I figured now was as good as time as any to update the blog…because we are MOVING TO GEORGIA as if some of you haven’t heard already!!!! I have some apprehension as any move would cause but also a lot of excitement. Especially after this winter and the cold weather we were still having in April and May. No more snow blower, no more freezing winters where I feel I have frostbite immediately, bulky coats, snow pants, boots, cold winds that takes your breath away, etc. I would feel a little bad about being excited about this but neither of my two older kids like playing in the snow really so they are with Tim and I on the weather.
The kids are all different in regards to the move. Tre…the adorable little man doesn’t have a clue what is going on, which is wonderful. Ava…she is excited, she talks about driving to the beach, playing outside, and can she still play soccer in Georgia…that’s my girl! Isaiah…the one I wondered about the most. He is older and has definitely found his niche with his friends and sports at school. I know there will be boys playing what he plays now, and that soccer, football, and basketball still exist in Georgia. But they aren’t familiar, however they will one day become familiar and Denver will become somewhat foreign (makes me sad to think about). Did I have the idea that my kids would graduate from mom’s school, that possibly their names would end up on the record board like mom somewhere for sports, that grandma and grandpa would always be ½ mile away? Absolutely…but such is life! I will miss my parents tremendously…no doubt about it and no secret that I am extremely close to them. We live ½ mile away and I still call one of them if not both every day (don’t judge me). On nights where the kids need to get out of the house, we walk to their house and hang out in their backyard or invade their home and you better believe we are always welcomed with a smile and snacks from Oma and some big kid (may possibly be named John) ready to play too.
I try not to think about too much about the things that make me sad about the move as there are just a couple items and the positives we will get out of the move make them seem smaller. But here are some which I think anyone would have; I think of the kids last day and telling their friends good bye and realize it probably hurts mom more than it does the kids. I think about missing family functions that I have taken for granted, or the fact that on the holidays if it is not in the rotation for my brother and his family and we aren’t there either…that my parents are alone (go away lump in throat!). I watched Isaiah play basketball with two of his best friends at UNI…they whooped up on another team and I thought to myself “these guys are going to be good as they get older” and it hit me…THIS IS THE LAST TIME THEY PLAY TOGETHER…there was that lump again. Taking Isaiah’s picture with these two buddies after their game…he was upset they lost and the picture said it all, his friends were consoling their friend…I looked at my friend and both of our eyes watered. I now think about getting through soccer with both Isaiah and Ava and their “lasts” for Denver altogether. For Tre, I think of his wonderful daycare and some of his favorite people there, Yvette (his second mom), “Emmy” (who is really Emily), and Jennifer who was one of his favorites from the start, and his little girlfriend Emersyn he has loved since the day he laid eyes on her sweet little face …he really does have good taste in women. A lot of these people were also like family to us in different ways. These are all memories that are GOOD and that is why it makes it sad to leave…but...now with the GREAT.
Georgia gives us a chance to work together as family, spend more time together and learn to count on each other more than ever. The opportunity to meet new friends, see new things, do things we can’t do in Denver or Iowa for that matter. Isaiah is looking forward to going to Braves games (so is his mom!), really any sporting event only being 2 hours from Atlanta. He has tried to figure out how some of his favorite teams would ever plan Atlanta teams so we could still catch them...he is really going to miss seeing the Packers on tv though... but that is what matters to him right now, that we are close to sports that he can see in a day trip. He wants to be sure he can play on a football team, basketball team, soccer team. Ava again asked if she could still play soccer in Georgia, she asks about if there are parks close by our house (and thankfully there is), can she go to the pool (YES!), and thinks about what her new room is going to look like at the new house. Tre, well that little man is going to grow up in Georgia really so I look forward to seeing how that shapes him versus Isaiah and Ava. I look back to when Isaiah was young, he spent from age 9 months to 2 ½ in Texas. He had a little bit of a drawl on some things; the words brown, hands, and daddy as examples…and it was adorable. So I believe that will happen a little with Tre too.
I think, my goodness how many of my friends have moved away, have children and I am pretty sure are surviving…quite a few! I know that in a perfect world that it would be better if we could all just be together in one place…but I have also learned in my life time that the world is far from perfect. Here is something else I know and no one can tell me any different (go ahead and try it won’t work) and I am going to bring up God so if you don’t like hearing my views on what He has done for me you better close out now, but if you love God as much as I do, continue to read with goosebumps, tears, and joyful smiles at the same time. My life was not always surrounded with God the way it is now. I went to church, went through all the classes at church so I could receive communion, memorized Bible verses, etc. Do not get me wrong these are all important things. I have watched people I know with lives that are far from perfect try to be these awesome Christians just because they sit in church on Sunday…I have found it doesn’t work that way…hey don’t judge me just because it took 32 years to come to this realization. Here is what I know, God has a plan for me, Tim, my children, and you that reads this extremely long and drawn out blog posting. Some stuff you are going to hate, and you will wonder why, cry, get mad but there is also lots of joy. I have found that instead of me trying to fix all my own problems and my worries it is just easier to say, “ok, I am sorry God that I am trying to do it myself, I know you’ve got this for me”. There is a sense of relief when you do so, if you haven’t tried it do it now. I have done this a lot, and doesn’t mean I don’t still try to fix my own problems but I have found for the things I cannot control I have to let God take it for me. This move to Georgia brings a lot of uncertainties and times of being uncomfortable in different ways as we try to find our Smith family way through Evans, GA. However, I know that it brings us closer to Him as well because as we learn to depend on each other because we don’t have a friend who can bail us out for something or us to bail them out when needed…I am sure that will come though, or a mom and dad that are a phone call/bike ride/walk/run/car ride away. A lot of these things will come back as we meet new friends, my parents visits will be a couple times a year vs any time I want…but God has a plan for all of us and right now I feel the plan is to move to Georgia and start our Smith family life there.
God is good to me and my family…He has taught me a lot personally about patience, timing, and love. I hope that each day I learn even more as we make this walk with Him down south 16 hours. I hope that last sentence did not deter anyone from wanting to come visit…I am sure it is just a breeze of a trip, haha. Think of us often as we make this adventure as a family as we will think of yours and you will always have a place to go next winter “y’all”
**sorry about no pictures (other than the one above that will become the picture for our new home) and just a lot of blabbing…I will have updated pictures as we make our journey to Georgia!**
