29 Weeks and Our Last Full Week!

(I originally wrote this before we left South Carolina, but in the midst of the chaos, I forgot to publish! So it's better late than never, I suppose!) 

 

29 Weeks today!  Miss Paisley is growing like crazy and getting heavier by the day!  I've noticed a definite difference when I walk around and especially when I (attempt to!) bend over.  My belly is getting in the way more, which makes it harder to do things around the house.  It's a good thing we've taught the big kids how to do most of the chores around here-I'm definitely having to delegate more lately!

Tonight is our last Bible study before we move.  I am really going to miss this group of friends!  We are starting to get to those "lasts" that are making the move real for us!  Tomorrow night is our last Wednesday night service and Thursday will probably be our last trip to the beach.  Our last week here is going to be super busy, which will make time go by much faster, I'm sure. 

I am not looking forward to when it actually hits me that we are leaving for good.  We really feel like we have found a home here in Beaufort, if only it were closer to family!  There is something to be said for having very good friends, but the desire to raise our kids near their cousins and aunts and uncles is tangible.  It is such a hard thing to have to choose between many good options, but in the end, we feel like this is what is best for them.  So next week, we'll load everything up and say goodbye, possibly for this lifetime.  I'm trying not to get too emotional yet but I know it is going to hit me sooner or later.  Maybe I can blame it on the pregnancy hormones??  ;)

Sweet Home Alabama! (At least temporarily)

Last week, we finished packing everything that we own into a U-Haul truck and got on the road.  We left South Carolina, our home for the past five years, to be temporarily homeless until we make our final move in July all the way across the country to Idaho. 

In the meantime, we are visiting my parents in Alabama and enjoying our summer break and our last few weeks of not having a mile-long "To Do" list.  Once we leave here, we will be:  driving cross country, moving into a new home, unpacking and getting settled, birthing and bringing home a new baby, beginning school again for the kids and graduate school for me, and job hunting for Marcus.  I'd say that it's going to be a busy fall!!

So for these last few weeks of peace, we are going to get some summer reading in, spend some time at the pool, catch some fish on the river, and just enjoy hanging out with family.  It's going to be over before we know it.

It is finished!

My degree, that is!  Sunday ended my last three classes that I needed for my Bachelor's degree.  It feels so good not to have to worry about homework and fitting that into my already busy schedule, especially with the move and new baby coming soon.  So now all I'm waiting on are my grades to post and graduation!  Conferral will not be until August 15, but with Miss Paisley due August 18, somehow I doubt we will make it back to Nashville for graduation!

Of course, I'm not done with school because I still have a decent chunk of money left in my GI Bill, so I will most likely be starting my Master's in either July or September, working towards an MBA.  I don't want to take too much of a break or else I might get used to it and not want to go back!  I might be able to finish my graduate degree before the money runs out, but I will probably end up having to pay for my last few classes out of pocket, which is fine with me. 

 

This has been such a long road, it felt like I would never make it to this point.  I've been continually doing school through the past two pregnancies and nursing babies, when I was working full time, through moving houses here in town, while on vacation, and pretty much every other situation we've encountered over the past four years.  But it's finally here and I'm finally done and all the late nights and fun I missed out on has been worth it in the long run!