Graduation and Big Moving Plans

Good Friday morn!

RANDOMNESS - Graduation and Big Moving Plans - I told you in the last post I had some BIG-TO-ME news to share, and here it is!

Over the past few months, I've shared with several people that after Roxie graduated from Grad School in Auburn she was planning to spend a year or two in Utah. She has been wanting to go out west and travel, travel, travel to all the many places she has yet to see on that side of the country.

She'll be living in Salt Lake City with two roommates (who also happen to be sweet friends from Auburn and her Camp Crestridge counseling days).

There were a lot of doors that needed to be opened before the decision to move was finalized in my mind...

And as is my nature, I prayed many of them would not only be BOLTED shut, but no way, no how would it work out for her to move so far, far away from Sweet Home Alabama.

And then when every single one of the doors not only opened, but opened wide enough for a U-Haul to drive through (Utah or Colorado, roommates, apartment, new job, traveling plans, benefit packages, etc., etc., etc.), I did what every Helicopter Mom on the planet has done before me...

I pushed it ALL out of my mind and thought about something else.

Guess what?

Mike and I just returned from a six-day trip to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Three days driving...

One day moving in...

One day sleeping a little late and then visiting two or three "must-sees" in SLC...

One day flying home.

Roxie will be starting her new counseling job working in a residential treatment facility for women who are dealing with substance use disorders. The women AND their children live there, so Roxie is looking forward to working with the kids, also.

She will be finding a new church...

Visiting Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, Bryce Canyon and a bunch of neighboring states...

Learning to ski...

Etc., etc., etc.

It has been mind-blowing and life-altering and oh, so bittersweet. Those are my words.

Roxie's words have consistently been "exciting," "unbelievable" and "I absolutely cannot wait!"

We are practically the same person, aren't we?

I'm going to share a few graduation pics with you, and I'll be sharing the trip pics before too much longer.

As a special treat, Roxie and family and friends were all invited to meet on the football field after graduation while she had her picture taken in front of the Jumbo Tron. Her name will show in the school pic.

It was kind of thrilling.

Roxie's SP (Special Person) in Auburn during Grad School (and even before) has been Jan.

She and her husband, Carter, have loved Roxie so well.

And speaking as a Helicopter Mom one more time, that is truly a blessing.

I am halfway hoping Jan and Carter decide to move to Utah in the very near future!

Who am I kidding?

I am all-the-way hoping!

At the end of the evening, Mike and I took her for a late dinner to Acre where we had a wonderful meal, and we reminisced about her six years at Auburn...

And the days, weeks, months (and maybe years to come) in Utah. Believe me! I tried very hard to keep the conversation centered around Auburn, but she and Mike kept "going out west."

I've already started working on the Out West post, so stay tuned.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Here are a couple of mountain pics from Utah. It is an exceptionally beautiful place, and The Chick is only 20 minutes from this particular mountain/ski resort.

DISCLAIMER - There is a big wildfire very close to Salt Lake City right now, so the mountains are all a little hazy from a distance. I cannot even imagine the colors when the air is clear. They are absolutely amazing!

From the Heart AND Water Balloon Ambush ON POP

Good Monday morning!

Super short...

And hopefully sweet!

From the Heart - On August 1, our Pastor (Kevin Hamm) began a two-part sermon entitled, "Ten Foundations Under Attack in America." Both sermons were excellent, eye-opening and definitely worth sharing with others. As always, Pastor Kevin based the sermons on what the Bible had to say about each of the Ten Foundations, so not only were they "excellent, eye-opening and worth sharing with others," they were also (most importantly) true.

If you call ahead, Gardendale First Baptist has a bookstore (Encouraging Word Bookstore), and you can purchase CDs or DVDs of these messages there for a minimal cost.

Just go to https://www.gfbc.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Bookstore" for the contact information.

RANDOMNESS - Water Balloon Ambush ON POP - To say Judith and RT like throwing water balloons would be an understatement.

They kinda love it.

For our Beginning of Summer Water Balloon Fight, we made 500 of those attach-to-the-hose-and-fill-a-bunch-in-less-than-a-minute water balloons.

For the Water Ballon Ambush ON POP, they wanted 500 more, but we took turns filling 300 (or so) and we did just fine.

Judith and RT were in charge of four bunches each.

We put one baby pool full of balloons in the back of the old blue pickup truck...

And the other baby pool beside the house on the ground.

Both kids crouched in the back of the pickup waiting for Pop to come home from work.

Hmmm...

Pop may or may not have found out about the plan because he's wearing tennis shoes instead of his work shoes.

Again, hmmm.

RT is really into squirting the water balloons like squirt guns...

And he likes the double-barrel-underhand-toss, too.

Judith was very big into using the boat and other vehicles as a shield as she tried to sneak up on Pop.

Also, Pop was never supposed to take over the baby pool by the garage doors.

That was never in the plan...

And we really resent him for not sticking to the plan!

Someone may have been a little over-dramatic...

And it wasn't one of the two Grandtots.

Next year, same plan except we're adding Eden!

Have a great Monday. I have some BIG news to share in a couple of days (I'm already working on it)...

And when I say BIG, I mean BIG to me and not the world at large.

So I will talk to you very soon.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Can you guess?

And this is only A SMALL PART of the BIG NEWS TO ME!

Stay tuned!