a new chapter

Oh, the love in my heart for these people.  Once again, Emily captured some pretty precious moments between us.  We took these on literally the last warm-ish day of the year.  It was in the low 60's, and following day it snowed!

Our home is currently a flurry of activity these days... PACKING!

We are heading east, moving to my hometown in central Kentucky near Danville and Lexington.  A while back, for several months Luke and I talked and prayed about what would be best for our family.  A big part of the decision was our children.  We need more regular help with them, and my mom is eager to provide it.  My brother's family is also in that area, along with aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends I grew up with.  We'd love for our girls to be able to spend more time with all of them, experiencing sleepovers with cousins, the ability to drive down the road to Grandmama's at a moment's notice, and more.  To say I can't wait for all this is an understatement!  

While having more help will provide a little relief for us, it will also provide opportunities.  With a little more time to work with, I plan to begin teaching piano and voice lessons, which I have done in the past.  I very purposefully stepped away from a lot when I began staying home to focus on raising our girls, and it has been good, but I greatly miss teaching music and leading worship.  Music is a deep passion of mine, and to not tap into it for so long has been hard.  I also hope to be involved in a worship team again once we are plugged into a new church.  Music feeds my soul, and I'm excited to get back to having more of it in my life.

Another factor in the decision to move was my husband's film business.  He currently travels to Louisville and Lexington for many of his weddings, and so it made sense to move closer.

We will never forget our home in Mayfield and our journey over the last nine years here.  When I think back to how scared I was to move here, I'm reminded of a quote I read:  "Love the home you're in, and it'll love you back."  It took me awhile, but I embraced our home even when I didn't really feel like being here or when the future was so uncertain.  And I'm so glad I did.  This home saw us through nine Christmases, three dogs, entering our 30's, multiple valuable jobs and ministry opportunities, friendships, priceless memories, and of course, finding Allie and giving birth to Jovie.  We will never forget this season or the value it has held for our family.

We move in eleven days!  December will be focused on settling in and then slowing down for the holidays, so you might not hear from me again until the new year.  Happy Holidays from our family to yours.  Here's to new beginnings!

Jenn


All photos by Gypsy Ed Photography.