Gilbreath Garden: Our New Normal

Life has been a whirlwind over the past few months. Moving has been a well concocted blend of blessing and hardship. Leaving Williamston proved to be just as hard as I thought it would be. There were many tears shed as we packed and said our goodbyes. As sad as leaving was, we could not have asked for the move to go any better. Things seemed to fall into place seamlessly. We know that the transition was covered in prayer, Because we felt those prayers.

We truly love living in Lenoir. I've told Larry over and over again how much I like this town. It seems the perfect blend of city conveniences with small town charm. We live within a mile or two from the Aquatic Center, Library, Aldi's and Wal-mart. We're less than a block away from an awesome Greenway. If our road didn't have such a steep hill, we could easily ride our bikes there. We can see Hibriten Mountain from our front yard. I'm really looking forward to the fall and winter here. I have always wanted to live in the mountains, and now we are. That is so exciting to me!

The members of Lower Creek have been wonderful. They continually amaze us with their love for our family, especially our children. Things that I worry over, the sound of running feet, the pulling of fire alarms, and a loud response to a rhetorical question during a sermon, those things just tickles them. Just as an FYI, an un-named red head and I have both set off the alarm. Oops! I guess we all have things to learn!

We are finally settling into our new home. Most everything is unpacked, and has found a place. What doesn't fit upstairs is stored away in our basement. It's a great house with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a school room and a big back yard. We live in a nice neighborhood less than a mile from the church. It's a little weird getting used to living in a neighborhood again. Our previous home had a corn field on one side and a grave yard and church on the other, so this has proven to be an adjustment. We ran into a few problems with the house in the first month of living here. We had three leaks in the basement, the A/C didn't work for a weekend and we had numerous plumbing issues. After the first few problems, it was discovered that there was a pressure issue with the water coming into the house. The first leak was the worst and it was the night before Larry's first sermon. A value on the hot water heater broke and we had water all over the basement. Not exactly how we planned to spend our evening. However, what the devil meant for evil, God meant for good. We had two sweet church members come over to help us clean up. Our landlord, who has been amazing through all of the problems, also came to help. We laughed through most of it. The old saying proved true, Many hands make for light work. Although, I wasn't the one carrying the buckets of water up stairs and outside to dump. This house is a blessing to be able to rent, but we hope to be able to buy a home in this area when our lease runs out.

The kids have done better than I expected with the move. There are times when they say that they miss Williamston, or they ask questions about our friends from there. Eden and I had a good cry together the other night because we both were missing our friends. It's just part of the hardship of moving. But our special friends have remained close. We are able to call often, and Eden is a pen pal with her best friend. I know they these are the kinds of friendships that will last our lifetime, no matter the distance between us. And most importantly, they will last through eternity because of our common faith in God. We have already been blessed by 2 different sets of visitors from Williamston. We hope to host many more in the future.

Just to give you a little run down of everything we've done in the past few weeks that I don't have time to go into, but want to remember:

We celebrated Eden's, Titus' and Larry's birthdays.
We had a great weekend VBS with the church.
Titus was potty trained. He did such a great job! It's amazing what you can get a child to do for some stickers and a sucker!
I went to my first Southern Gospel concert, and met Ivan Parker.
We celebrated Josiah losing his first tooth.
I've canned lots of summer vegetables.
I've learned how to use a riding lawnmower. After a few rounds on that machine, I think I have a good shot at a future in bull riding!
We went to an antique car show. The kids loved it, especially Titus!
We went to the Blackberry Festival. The kids loved it too.
We've been exploring the area and getting lost on purpose. We've found some great neighborhood where we might want to live.
We've also found some neat parks. One had a creek. We got to be the kind of parents that let their kids jump in cold creek water and swim with their clothes on. I'm smiling now, just thinking about the fun they had.
I second shot a wedding that Larry helped officiate.
We've gone to lots of different programs at the Library for their summer reading program.
Larry and I went to Boone. It was amazing! Can't wait to go back with the kids.
We've spent time visiting with our church family, and getting to know our neighbors. This has revolved around great fellowship, and great food!
I spoke to one of the WMU groups on Titus 2. With the 25 ladies represented at the meeting there was over 1000 years of marriage represented. Boy, do I have a lot to learn from them!
Everyday life with our 7, 5, and 3 year olds.