Saying goodbye to Jamie Barnett...

I just wrote a long and eloquent post to go along with these pictures and it disappeared. That's a little frustrating. Here's my second attempt:

Our year in Boiling Springs, South Carolina came and went so fast. We had such a great year and learned so many lessons. Two Mays ago, we did a quick less-than-24-hour road trip to the house from Tuscaloosa (6-hour drive each way) for the home inspection. We drove out, had the inspection, and hopped in the car and drove right back. As we were packing up to head home, a cute Daddy-daughter pair next door came over to say hi. We learned that their little baby was 5 months old and her name was Joslin. He learned that our little baby was 5 months old, too, and his name was Jude! (Born 6 days apart ;) Our friendship was meant to be. And we became fast friends once we moved in a coupe months later. Our year in Boiling Springs threw some big boulders our way, and Meghan was my angel next door. She was always there for me when I needed to talk. We just understood each other. We would go on walks every morning together and just talk about life. We made a lot of good memories in that year...

lots of walks to Turtle Creek and back (dreaming about a future homes/yards)... and a few runs

fun and fancy dinners

bonfires out back while the kids slept

little trips to the park

the occasional adventurous trip to Spartanburg

quick catch-up chats from balcony to balcony

mowing our lawns side by side/mowing each other's lawns

yard work/exploring our backyards/saving neighborhood cats

lying in the grass together while our little ones played, just talking &enjoying the beautiful weather (this was definitely a favorite)

lots of big dreams and ideas... that we never had enough time for

Jude loved their little umbrella stroller. He would run next door and steal it.

Such happy best friends!!

It was a long few days/weeks/months getting ready to move and having to keep the house in perfect condition and ready for a showing... I am so thankful I had Meghan to help me! It was an exhausting few days getting everything packed and in the trunk, but saying goodbye to Meghan and Joslin was by far the hardest part for me! It was hard to say goodbye to so many good memories and that we wouldn't be making more together like we always thought we would. Just to prove that our friendship really was meant to be... we are both due with our second babes only a couple weeks apart! I love and miss them dearly!

HELLO ALAMO!! [the big move... again]

Dear Texas,

     Well, we've heard a lot of good things about you. Everyone who knows you seems to love you, so we've decided to give you a chance to win our hearts, too! We are moving from a heart-warmingly small country town, so your big cities are going to be a big change for us. We are probably coming in early August or late July, so leave the light on for us, okay? We don't need a lot of space, maybe just a little house with a couple bedrooms and... is a decent-sized backyard with green grass and trees and a few places to explore too much to ask?

You probably don't remember, but we've meet briefly... mostly in passing. We are looking forward to getting to know you better and we think we are really going to hit it off.

Soon to be yours,
Dan, Rachael, & Jude

for grandpa & grandma

Grandpa said pictures of Jude are like "living water..."

and they are thirsty!

movin in.

We have officially made residence in sweet ole' Boiling Springs. 

We are proud to say we are official Costco members! It was a big day for us.

The sunsets here are beautiful and breathtaking every night! 

Yep, another Lowe's trip. 

Here are a couple sneak peeks of our house!!

The side of the house with the driveway and the basketball hoop. So cute!

moved.

We have officially moved to Boiling Springs, South Carolina as of yesterday.

we

are

in

love.

It's a little ridiculous. We're the new kids in town. Loving it all and eating it up like two kids on Christmas. Our own house?! Really?! With the most gorgeous view of green as far as the eye can see outside the back windows? Or a perfectly placed wooden patio perfect for evening dinners? Or big, open windows that let all the light in? Or Jude's own room?! We are so happy and thankful and excited for all of these things and much more. Just in case we weren't thankful/humble enough...

After a long trip, we excitedly turned the corner onto our street. We drove down to the end of the cul-de-sac to find a man, a complete stranger even, mowing our lawn. Spending hours out of his day to mow the lawn, the extremely large, highly inclined lawn, of complete strangers in the humid heat of day... just to welcome us into the ward. Kind might be an understatement. Before long we had loads of men over who unpacked our ten-foot U-haul in a matter of minutes. We been welcomed so warmly already!

Now let the unpacking, appliance shopping, and Lowe's trips begin!

quick trip.

Remember how Dan took a quick one-day trip to the beach a couple weeks ago? The very next morning we packed up our bags and left for South Carolina in the wee hours to make it for the inspection on OUR HOUSE! We stopped by Zaxby's and had some delicious chicken, stretched our legs, then jetted to the house and met our funny little inspection man. He was so intense. We didn't know how to take him at first as he was darting around the house from one task to the next. We had to stop him to tell him we wanted to go along with him during the inspection to be advised from his expertise. We learned to love him in no time and he shared a wealth of knowledge with us on how to improve and care of our sweet little home. We met our neighbors, Dan explored the woods and creek in the backyard, and before four hours had passed we were back in the car for our six hour ride home.

struggling on the car ride. we wedged his occe next to his head to give himsupport. he's not a big fan of the road trips.

?hmm, dad, what do you think about that?'

"yeah, i think it should be okay..."

Loooong day! Especially for Dan, who drove 22 hours in a 32 hour period. He was a little loopy by the time we hit the Alabama border. Really loopy actually. I've never seen him like that. It was theee funniest. We made it home safely and sound!