The Olive Branch...

The Olive Branch is known as a symbol of peace & goodwill. In the book of Genesis, following the great flood, Noah sent out a dove to find dry land. On the third flight the dove returned with an olive branch which meant that the waters had receded and there was dry land. It would be a new beginning for Noah and his family. Ironically, the Olive Branch will become a symbol of a new beginning for my family.

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My husband has been offered a position in Olive Branch, Mississippi. We will be moving there soon after Christmas. It is exciting and scary. We will be closer to family. Still a 6 hour drive, but it sure beats a 22 hour drive ! The kids will be changing schools and that's never easy to do. It's not easy to leave a place you've called home for nearly six years. A place where my daughter was born and my boys have lived more of their lives here than their birthplace of Alabama. A place that holds so many memories we have strived to make as a family. A wonderful suburban little town. This is much harder to do than I thought it would be. If I allow myself to think about it , (lately) I just fall apart. So, I try not to . There have been so many treasures I have discovered here in beautiful PA. The treasure of watching four seasons turn. I'll start with Summer...my first memory after arriving here in July of 2005, was it being in the wee hours of the morning, getting to the apartment we were in temporarily, and there were so many fire flies flittering all around us ! It was just beautiful and the boys were chasing them all around. Summers... catching fireflies and playing at the creek. Fall... the most beautiful, vibrant pallet of colors I have ever seen. Collecting & crunching leaves with my kids. Pumpkin patches and all things Fall. It is my favorite season here. Winter... while I do not love the freezing cold... my kids do not seem to mind it. They love the snow. Snow IS beautiful when it is fresh and falling ! I love watching my kids playing in the snow , making snow angels, snowmen, sledding & snowboarding. Spring blooms here are so pretty. Buttercups and tulips are plentiful. The purple crocus peaking up through the snow covered ground. And my favorite is the return of the robins. Something I never paid attention to , ever. Robins everywhere, collecting items to build their nests, then collecting worms to feed the baby birds.

And these are the four seasons I have known for the past 5 and a half years here. I will never forget our days here. I will never forget our friends who have become like a family to us. I really hope that we will return to visit friends & this beautiful place one day.

A New Beginning. It is exciting and overwhelming. It is fearing the unknown. It will be challenging to put a new home back together after being off loaded from a moving truck . It will be ambitious...meeting new people... getting involved in schools and community and church. It will be crazy at first... but it WILL BE OK .
I pray and I pray and I pray... that it will be okay and it is the place we are meant to be at this time in our lives... Olive Branch , Mississippi.

My trust lies completely in my God and he tells me..

For I know the plans I have for you , declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you , plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29 : 11