Update

I'm going to try to catch you up to speed mainly in pictures since a lot has happened since my last post. For starters, we found out on Thanksgiving Day that Curtis and Anna also had covid so we got to all spend the holiday together as we assumed I must also have it. Everyone had mild symptoms and we had a lovely day!

The day after Thanksgiving, we discovered that I was actually negative so I began isolating from my family in the hopes that I could stay healthy and say my goodbyes. As each person came out of quarantine, I was reunited with them! Kate was the first to come out and therefore she was the only one who was able to celebrate my birthday with me!

We zoomed as I opened birthday presents with the rest of the family, lol.

We also somehow closed on our Jacksonville house on my birthday! It literally wouldn't have happened if it weren't for a wonderful woman who was willing to notarize around Curtis while he had covid (outside, masked of course) and my mom who was our POA.

Praise the Lord, God answered my prayer and I never got covid even though my entire family had it. Believe me, I tested so many times! I re-joined civilization and I was able to have one last fun time with my MOPS 2020 group. I sure love these ladies and I am hoping we will stay in touch even through the distance.

Actually, they signed the back of this precious picture that they made (along with other MOPS mamas) and it made me cry!!

I hosted and organized a Christmas baking night with some of the RUF girls!

I also set up a playdate for the girls to say goodbye to some of their closest friends.

Drew really bonded with Anna (below) during soccer so he was thrilled to spend some time with her before we left!

I am not going to be able to put pictures of all of their dear friends that they were going to miss, but Noah is definitely one of them!! (I'm surprised to find that we didn't even get a picture with Anna's oldest friend, Hannah!)

Some former RUF students planned a dinner for us to say goodbye to those that could make it. (They were kind enough to reschedule when we had covid and I'm thankful we found the time!) We have way too many people that we love in Indiana!! 

Our final RUF at Purdue event -- a Christmas party!

Drew was able to attend preschool until their Christmas break began. We were so glad we could go to their Christmas program!

The truck arrived on 12/16 and we left on 12/17...

...we arrived safely to Jacksonville on 12/18 and almost immediately, it was Christmas! Here's a picture with my parents and my brother, Ben, on Christmas Eve.

It wasn't long before the kids got to know the neighbors!

The kids also decided to swim in our pool, but it was definitely too cold for me to even dip my feet in!

 

A few days later, we went to San Antonio to see my brother, Tim, and his family. It was the first time that all 10 cousins were together! (Yes, I realize the timing of this trip wasn't ideal, but we had been planning it for over 2 years so we made the sacrifice to keep our plans and it was worth it!)

Tim took some of the kids around in his lawn mower on their nice property.

I explored the town of Comfort with some of the girls.

We celebrated the new year together and took some pictures of my parents with ALL of their grandchildren! What a special treat!

We also took a picture of Tim and I since it's rare we're all together.

We came back to Florida and I was able to re-connect with my dear friend Mrs. Warren. It was very nice to have a familiar face in the midst of our move. We can always pick up right where we left off!

You're not going to believe this, but then I flew back to Texas again for the annual RUF wives weekend retreat! I was desperate to go since we had to cancel 2021's retreat, but it was a whirlwind in the middle of a move. I'm so glad I went though! These are some of the campus minister wives that are in our new area where Curtis will be ministering now that he is an Area Coordinator.

I also planned a brewstillery tour. I love this picture! Clearly, we had a great time. :)

I also biked some along the riverwalk and near the Alamo with a few wives.

I came back and re-connected with one of my dearest friends from Savannah, Heather, who also happens to live in Jacksonville! Here's our youngest together during a recent playdate.

We're slowly adjusting, but it's definitely a long process! We are currently praying about making good local friends and what church we will attend. Curtis has already started his travels and we are adjusting to a new normal with him gone more often. It's been good, but we certainly miss so many people!