Of Tea and Afternoons

 Top: Sara and Lydia

Bottom: Hannah and I

Chloe enjoying her tea!

This past Saturday afternoon I was walking up the sidewalk to our house after arriving home from work  and came across Sara and Hannah by the front door all dolled up like they had some place important and fun to go. Hannah's face immediately lit up with surprise and she exclaimed "What are you doing home?! Wait! You get off work at this time???" I reminded her that today was Saturday, and I only work until noon. "Oh!! Well,  all us girls are about to head over to the Tea Room, we made reservations and everything and have to leave, like,  right now!". I looked down at my scrubs covered in animal hair and then touched my hair, hmm, it could use a washing today but it wasn't too horrible. How could I pass up a girls day with all my sisters?! I decided I was fairly decent enough to go, ran inside, threw on the most wrinkle free dress I could find and bolted right back out the door. Then we all made the drive to "down town" for our afternoon tea reservation.

I love going to Camelia Rose. It's one of those places where you feel like you've have stepped back in time and the world just slows down for a little while. The place is beautifully decorated, the service is incredibly friendly and personable, and the tea is splendid! You are served your very own pot of tea so we each chose a tea to our liking ( I couldn't decide between the Gingerbread tea or the Chocolate Dipped Strawberry tea, I chose the Strawberry tea and let me tell you, how they got that pot of tea to taste just like a chocolate covered strawberry without any sugar added I have no idea! It was amazing!). We were then served the soup of the day which was Pumpkin soup or Northern Bean soup. Both were quite good! And then a tier filled with all sorts of tea treats was brought to the table, my sister's devoured them in minutes!

 I am such a huge fan of tea I almost downed two entire pots of the stuff before I realized what I was doing! 

Once afternoon tea had ended we then explored the local antique and consignment shops. I found a steal of a dress for only $12! Highlight of my day I tell ya! We then stopped by the cutest little old style candy shoppe I have ever been in! You should have seen the look on the shop owner's face when five girls walked through the door and immediately started oooooohing and ahhhing and saying " this is SO neat!!!".

Spending an afternoon with all four of my sisters was long overdue, so glad I caught them in time! 

Alabama

A few days ago Dad stood outside by what I like to call his "Elder Car" as one by one each of his children took turns hugging him goodbye. Dad, being in the service of the ministry, has hugged us goodbye many a times before as he prepares to head out to a special meeting, or to fill in for another minister on Sunday. This time however the hugs lasted much longer and the goodbyes lingered. You see, Dad was saying goodbye to us because he was moving to Alabama to start training for his new job. He won't be gone for the weekend, no he wouldn't need all of his belongings and his entire suit collection for that.

Let me start here.
After many months, days, and hours spent praying that the Lord would open a door, Dad has been blessed with a very promising job offer in our old home state of Alabama. While Dad will continue his service in the ministry,  this job offer is a grand blessing from the Lord and we are all so thankful for it! Dad was required to start work this October, yet we all still live here in Florida and have a house to sell. So Dad moved, and the rest of the gang stayed behind to start preparing the house for the market.

That was a hard goodbye, the true definition of bittersweet right there. So happy to know that the Lord has once again provided for us, yet very sad to know that for a time Dad will have to be separated from the family. Makes me realize how incredibly blessed I am to have a Dad who has been so involved and so present in my life. The void is certainly felt and we are all practicing our stiff upper lips and adjusting as best we can!

We will be moving. again.
God has been good,once again.

This will be our fifth time moving, and I've come to the realization that all the moves before I have had a overwhelming sense of excitement and curiosity. This time around I almost feel split right down the middle. I've had to think a lot more about it, and realize that I have begun to set down roots here in Florida these past five years and it's going to be not so easy  uprooting them. It's not so much the location of where I live, but the people who I've come to love. I'm going to have to really prepare myself this time.

But oh what a blessing moving to Alabama will be for my family! Alabama is home to us. Dad has a job there now ( and soon we will be with him again!), my parents were both born and raised there, we will be near our only living grandparent, and we will be living in a familiar place surrounded by family and church family we haven't seen in a long time.

I'm still attempting to wrap my head around it all and face the many different emotions the want to creep up on me.Sometimes this is where being a girl ain't my cup of tea.

I have no idea when we will move, it all depends on how fast our house sells. It  could be 6 months or a few years!

I do know however,  that I feel like God has blessed me with a great sense of peace for what is to come. Everything will be alright. It isn't  always going to be easy, but it will be alright.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Ten

( Abel and I, college graduation)

Today my one and only little brother turns ten years old. TEN YEARS OLD!
Wow, I feel like it was only a few moments ago that my entire family was crammed inside of  that delivery room with Mom waiting for kid number six to arrive. We all wondered if it would be girl #6 or would we all be surprised with a boy?! Mom was exhausted and this baby was a big one. Next thing I know the doctor is holding up a big screaming baby announcing " it's a boy!!!" whoa. waaaaiiiit a minute. I vividly remember standing in the corner thinking " no, it's always been a girl, a boy?! no way!!!!" it took a moment for the reality of the situation to sink in, but when the doctor called me over and gave me the opportunity to cut the cord I was most definitely looking at a bright red, screaming, dark headed baby boy. The entire family was thrilled! I don't know how many times I asked Mom for a baby brother, being the tomboy of the family I needed a partner in crime and a little brother was the perfect solution.  Now he was finally here and Abel James has been a blessing to us all ever since! Abel is a crazy smart kid with a lot of personality and the sarcastic humor of my father. He has put up with a lot growing up with five older sisters these past ten years but let me tell you, he takes it all in stride and keeps us on our toes. Abel and I have spent many afternoons playing football, learning how to ride horses, catching critters and exploring. He loves to build, create, and fix things and with his incredibly deep voice for his age you would think he was already a little man. Abel and I may have eleven years separating us but that doesn't stop us from having a great time. Abel sure can be an ornery little brother sometimes but I love him to pieces.

Happy birthday bro!

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