.
 Well, since you asked, NO. NO- I did not congratulate him right then and there. I sobbed. I cried so hard that I thought I was going to throw up. I mean, I LOVE Tallahassee. I moved here 16 years ago when I was still a teenager! And who moves to MI in January!

We were able to soften the blow to the kids about our move with the old, "But you are getting a DOG!" bit. Actually, Lily was getting a dog. And to be honest, Owen was so excited to be moving somewhere where he could get a sled that he just cheered after we broke the news. But Cole, Lily and I needed some serious comfort that Thursday night. I will never forget laying on the bed with Lala as we both cried alligator tears together. Break my heart.

That next morning we drove to Georgia to pick up the dog. It was a good distraction. I had a precious few friends praying for and encouraging me upon the news. I have asked the Lord for years to let it be so that I KNEW Michigan was His perfect will for us if we ever did have to move there. And I have to say that HE did honor that frequent request. Through a series of events I knew within 24 hours that Michigan was our families next destination, that this was not a mistake (and we shouldn't start frantically looking for another option in the South).

Since that day I have watched a dear friend loose her baby at 28 weeks in utero. Perspective. My other dear friend lost a family member in a tragic way. Perspective. There is a family I am praying for regarding their first baby, a daughter (in utero as well), that has been diagnosed with a fatal disease. Perspective. Tim had to watch 7 of his co-workers get laid off 4 weeks before Christmas. Perspective.

We have been given a chance to live a great adventure all while my husband is rewarded with a potential-filled work environment doing what he loves. Again, perspective. Time for me to be a big girl and let go of the people and places that I love with joy. Oh, and the warmth...yes, time to majorly let go of that.

6 days after the initial blow of having to move befelled me, a deep peace, and dare I say hope, filled my soul. The next day was Thanksgiving and I have more than my fair share of people and experiences to be thankful for. So, Michigan it is, I have told myself. I have no other details than a moving date somewhere around January 17, and as late as February. It is nothing short of a miracle that I am this relaxed about the whole thing. Not that I don't still shed some tears.

Life goes on...it is quick and constantly changing. I have been cherishing my time with people more. We have been eating meals with our friends as much as possible...even on week nights.  The Christmas tree is up, the Christmas music on. Parades and family pictures, gift making, shopping, parties and fun are here.  God gave me Himself in the vulnerable form of a baby, that I might know HIM and be forgiven. I can trust that. I can trust HIM with my life, my children's lives, and my precious family and friends' lives. I can trust HIM with my dreams.  And even though I have always said that I could grow old in Tallahassee, that wasn't my promise to keep. I can trust God in this too. It is a good thing, and I did, in fact, congratulate my husband. Then I thanked him.

Trixie Batey

After years of relentless asking, Lily finally got the OK from both of her parents at the same time to finally get a dog. Tim had a few stipulations; the dog had to be cheap, not a pure bred, and preferably from an animal shelter or the Humane Society. I had a few stipulations of my own; small, does NOT shed, cute, and preferably white or blond.
Last Tuesday I called our local Humane Society about a dog named Champs, however he was pending an adoption. Then I called Aboutpets.com regarding a dog named Scooter. Scooter was already gone as well, but the lady on the phone (Tiffany) said that she had just received a small 9 lbs. Shih Poo named Trixe, a 'happy dog', whose pictures weren't even online yet. She sent me a picture and I was in love. I put a deposit on her via the phone. [For those of you who don't know me: THAT WAS SHOCKING! I do not (did not before Tuesday) consider myself an animal person. It was a very out-of-body experience for me to have such strong desires to rescue this dog!]
So on Friday the entire family drove 2 hours to Poulan, GA (country, folks) to meet Trixie and make sure she wasn't anti-social or an ADHD afflicted animal. She was very friendly and Lily and Owen immediately fell for her. So we happily scooped her up in our arms and headed back to Tallahassee.
Trixie's 1st birthday was August 2, 2012. Her owner apperantly bought her at a pet store and 


This is the picture the lady sent me, 1st time I saw my girl!

took good care of her, but unfortunately lost her job and had to give Trixie up. SAD! We promise to honor her by taking care of Trixie. Trixie is house and crate trained. She goes right into her crate at night and sleeps through the night. She hasn't had one accident. When she has to 'go' she just stands near the door. I have heard her bark all of 2 times. She comes when called and LOVES to snuggle. Pretty much the best dog ever. EVER!
Ok, about her name. Yeah, it is a little Vegas. But when we looked up the word 'Happy' to find her a possible new name, we discovered that Trixie meant happy. Plus, she answers to her name, and I didn't want to cause an unecessary identitiy crisis.
So, there you have it, after 34 years, I got a dog...uuuhhh, I mean Lily got a dog. Welcome Home Trixie! You came at the perfect time!

Lily about to meet Trixie

She kisses me every morning!

Lily and I bought her all sorts of Doggie supplies

 

HALLOWEEN 2012

This year's Halloween was pretty much the best one I have had since I was a child roaming the streets of Manorville, Long Island garnering a bag of loot that included gloves, pennies, and candy. It all started the Sunday before All Saint's Eve when we were invited to the Layerd's "Carve Your Pumpkins" block party. Margo cooked my favorite white chili. Heavenly. Watching Hays get lost, literally lost, in his carving was comical. That night when I was going through our pictures, I had to LAUGH when comparing the Batey attempts at design with the Layerd's Masterpiece. Disclaimer: Margo was a straight A Art major, Hays is an architect. Our pumpkins were gifts from the Agricultural Lab in Quincy and everyone at the block party can attest to how we practically needed a drill to open up our concrete squashes. Our pumpkin (the one Tim carved for Lily) became somewhat of a local phenomenon as the "Sorriest Pumpkin". When two separate people say that it looked like rats chewed your Pumpkin's face, you know you have a winner on your hands. I even had a friend call when she drove by my house to say that she mapped out where we lived by recognizing our awful pumpkins from a post on facebook. Hahaha. Posting and texting 'Sorry Pumpkin' to my friends (WENDY!) gave me about a week's worth of entertainment. Ahhh, the little things. 







Sorry Pumpkin...He looks scared of his own face

Our 3 vs., ...

 





The Layerd's Art...The top left one even had a name! Phantom Face or something like that?

 

 

This is the: I MEAN COME ON!!! pic of the post

 OK, so now onto Halloween costumes: 

STOP IT RIGHT THERE!!! A BABY CHICKEN! AAAHHHH!!!!



Attempt #2 at making bat wings since the 1st try looked like cockroach wings



Awwww Yeah...although Cole did say he looked like a fox with his homemade bat ears on.



 



After spending an unintended 45 minutes that afternoon working on what was labeled an EASY WREATH CRAFT I decided that I better just make a costume that looked the part: CRAZY PINTEREST LADY! It was way fun!





I would just like to thank Tim and the spouses all over the country that have done a thorough job watching the children while their other halves may or may not have tendencies to 'forget' to monitor their children's whereabouts on dark, crowded streets such as Beard due to social distraction:

 



After Party with Grandma