Home Sweet Home

We are here!  D and I are officially living in Southern Florida!

I have been anxious to get this post up because I want to share our new home with everyone!  We are so very excited to have a new place of our own down here in Pembroke Pines, Florida.  The homes here are quite a bit different than in Tennessee, primarily because everything is designed to withstand hurricanes (yikes!).  D and I were concerned for awhile that we might not find a place that really reflected what we considered to be "home".  No matter where you look, you tend to find only stucco homes with spanish tile roofing.  The inside is typically WHITE.  White tile floors, white walls, white cabinets.  WHITE.  The layout and inner structure is, what I like to call, thick.  Big chunky walls jutting out into the middle of the room close off space that could make the home more open and inviting.

Having seen house after house that looked pretty much the same on earlier visits, I believed it would take 20+ homes to find the one that I could say was "right".  Wrong.  Day one of the search, home #3, done.  We walked in and found a place that was just right for us, for what we need right now.  I would like to take you on a tour of the empty space.  As we recreate each room, I will post a before and after, so you can get a better idea.  For now, however, I just want you to be able to get a glimpse of our new residence!

So this is us.  We are in a townhouse, so there are shared walls, but we don't mind.  The neighborhood is gated, which means you have to show an ID to enter as a guest, and if you aren't on our "list", they call us to make sure you can come in!  

Come on in!  You have entered through the front door!  To the right is the living room/dining room.  You can't really tell how big it is from this picture, but it is a great space!  P.S.  We didn't have a dining room in our little cottage, so we actually got to buy a dining table!  (Pictures when we finish the space!)

Kitchen and pantry.  The kitchen was fully upgraded with new appliances, cabinets, and granite countertops!  The space is still small, but it's roomy enough for both of us to stand in at the same time!  (Improvement!)  And the pantry is huge!  Our old pantry was spacious, but deep.  So, we could never see what all we had.  Now we have plenty of room to store and SEE our food!

 

Our guest room and full bath.  (One of THREE full baths!)  All of the bathrooms were also updated with granite countertops and new tile like the rest of the house.

This is one of my favorite parts of the whole house.  When I was a kid living in Texas, the house we lived in had a balcony above the staircase, and I have always loved that look.  This house had a bonus. Not only does it have three bedrooms, it also has a loft.  The loft opened up the opportunity for Dwayne and I to each have our own office spaces plus a guest room and our master.

This is D's favorite part of the house... the loft/his office.  This has been his #1 priority in the house, so it will probably be the first space that I will be able to show fully designed.  Currently the wall is painted, and he has his desk... He just wants some chairs... but he is being VERY specific.  

 

This is MY space.

It's hard to really tell what is what, but all you need to know for now is that it is perfect and it is mine.  Boom.  More to come.

Second full bath.  Currently, Caroline's precious Lolly cat is residing in this room until they move into their own house this week!!!

Master bedroom with walk-in closet.  For those of you who saw our last house... you will understand why I am so excited to be able to access my clothes from my own room!!!  Aaaaand those of you who know me will understand how I'm still tryin to figure out where all my clothes are actually gonna fit.  Errr.... *shopaholic*

Master Bath!  So exciting to have a bathroom of our own!  Our old house had only one bathroom for everybody... and it was not attached to our room...  So this is extra wonderful.  And hello dual sinks!  No more looking at nasty little facial hairs all over when I'm tryin tuh brush mah teefs!!!  WIN.

Tah-dah!  Welcome to our house!  God is faithful to provide!

(NOT PICTURED: Patio space that leads to the two car garage.  Kinda forgot about that. Don't you worry, you'll see it in the future.  Promise.)

Endings.

I realize I have let the Blog World down for awhile, so I am making up for it by posting BACK-TO-BACK!  You are pumped.  I know it.  I just have some memories I want to treasure, so I am going to take this time to share a few stories from recent days that have a common theme: endings.  They say "All good things must come to an end!"  Who are "they", anyway?  Well I disagree with that statement because Jesus promised everlasting life, and everlasting is the opposite of an ending, and life with Jesus is a good thing.  So, BOOYAH "they" people!  BOOYAH!

