Boonies in the Boonies: January 2012

Well, here we go. We are about to embark on a total step of faith ... A cross-country move. Aaron and I are die-hard Arkansans ... We love the south and our families and friends and even the scorching heat. So leaving is sad ... And scary ... And to be honest, really hard to put my mind around. I think that's keeping me from having a total breakdown. Aaron first got a call from a friend living in PA with his family back in October. Aaron had been scoping out other jobs for the past few months in the horrendous job market and hadn't seen ANYTHING else in medical sales. But then out of the blue his friend called telling him how God had put Aaron on his heart and wanted him to consider this opportunity to come to PA and be a Landman for an oil and gas company up there. I wish I could say when Aaron presented this I supported him whole-heartedly and said, "Where you go, I will follow," or something wonderful. But, I seriously all but cracked up laughing. PENNSYLVANIA?!?! Ummm... No. I didn't even apply to any college besides U of A, I'm not a big traveler, and I think Bryant is too far from my family in Little Rock. No. Way. Jose. And then I stayed like that for almost a month. Then something crazy happened. God changed my heart. He has totally enveloped me in a sense of peace and excitement and I'm totally pumped about the journey in store. We're moving to a tiny town called Sayre, PA. It's just two miles from the NY state line, so it's at the very, very top of the state. It's just minutes from snow skiing, three hours from NYC, and is actually full of beautiful countryside. It has perks. :) I think knowing that this is probably just for a year or two helps a lot. But if God has other plans, then who knows. I'm totally realizing how my plans are just plans ... God can always have something totally different in store. To say that I'm grieving the loss of my amazing family, and wonderful friends is such a ridiculous understatement. I am heart-sick over it. Maybe God has kept me in Bryant at an arms length so I would be a little prepared for distance... I mean 30 minutes down the interstate is a wee bit different from the 20 hour trek it would take to drive home from Sayre ... But still. There are a few Arkansas families up there, one which we already know and are so thrilled to know some familiar faces. I've loved talking to them and it definitely helped me in visualizing what this would actually be like. I'm thankful for cell phones, Skype, texting, blogs and Facebook that will help me stay connected with all my peeps. So don't be a stranger! Long live social networking! We leave soon ... Very soon. My guesstimate is we'll for sure be there by mid-march ... But maybe sooner. Please pray for this transition. We know God is all over this, but that doesn't mean we aren't hanging on to His ankles in prayer! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This year for NYE we went out to the "Halowell Hideout," Aaron's main hunting grounds, for a fun night with friends. It was full of yummy food, funny conversation, and an all out good time. I'm so glad we went.

I snapped a few phone pics of our glamorous night ...

Aaron helped me with some of my ensemble ...

He's so stylish. :)
By 9:00 we were all ready to go to bed, but we held on until midnight. However by 12:04am we were all asleep. Oldies ...

On the way home Morgan and I were verrrry carsick. Aaron stopped to let Morgan drive my swagger-wagon and got us bottled cokes- our very fav! :)

He and Madeley had fun in the back reading books and watching Ice Age.

On New Years Day we had our annual NY Day Party, this year it was at Mom and Dad's. We made our big announcement about our move to Pennsylvania ... Which was hard ... And sad. But other than that it was a fun-filled day with some of my most favorite families!