Full Circle Part 2

So I left off Full Circle Part 1 with, The adage that, "you do not realize what you have until it is gone", really hit hard as we began saying goodbye to friends, with no reason in our minds to believe we would be back to Greenville anytime soon....

I will pick up on our last day in Greenville before our new adventure to a little town just north of Charlotte, NC called Cornelius.  

Everything was packed and we finished up with the last bit of cleaning before we headed off into the unknown.  

The truck was loaded with the essentials and we got on the road realizing that heavy footed me was in  a vehicle that would not go much faster than 65mph with a long trip ahead of us.  

After a lot of help unloading, we enjoyed some of the things we enjoy the most ...food, friends and famliy...

Settled into our cute little place, we discovered the coolest place ever called IKEA which we just so happened to have only 20 mins away and began decorating.  

Jessica was working full time with UNC and I continued undergrad through Liberty University.  We enjoyed exploring everything Cornelius and the surrounding areas had to offer as we settled into the new town we called home.  

 

It was so nice being so close outdoor adventures, hiking, water, and family.  This was our camping trip with my sister to Badin Lake.  No internet, no power, simply outdoors and enjoying nature.  

After our fun camping adventure, the apts we were living in had a pumpkin carving contest which I obviously won with this magnificent piece of art lol.

As you get older you realize more and more the people in your lives that mean the most to you and how precious the time you get to spend with them truly is.  Nana was one of the most caring and lovely ladies I have had the pleasure of getting to know while being married to Jessica, and now that she is gone, everyday I see a little of her in Jessica as the memory of her lives on.  

Jessica and I loved walking around our neighborhood in Cornelius and had a wonderful time walking through Birkdale village at Christmas to see the lights and all of the frantic shoppers searching for our next Goodwill find (= 
P.S. the goodwill in Cornelius was hands down the best Goodwill we have ever been to.  

This hike to Crowder Mountain was a pretty important hike in many different ways.  One, it helped me decide a direction to head in my future, and two it was the last hike we made as a non dog family (=

 That day after our hike we went to the humane society of Charlotte and fell in love with our fur baby.   When we got there she actually was being looked at by an older couple who were just sitting in chairs as she pounced around in the cage with them.  About five minutes later they put her back and she was ours.

 
  She has become an important part or our family and has definitely changed us in many ways.  We realized how much responsibility it is to have a dog, but with that responsibility comes the joy of providing a loving caring home for an animal that has endless love for us.  There is not a day that passes that I do not walk in the house without being greeted by the most affectionate dog I have ever met.

My brother was able to come home from Japan not long after we got Athena and fell in love with her as well (=.
Athena has tore up her bed but never our   furniture so that is a plus.

So a year in Charlotte had passed and Jessica's job had come to an end.  We decided that since we were not sure were our next step would be and neither of us had jobs that we would move to Wilmington, NC.  No we did not buy a FIAT... Our poor  Volvo broke down a day before our move and we had already taken a load of boxes to Wilmington and left the other car!!!!  We had to rent a car for a day before we packed the truck and towed the Volvo to our new home at the beach.  
 We took one last stroll through Birkdale Village and all shared a Ben & Jerrys ice cream cone (yes our dog is spoiled and we wouldn't have it any other way) before yet again another move.
 
 We only spent four months in Wilmington, but in our time there we realized how important it is to enjoy everyday to the fullest and every phase in your life for what it is.  It would have been so easy for us to stress out and worry about what our next step was going to be.  Instead, we enjoyed every day and took every chance we could to go play at the beach or spend time together.

     Jessica was trying to teach Athena how to swim  

So Carolina beach has an amazing place called Wake N Bake, and the only way to describe it is amazing!!! hands down the best donuts ever!!!!
 

The sunsets were beautiful and we loved the sand between our toes, but as much as we loved our four months at the beach, Jessica was offered a job in Greenville.  If you remember in the beginning we had no plans on coming back to Greenville, but God has a funny way of reminding us that when we tell Him He is in control and to open and close doors, that we are going where He wants us to be. 

We packed up yet another moving truck and headed back to the Pirate Country with no idea what the future would hold.  Little did we know that the job God had opened up for Jessica would be her dream job, and that she would be able to make an impact in the lives of the individuals that need her help the most.

We rekindled relationships with friends that honestly we took for granted, but have quickly begun to realize how important those friendships really are to us

We have come back to a church that is just as on fire for God as when we left, and realized that as much as we were ready to plug into a larger church when we were gone, we really missed the community we had right at our fingertips before we left. 

We have realized how important family is to us, and to cherish every moment we get to spend with them because we are not promised tomorrow.  

But most of all we have realized that no matter where we are, what city we live in, what jobs we work, or the unknown that lies ahead, 

that we are better together and our God will always provide for us when our eyes are focused together  on Him.