At the same time, some good things do come to an end sometimes, but that only means a new beginning, and that's not such a bad deal.

Enough rambling, get on with the content.

Ending #1: Graduation

These most beautiful ladies are some of my favorite people of all time.  God blessed me with the opportunity to mentor these girls through some of their middle and high school years.  It's a shame I did not start this blog sooner.  We have so many funny memories that I wish I could list them all... but that would be lengthy, and not as funny to anyone else but us.

I intended to stay with them all the way through senior year, but God put a certain someone in my life who whisked me away to another land far, far away.  However, I kept my promise to them that I would come back for One Weekends and their graduation.  AND I DID.  I just think it's dumb that I was like the only one who cried as they stood in front of the church for Senior Sunday, and they were all about to walk away without getting a picture.  Umm, not acceptable.  I did not drive all the way to the Boro to not have a picture for the monumental occasion! 

Elizabeth, Sarah, Audrey, Ellie, Rachel, Madison, Sara, Natalie, Jenny, and Bayleigh

I was also super excited to go to my precious Audrey's graduation ceremony.  I wish they all were at the same school... or at least had different graduation times.  Alas, I had to make a tough choice.  But Audrey was going to be giving a speech and singing a duet.  There was no way I could miss it.  Just look at her grownup self!

I can't wait to see what God does with each and every one of their lives!

Ending #2: Dwayne's last Ignite

I'm so overjoyed to have a husband who loves to impact lives for Christ.  I know it was very difficult for him to leave this youth group that he has been pastoring for 5 years.  I tried to make it special for him by asking the students and leaders to write encouraging notes and by providing Florida themed treats.  Wavy Lays, Goldfish, Oreo Beach Balls, and Florida shaped sugar cookies thanks to my father-in-law who whipped out a cookie cutter for me in a matter of minutes!

One of D's closest students who is now in college... Taylor "The General"

Ending #3: Leaving Watt Hardison

These are my Firstie Friends!  We rocked in teaching our kiddos to read!  Most of our first graders were reading at 4th and 5th grade levels by the end of the year!!!

These ladies not only kept me sane at school, but in life as well.

This was my elementary principal who I adored.  By God's design, I was able to reunite unexpectedly with her, and she offered me a job only 20 minutes from where I would be moving as a married woman!  So thankful for the two years we were able to spend together creating a new friendship!

This is Dwayne helping me pack up the rest of my room.  I don't think he realized how much stuff I had until this moment.  Almost every tub you see in this picture is filled with picture books.  This doesn't even touch my chapter book collection which currently resides at my mom's home.

I cried as we pulled away from the school and it hit me that this room no longer belongs to me.  So much happened in those two years.  So many lives were changed... mine included.  

There it is.  All my school stuff that I felt I needed to keep.  Sitting in a storage room.  Wondering when  it will all be used again.

Ending #4: Last Senior Trip (which also included juniors and graduates)

We enjoyed our trip to Destin with such an amazing group of students.  Our stay was amazing and the room was gorgeous!

Poor kids have no idea how to put on sunscreen.  The FIRST DAY they all came back with the most ridiculous burns.  I had to capture the silliness.

These guys are so goofy.  There was so much testosterone, and I had to remind my husband at times that he was an adult!  It was great to see D in his element with his boys.  He is going to miss them tremendously.

Fun at the beach.  Did you know that sand helps you grow?  From top to bottom there is Nathan, Sloan, Brock, and Taylor.  They stayed that way for awhile and had many people taking their picture.

Jordan, Nathan, Niki, Brock, Taylor, Sloan, and Austin.  This trip will be implanted in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives.

Ending #5: Loss

The most challenging ending we had to deal with recently involved the loss of life taken too soon.  Just two short weeks after we returned from the trip, we received news that 17 year old, Sloan Dailey, had passed.  Dwayne obviously had a hard time taking it in because we had just spent a week with him having fun and relaxing.  Did we miss the signs?  Could we have prevented this?  It just seemed so surreal.

