11 days until liftoff!

As we left my daddy's in Titusville, Florida, I sit here with so many emotions.  Again I watched one of my parents be a grandparent to my children and it made my heart squish.  We went to the beach and saw four dolphins, and two wild piglets on the side of the road.  We also went to the Kennedy Space Center, where my stepmom works.  On our way there we saw alligators on the side of the road in the canals.  The Space Center was cool, and the kids loved it.  It was fun seeing it, but kind of sad.  The last time I was there was the only time in my life that I was pregnant and I slept through the whole thing.  We all know how that turned out, so the visit was kind of bittersweet.
My daddy, who never wanted an animal, fed Mango and Sophia until they were rotten.  Just like Momma when we were at her house!  Chris took the kids to Universal while I went shopping with my stepmom, Karen as my body is like an old lady and I vomit and have to go to the chiropractor for weeks after riding a roller coaster.  We went to Smoothie King where there was a guy who had to be high, as he told us," Uhhhh, like, you guys have nice hair.  Uhhhh, like, the both of you."  And after we paid and left, he ran out and chased us down saying, "Uhhhh, like, did I charge you?  Cause, uhhhh, like I just don't know if I did."  Interesting........
So, today while we are sitting in our hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, I just miss Dad and Karen so bad, just like I do Mom and Ben.  Even now I realize so many things about why I am the way I am.  I watched dad organize the grocery cart just like I do, put things in "specific" spots, and freak out when they aren't the way I want them.  I see his love of all things nature.  His yard is the best on the block, and he quietly watches the bunnies and birds with appreciation.  I remember hours in the yard as a little girl pulling "onions" in the yard and helping bag leaves and watching him chop wood.  I thought I was a queen when he'd let me play jungle barbies in the monkey grass.
I think about the legacy that most people want to leave their children and again, wonder if I'm crazy.  Most people want to leave a house, cars and even pay for their children's college to help them get ahead.  They want to leave a sense of family and values or morals.  Roots, if you will.  Even though I want to leave those things to my kids too, I more than anything want to leave a legacy of faith.  I hope with this trip, and with our lives from now on, we leave the legacy of following God's will and teaching others through Jesus Christ.  That material things are never important and that service to others will always give us a satisfaction that a video game never could.  I will miss my family, and it makes me choked with emotions that I cannot even begin to unravel at this moment.  However, I know without a shadow of a doubt that we are following the right path, for us, and for Hailley and Elijah.  I get ready to go to my sister's in Macon, GA tomorrow.  This, somehow is going to be the most torturous.  For my sister is like a part of my soul.  She is so like me, yet so beautiful, so loving, kind, fun, talented and everything I wish I could be.  She is the one who loves me enough to tell me I'm wicked, laughs and cries with me and knows my thoughts and finishes my sentences.  She is so full of life and energy and I will miss her more than anything.
I am still so excited about our trip.  11 days!  I want to vomit and pass out at the thought of getting on that plane, but sooooooo ready to do it.  Our gypsy days are coming to a count down and I'm not gonna lie, it's crazy!  Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers, and for those of you who have continued texting and checking up, THANK YOU!  I am sure I will have more to say in a few days, but hopefully the next post will be more organized and my feelings less erratic.  We love you all!

Our first days as gypsies.

We were supposed to leave Sunday, June 19th, to visit my mother in south Georgia but didn't finish cleaning out the house until Monday.  It was crazy getting everything we wanted to keep into 13 suitcases.  Some things we had to throw out and that was hard, but hey, you get to a point where you just want to shove it in and get on with it!  So, we got up on Monday and left to start our trip as gypsies.  It's funny how you notice things when you think you might not see them ever again.  Things like grand old oak trees dripping Spanish moss, bright pink azaleas, miles of farmland and temperatures reaching hotter than four hells.  I love seeing the huge tractors and lines of traffic waiting to fly by, hearing the 3 radio stations of southern baptist preachers screaming of salvation, 2 country stations and the one hip hop station that plays rap and gospel in intervals.  Long red dirt roads and produce stands everywhere.
So here we are at my mother's house and she is spoiling my kids rotten.  They've already eaten everything in the house and driven the golf cart until there's no more gas.  They have watched movies (Goonies, Grease, Facing the Giants, Major Pane,etc), eaten ice cream and played games.  And speaking of ice cream, Hailley and Elijah have never been to Dairy Queen, and got to go for the first time on Monday night!  It is so fun to see my mom and my kids together.  It is also sad to know it will be a long time before we will see them together again.  On Tuesday, I got sick, and thought I was going to die.  My mom took the kids and Chris stayed at the hotel and took care of me.  So I really don't have much to blog about on that day, or what I do, you don't want to hear about! Today is a lazy day, and we have watched more movies and as I'm still weak from yesterday, I am watching my mom run around after the kids and spoil them some more.  I'm too tired to even care.  So, I am going to try to blog something every day but it will probably be every three.  As you all know, I'm a bit crazy right now!  Much love to everyone and know that we are missing you all already!