trip down south

In February, we took our first trip down south, knowing we were really going to move. It proved to be a crazy trip. We stayed with David & Martha once again, and we drove by some of the properties that we had looked at online.

It was on this trip that we decided to drive by a particular property we thought could be a good fit for Mom & Dad. It was beyond their price range, but it seemed so perfect. So on a whim we decided to just drive by it to check it out. It was snowing that morning (yes, it snows down south!), and we drove down the loooooong driveway and pulled up in front of the beautiful white cape cod house. Snow was falling and had dusted the ground white. The HUGE dark green magnolia tree out in front of the house was coated with flaky white snow. The land spread out around the house, and the pond was in the distance. My jaw dropped and I said, "My mom would LOVE THIS HOUSE!!!" We drove off and I realized I hadn't taken a photo.

Anyway, if you haven't figured it out yet...that was the house Mom and Dad bought. They were able to get the price down, and yes, it's just lovely!!! They are selling a piece of the land to us, and we are building next door.

As that snowy day went on, everything was being canceled, including the meeting with other pastors that Braden had been planning to attend the following day. We didn't think a thing of the snow because it wasn't sticking to the roads—they were just a little wet. And it really was just a dusting on the ground. But, we think we're bad up here when it snows...my goodness! Everything shuts down at the site of snow down there!! Furthermore, the snow we were experiencing was proving to be the beginnings of a HUGE storm that was coming up the coast. Based on the latest weather reports, that afternoon we realized that if we didn't leave like right then, we could be stuck there for a few days due to the snow coming back home. Martha fixed us a quick dinner while we packed the car, and away we went. We made it home before the snow, and the snow started early the next day—a whole lot of it!