Obviously, we cannot put his passing on ourselves.  We can't live with the worry that we could have done something to change the outcome.  The true blessing is to see what God has done in the midst of this tragedy.  Sloan's mom is a living testimony of faith in a time of struggle.  She wants more than anything for people to find hope in the knowledge that he is now rejoicing in the arms of his Savior.  He is no longer in pain.  His funeral brought more people to our church than I had ever seen there.  Every seat was full, and the walls were lined with loved ones.  The service was not meant for mourning the loss, but for the celebration of the life he lived and the people he impacted.  Four people made decisions to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.  AMEN.  The Lord brings ALL things together for the good of those who love and serve him.  We will miss Sloan's unique sense of humor, but we will remember and cherish the laughter we shared.  Our prayers continue to go out to his family and friends.

I know that some of these endings are harder to swallow than others.  However, the focus should not be on grieving for the doors that have been closed, but on glorious anticipation for the doors that are about to open.  

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." 

-Seneca

Sleepless Nights

What do you do when you can't sleep at night?

• count sheep? 
• read a book?
• watch a little TV?
• pray?

Well, I've tried all of those, and it just doesn't seem to cut it... SO, here I am.  It's uhh... been awhile... But there's a very good reason for that.  Sort of.

By now, it's pretty much common knowledge that my life is taking a crazy turn.  I began to write about this so many times, but the words could never quite spill out onto the screen.  Half of me thinks that's because there was just too much to say, and it would take too long to type it.  The other half of me (the one that knows the truth) knows that it's because I wasn't ready to deal with it.  I wasn't ready to make it real.  You know, putting something on the internet makes it official.  Like how I wasn't actually married until Facebook said so.  Right?!

Okay the words are about to appear.  No turning back after that... here they come...

WE ARE MOVING TO MIAMI, FLORIDA!!!!!

http://www.desirechurch.com

SURPRISE!!!

Not a surprise?  My bad.  

Anyway, it's out in the world wide web now.  Everybody who wants to know, and those who don't, can read about it, and I can't change that.  (Well, actually, I don't have to post this blog.  I could just erase it, ya know?)  

So anyone who keeps up with social networks has probably gotten the clue about our move, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you a little more about the process behind the decision and where we go from here.

It started last year around April (ish) when Dwayne had the "random" notion to send an e-mail to my college pastor just thanking him for the mentorship he had provided me during my time at AO as well as our best friends Blake and Caroline Herron.  At the end of the e-mail, he just happened to mention that he would be honored if there ever came a time for the two of them to work in ministry together.

That little e-mail prompted the most challenging call Dwayne and I have faced up to this point in our lives.  

Jerel (the college pastor) saw that e-mail and it led him to invite us to his home where he shared with us (and the Herrons) about his plan to plant a church in Southern Florida.  This had been in the works for a little while, but he was looking to build up a team to go down with him and his family.  Cue the flash forward...

The Gibbs and Herron families spent months in prayer and scripture and discussion waiting for God's voice to speak out our answer.  Are we supposed to be on that team?  About a year ago today, we all put our "YES" on the table.  There are many details I could go into about the weighing of options and my Negative Nancy self who didn't want to buy in at first... but no one wants to know about all that...

Okay, well, I'll tell you a little bit.  I didn't want to get uncomfortable.  I had just started feeling like I had made a new home for myself.  WHFBC was becoming my family.  I was actually going to be teaching at the same school, in the same grade for back-to-back years!  And possibly the most difficult: I have never lived more than 45 minutes away from my family.  How can this be what God wants?!

Well, He did, and He does.  The difference from then to now is, get this, I have faith in His plan.

God did quite a work on my heart this year.  I tried desperately to think of all the reasons we shouldn't be going, but God quickly began showing me that my bigger problem would be staying in a place that I wasn't meant to stay in any longer.  No one wants to try and tell God that they have a better idea.  (Jonah, anyone?)

So, I'm a pretty open book, and I think it's important to share our struggles with others because God designed us to have community... and that community is meant to see you through the happy and the sad...  and how can they see you through the sad if you always pretend that you're "happy"?!  We all tend to think that we are the only ones going through a difficult time and that if we share our hurts, people will know we are broken, and that's just not acceptable.  The truth is, EVERYONE HURTS.  In some way or another.  Not all the time, but that's how we can help others.  We share the burden.  

