Our Anniversary!

We celebrated our anniversary last week(ish). The weekend was full, we made a very quick trip to NC for some friends wedding celebration, looked at a few possible places to live in Southern Pines, and ventured back to Tybee late Saturday night. We wanted to be in town on our actual anniversary and not on the road all day. On Sunday we visited with a friend that had been staying at our townhouse on Tybee, went to church and brunch at our favorite spot B. Matthews in Savannah.

In the evening we went out to the beach to exchange gifts. It was getting pretty chilly because the sun was going down, but it was really cool to celebrate out on our special beach! I gave Matt some flip flops for beach/pool wear, and some Chacos. He gave me the traditional first year gift, paper in two forms. He got me a subscription to Real Simple and gave me a book about women in the workplace, The Male Factor, by Shaunti Feldhahn. Then he gave me the modern anniversary gift (clock). I got two super cute clocks to place wherever we land next. On Saturday we'd picked up Chickfila nuggets as a tribute to our reception, so we ate those on the beach. For dinner we made BLT's (we'd gone out the week before on Tybee) and ate a yummy dessert Matt had picked up at a local shop.

Here are a few pictures of our celebration!

Seasons change...

I always have a hard time when summer moves into fall. I love summertime. I love the sun, the warmth, the beach and all that comes with summer. I realize all my love for these things are amplified even more this year since we are living 200 yards from the ocean. But for as long as I can remember, I've always felt bittersweet to tell summer goodbye.

However, I also love fall, even as I resist it's coming by wearing flip flops as long as I can...
I like fall decor, colorful leaves, pumpkin spiced everything (bread, lattes, candles) and the slight chill in the air. I'll be the first to insist that there's something special about putting on that favorite pair of jeans that have been out of commission for a while.

Oh seasons, they keep us moving through life.

So here I am living between summer and fall for just a little bit longer...

Vistors abound!

We've been blessed to visit with so many great people this summer. If you haven't made it down our way, please come see us. We want to share this great place with you!

Here are a few pictures from my parents visit last week.

Meow...

Cats creep me out. I'm not sure what it is, but they make me a bit uncomfortable. I feel like at any point they are about to turn on me and hiss. Eek.

There are TONS of cats on Tybee, stray ones and domesticated ones. I often walk out to my car and see two or three just looking at me. One morning I passed a spot where there eight cats just hanging around. I've decided I'm a dog person.

Month One on Tybee

Hard to believe we've been here a little over a month. Mostly hard to believe because out of the 38 days we've been here, I've been away 16 nights, 18 days. Wow. The end of June-July is when I try to visit all of our SummerShine properties. I've been in SC, NC, VA, CT, MI, SD and CA. It's really neat to get to travel to some fabulous destinations, though I wish Matt could come along with me! God brought us together through SummerShine and it's really exciting to see how He continues to grow us and the ministry together! I really enjoyed getting to see the people I've recruited, interviewed, hired, trained and prayed for at the campgrounds in action. God is working across our country in KOA campgrounds. Please keep our SummerShiners in your prayers.

Living here on Tybee has been wonderful. Matt and I are enjoying riding bikes, taking walks on the beach and in the various neighborhoods and, of course, checking out local restaurants. While the travel has been fun, I'm ready to be here and enjoy this place more! We've had a few visitors and are pretty booked over the next few weeks. Entertaining and hosting will keep us on our toes and we're looking forward to quality visits with everyone who comes this way!

Tybee!

We made it to Tybee! Whew, moving is hard work. I now have even more respect for the many moves my parents have made, and the way they have pulled them off. I have several friends who have moved this year, so hats off to you as well! We put all of our furniture and most of our wedding gifts, kitchen items, pictures, bedding, towels, etc. into a 10x15 storage unit. We also have most of Matt's childhood keepsakes with us, so now they are in the storage unit as well. By the end of the week, it was pretty full. It's amazing how many things we acquire without ever realizing it. We gave some things away to charity and said farewell to Southern Pines Sunday afternoon. This move wasn't quite as emotional as some moves are because we know we are returning to the area around Thanksgiving. Therefore, it was more of a "see ya later" feel, and the excitement of living in a new place - at the beach kept us going! For now we are living in the unit next door to our actual rental townhome. The current renter moves out this weekend, so we will get truly settled next week. I will post pictures once we're in a better spot!

It's beautiful here, we took a walk on the beach last night and I went and caught a few rays today. I'm grateful to be here and excited to see what all is next in this adventure!

Here is a video of the unit. Keep in mind I look like I'm about to cry though I wasn't - just exhausted, from the process and hot from the NC summer. Eek!

Moving Time

We are in the process of moving. It's craziness.

My mom came and helped over the weekend which was great. Jennifer (my sister-in-law) helped Saturday as well. Together we got the kitchen pretty much handled. Mom came back yesterday, so that made packing a lot more fun. Grateful for help and companionship!

Tybee Island...here we come!! Almost, at least!!!!