And so, our journey begins...

Hey y’all!! Please don’t think that my recent time away means I don’t want to be blogging... I miss you when I'm away. The thing is I just totally thrive on order and a schedule, neither of which have I had for about a month and a half and I don’t see them coming back into my everyday life anytime soon. Anyhow, Mitch and I’s journey into our next chapter in life started months and months ago, but I have chosen not to write about it a lot on here because 1) I just didn’t want to write about things that still seemed uncertain and 2) I was sort-of in denial that we really could be moving 11+ hours away from family and friends... beginning anew on our very own in a city (well really a state for that matter!) where we know nothing. Well, I have to start off by saying God has not let us down up to this point and I am certain that He will not be letting us down in the future. I will share details on that in a second. So... to catch y’all up (and for the sake of my own record keeping): Mitch graduated from UK’s Dental School on May 6th (WOOHOO! It still amazes me that it is over.). He is officially a DMD. Back up a bit...He made a commitment to the United States Navy a little before the end of 2011 that stated upon graduation he would be entering the ranks of the Navy as a dentist where he will be serving out a 4 year commitment. Soon after his commitment was made, we had to choose from a list of bases in which we would prefer to be stationed. It became apparent very quickly that South Carolina would be the 1st stop on our “military” journey. And can I just say, I never thought I would be a military wife... Not because I have a lack-of-respect for the women (and men for that matter) who support their spouse as they serve our country in any given branch of the armed forces. Quite the opposite really. I just wondered if I have what it takes, you know? So, South Carolina. I loved that the word ‘south’ was in the name of the state in which we would be living. And little did I know until about 3 days ago that I was in for a real treat. Okay, so I think that brings things up to speed. I won’t share the specifics of move-dates, etc. but I will just say our family will be making our way to the lovely SC coast before summer comes to an end. 

In preparation for our move, Mitch and I spent 4 days in the deep south last week. The main prerogative of our trip was to secure our housing, which actually did not happen ;( But, we did get to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary while away and were on the receiving end of a lovely Georgia and South Carolina welcome! Okay, can I just say... I thought that I really I lived in the south. Kentucky is technically considered a boarder sate. But anyway, I think I understand the term “deep south” much more clearly now. Ha! 

This is a little side-note about a very important little person, Miss Scarlett:  While we were away for the longest amount of time I have ever left SJ (the longest I had ever been away from her up until last week was a whopping 16 hours.), we was in the loving care of her Nonni and Boo (my parents). Apparently they are 1000x more fun that Mitch and I, which I can believe. They said she asked about us 1 time while we were away. 1 time!! Boohoo! We have been talking to her about mommy and daddy’s trip for weeks, so I think she was well prepared, but even more I think that she is just nuts for her grandparents. I love it, since I was holding back tears from the moment we left my parents’ driveway. Just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to Scarlett’s main people -- Nonni and Boo!!! 

Okay I don’t even know how this happened, but this post is going to be a long one! 


We started our trip out in Savannah, Georgia where one of my dear, college girlfriends resides -- Laurelee. You may remember Laurelee from the fun trip I took to Disney World when I was pregnant with SJ. Anyhow, there is nothing like seeing a city with a local. She was the sweetest, little southern belle hostess. 

We took a bus tour of downtown and it was so fun. Our bus driver was a hoot. And the sites were just SO charming. 

This church steeple is where the floating feather in the movie 'Forrest Gump' was dropped from.  

Ohhhh.... the trees. Stunning. 

This is a popular art museum off of one of the downtown squares. 

This is one of the squares. 

The antebellum homes are absolutely gorgeous. The history of Savannah is so rich. And I loved sitting next to my own history buff (Laurelee is a history teacher!). 

This live oak is believed to be over 300 years old. Incredible. 

This is the outside of the Catholic church in downtown Savannah. Apparently the outside is no comparison to the ornate interior. 

Chippewa Square...

After our wanderings in downtown Savannah and a little rest at Laurelee's apartment, we headed to Tybee Island for dinner. 

The beach! 

This was seriously one of the most delicious dinners ever! However, we realized that we are getting old because there was live music at the restaurant and it was SO loud we could hardly even talk! Ha!

~~~~~~~~~

We said our goodbye's to Laurelee early Sunday morning and headed to Beaufort, South Carolina to check out a local church. We think we found the church we would like to attend which is such a blessing. 

While getting acquainted with our new town and house hunting, we stayed at a charming Bed & Breakfast downtown. It was like stepping back in time. 

Here is my sweet Mitch in our victorian room...

Our view of the bay from the sunny bathroom...

And this is our the view of the Port Royal Sound, adorned with live oaks, from our bedroom on our first morning there -- our 7th wedding anniversary! 

Our breakfast nook in the dining room... 

Here we are before taking a walk downtown to get lunch. 

There were always at least 10-15 sailboats anchored in the bay in front of our B&B. Such a pretty site. 

Here is my tea at lunch... sweet nectar! I will be attempting to replicate their pretty presentation ;) 

Mitch and I had a wonderful trip together. Beside him is my favorite place to be. We hadn't been on a trip like this together since our honeymoon. Although we were there on "business" it was such a treat to have concentrated time just the 2 of us. We are praying that the perfect house for us will pop up just when we need it. We did narrow down the areas we want to live in, so our trip was productive in that way. Oh and before I forget... this is so neat and such a tangible example of how God goes before us. On Sunday evening of our trip we had dinner in the home of a family who is stationed in Beaufort with the Navy too. The neatest part -- how did we get connected with this family? Through this blog!!! I still cannot believe that. We enjoyed getting to know them and really appreciated their warm welcome. Thanks Abby and see you soon!! 

While we were away I asked for lots of pictures of Scarlett because I missed her SO bad. This is the picture my Dad text me on our last day in SC. Here is SJ riding the carousel at the zoo... I love that smile!!!

If you made it this far in my post, you are too kind!! Thanks for wishing us well on our new journey... there is lots more to come.