...

All that to say, here is my burden: ANXIETY.  I stress about everything.  People who were in my Junior year Chemistry class know what I'm talking about... Spending the class period in the hallway crying because I got a "C" on a lab... weekly...

Anyway, lots of drama and fitful nights finally convinced me to go to a doctor, and I was told point-blank: You are dealing with anxiety.  YUP.  The record player was going on and on in my mind playing my fears over and over, faster and faster, and I couldn't control it.  I am so thankful for my husband who stayed with me, night upon night, willing to do absolutely anything he could to help me... and just being a calming presence when there was nothing to be done.

But I will tell you that I refuse to let anxiety overcome.  God provided doctors, counselors, family, and friends who all stepped in to get me through the madness.  I haven't completely conquered the symptoms, and perhaps I will never fully be past my sense of worry.  However, I DO know that through that, God taught me to let go.  Let go of my fear.  Let go of my doubts.  Let go of my plans.  

You see, ultimately, God is going to do what God is going to do.  And you can kick and scream and get swallowed by a giant fish... OR... you can let go and trust that God's got you.  

So that's what I have done.  It's definitely not easy, and it's not guaranteed to unfold as we plan, but I am 100% certain that God's hand is in it all, and I can rest in that.

I have already had to say some pretty tough good-byes.  If you had caught me during the first half of the school year (especially towards December/January), you would have seen a girl that was ready to be done with teaching.  Remember the anxiety thing?  Yes.  My heart sank every morning as I thought about what the day had in store.  But by the end of the year, I was boo-hooing and blubbering as I prepared myself to finally tell my precious firsties that I wouldn't be back next year.  I waited until the last week of school because I didn't want to affect their education.  Sure enough, 5 minutes before dismissal I sat them down to tell them I had important news, and not only were my eyes pouring, but a few of these sweet little 6 and 7 year olds were joining me.  Some wouldn't even look at me!  It was tragic.  The last day of school was the worst.  I've never cried for summer before... in a sad way, at least. I got a bazillion bear hugs.  Those will warm my heart forever.  

And then, I had to say good-bye to my family... I mean my co-workers... No, I mean my family.  That's who they had become to me.  Showering Dwayne and me with love after our wedding.  Sharing prayers and encouragement.  Spending hours after school being real with one another and building relationships outside of "work".  Yes, family.  

And I had to say good-bye to my boss.  The same one who was MY principal when I was in elementary school.  The one who knew me and my family well.  The one who hired me without batting an eye and gave me the most wonderful blessing to work with the most amazing children.  I had to say good-bye to Ms. Turner.

And then I had to say good-bye to my second home.  My classroom.  I think I spent just as many hours there as I did my actual home.  And I totally got paid overtime, too.... HA!  The bare walls were difficult to see.

Finally, I have had to say good-bye to my first REAL home.  The home where D and I started our lives together as a family.  I'm blessed to think of the wonderful couple that is as in love with the place as we were...  I know they will appreciate it as it will be their first home together as well.  All the same... I will miss it's teeny-tiny spaces and loads of character.  We made it work.  It was perfect.

Now it's time for hello.  Hello to a new state, city, community, culture, home, job... I can go on... We are kind of in limbo right now as we are currently homeless and jobless.  Our stuff is camped out in a storage unit and we are living in suitcases and boxes at my mom's... and currently at Jerel and Mistie's, while we look for homes and jobs.  (Can I just say how awesome they are to be willing to share their house with two other families???  We currently have 10 people in this house and we don't know when that will change either!)

It's crazy and it's chaotic and it's beautiful.  

We put an offer on a townhouse today.  D has a big interview on Monday.  We don't know if we will get the home, and we don't know if he will get the job, but we do know that God is at work.  We do know that God is going to do big things.  Sometimes our flesh makes it difficult to see past the unknown, but letting go gives me peace.  That's all I can do.