Odds-N-Ends

We recently enjoyed a wonderful visit with my mom.  She came to help me with shopping for the house as it's very difficult for me to shop with 5 kiddos in tow.  We covered a lot of territory and managed to get furniture items for my living room and den as well as some progress made on the homeschool area.  She also met her newest grand baby for the first time!  We closed on the house in Knoxville the day she left which was also our Lilly's 5th birthday.  We celebrated in Knoxville on the way to closing with a dinner and a cake.  I felt a little guilty that her birthday had to be squeezed in with so many things, but thankfully she didn't seem to notice.  We're grateful that mom was able to be with us and miss her terribly, but we look forward to her next visit this fall!

While in Knoxville we stopped by the old house prior to closing to say good-bye to our very dear neighbors.  Miss Barbara and Miss Dot are widows who we have known since we moved there in 2001.  The face of the subdivision has changed so much and we were the only original family left.  They were sad to see us go, but very happy for us at the same time.  We'll miss them too!!!

After closing, since we were closer than in Surgoinsville, we visited our friends in Vonore, TN for the night.  Van and Dawn had been looking for property like us for some time and were fortunate enough to find theirs this past winter.  Talk about remote!  Their home is literally at the end of the road.  We all had actually looked for land together to split and build but never could find the right thing.  We wish we ALL could have at least found something closer as it's much more difficult to visit now, but we won't let that ol' distance stand in the way of our friendship.  Come see us soon guys!

On our return we relaxed with a little ATV fun.  Many family members came over to celebrate our closing.  It was a fabulous time.  Hard to believe it's all over and can now focus all efforts on building this new life.  So much to do still, but the adventure and freedom to do so makes it all worth it.