Exciting News!

I never thought in a million years this day would come. But it has... to us... after 20 years... We are HOMEOWNERS! I am one happy woman!  God is so good to have blessed us with a home of our own in spite of our unworthiness. It has been a long road with many bumps, but it has been SO worth it!  He alone deserves all the glory and praise!  We have been thru many valleys but He has sustained us and been there with us thru them all.  I still cant' believe it...somebody pinch me! 

Pics coming soon!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Before you say anything...I KNOW it's been forever and a day since I last posted on my blog. Whether or not I can claim the excuse that we moved our family of 10 nearly 600 miles from Georgia to Indiana in July, or that our oldest daughter got married in October, or that we have had so much going on in our lives that I can't even put it into words....I'm going to claim all of them as my excuse anyway!  It's my blog and I'll cry if I want to.  It has definitely been a time of many testings and trials, but God is faithful.  Life is not simple.  At least not all the time. But we know that God works all things out for our good, and it is ultimately for His glory.  Anyway...

It's December and December is my favorite month of the whole year!   I absolutely LOVE Christmas time!  "I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!"  Yes, we got our yearly dose of Elf last week!   It is a family tradition of ours to kick off the Christmas season with Elf.  And every week until Christmas we watch a different Christmas movie and on Christmas day we watch It's a Wonderful Life.  We usually throw in The Nativity Story, The Bishops Wife, A Christmas Carol...and maybe a couple others.  I also like to make a lot of Christmas gifts.  This year I'm not making as many as I have before, but I'm still making my fair share. We also like to put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving, but this year it didn't go as planned.  Somehow in our move, it got lost.  I say "lost" because no one knows what happened to it.  That has happened to many things during our moves...things just get "lost".  But, we got another one and everything is good.  All the kids enjoy decorating the tree, but I especially love watching the little ones.  Which happened to be Miss Liberty this year.  She was in awe of the lights and decorations.  She would spout off, "I am SO happy!"  I love to see the pure excitement on their faces. 

Christmas time also makes me ponder sweet memories of Christmas' past.  Time is such a vapor.  This will be our first Christmas without our oldest daughter (in a manner of speaking).  That thought brings sadness to my heart, but at the same time, joy in seeing her and her husband enjoy their first Christmas together as man and wife. Even though we just had Thanksgiving, Christmas is more of a time of pondering, remembrance, and thankfulness to me than even Thanksgiving is. It is such a wonderful, exciting time to me.  I would love to be able to give a gift to everyone who has ever crossed my path, but sadly that is not possible.  But a girl can try, can't she? Don't get me wrong, I do love to receive gifts, but I LOVE to give them even more.  I love the excitement and joy I can bring to someones face by giving them a gift.  It is something that makes me very happy.  :-)

What are some of your family's Christmas traditions?  I would love to hear about them!  Just leave me a comment, and we can shoot the breeze about Christmas for a while.

Oh, and hopefully I can get this blog kicked back into gear.  :-)

New Beginnings!

Things are going to drastically change for our family in the next several months...but it's a good change!  

We are moving BACK to Indiana!  God has called us back to our old home state to labor for His Kingdom.  We are so excited about this new adventure and can't wait to see what He has in store for us.  Don't get me wrong...Georgia will always be dear to our hearts; we have so many fond memories to hold dear.  5 years of our lives have been lived in this great state, and we are thankful for the opportunities God has granted to us during this time of our lives.  But there is a nostalgia about moving back home...the place we know and hold so dear to our hearts.  I am so grateful God is allowing us this opportunity...

this chance to go ...back home.

So, I've decided to start a new blog... sorta like a new beginning, or a new chapter in our lives.  All the old posts will still be here from the old blog, but I'm giving it a face-lift and a new name. You'll still be able to access Away Down South for a little while longer. 

  The new blog is Back Home in Indiana. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?  If you would like to follow my new blog, please click on the link to the right {where it says, "follow"}{just make sure you do it on the new one, not the old one}...I would greatly appreciate it!  I will try to keep y'all posted about our progress as it takes place...Thank y'all for your dear friendship and kindness to us...

{you know who you are} it means so much to us!   

Until next time...Come go with us!

“Be content and resigned to God's will.” - Thomas Jonathan Jackson

Today marks the 186th year that Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was born.  He was another great and admirable Confederate General.  He believed in the Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.  He was quoted as saying, "My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave."  And then again, "Duty is ours, consequences are God's".  How many of us could truly say that we would feel as safe on the battle field as in bed?  Is our trust completely and fully in the powerful might of the King of kings?  "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." - Psalm 91:1-2  Are we content and resigned to whatever God's will is for our lives?  To me, one of the greatest blessings is to be a wife and mother.  God has given me a great responsibility as the mother of 8 children, and yes, there are days that I wonder if God knew what He was doing!  But who am I to question the God of the Universe?  We have been placed on the earth at this very time and in varying situations because that is what God had planned....before the foundations of the earth!  Many people frown upon the teachings of the Sovereignty of God, but I love the fact that God had my life planned out for me before He even created me, before He created the universe!  Nothing takes God by surprise!  I am so glad that He knows me better than I know myself, that I am in His care and that He even thinks about me!  "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me..." - Psalm 40:17  Are we content and resigned to what God's will is for our lives?  Remember what man's chief end is...to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.  It is all for His glory alone that we live our lives anyway, so let's purpose to be content!  
Soli Deo Gloria!