Random Thoughts

So I realized it has been some time since I have updated the blog.  I don't have one central idea/theme to write around today.  Instead I will just bore you with some random thoughts ;)

We have spent almost every Saturday driving around looking at land and then spending time on the beaches.  Our weekends are definitely spent in ways that we dreamed of having with our children.  The beaches are beautiful. The kids spend hours hiking around the "bush" at the beach.  There is nothing dangerous in the woods (i.e. bush) here so the kids can run quite care free.  We find shells, rocks, flowers etc.  At my favorite beach there is a river that runs into the ocean that is perfect for the kids to play in.  It is a very shallow river, up to the kids knees at the deepest point.  I will post some pictures at the end of the blog.

People keep asking if we are ready to come home.  To be quite frank, we miss our friends and family more than words can express but we do see ourselves staying here long term.  There is something special here for raising a family.  It is unbelievably safe and kids are the focus of the community.  It is still a very conservative thinking area in regards to raising children.  Children are allowed to remain innocent for much longer.  I also appreciate that people with liberal views and conservative views live here in harmony.  They can each express their opinion without becoming angry or violent.  They just agree to disagree and to allow each other to think as they feel led.  It is a very mature way of handling differences of opinions.  They can remain friends but agree to disagree.  It is great!

Another big thing that has changed in our family is that Jeremy has much more time at home on week days.  He was commuting a total of 3 hours a day back in Atlanta.  After driving in Atlanta traffic, one does not come home relaxed.  We had a beautiful home in Atlanta but the quality of life was not what we were after there.  We have found it here and are thoroughly enjoying it.   Do I wish we were closer to friends and family we left... YES.  Do I wish it was easier for friends and family to visit.... YES.  However, in the big picture of things what is important right now is quality time with our children.  They will be grown and gone in a blink of an eye.  We are living in a place that allows us to have great quality time with the kids.  God has also blessed us with some new friendships here that are growing.  They will never be able to replace the friendships we had in Newnan but they do help heal our hearts and longing for relationships.

Johanna is now fully engaged in a Montessori school.  She loves it and so do we.  She goes 5 days a week 8:30am - 1pm.  I am so impressed with the school and so happy that she gets to attend for FREE!  The boys are still doing great in their school.  They are putting on a school wide play this month.  They are doing Pilgrim's Progress.  They had a "sport's day" this last month.  They did all sorts of olympic type sports at a stadium in down town.  It was a beautiful day and the boys loved it.

Life is different here but we are definitely settling in.  Yesterday was Guy Fawkes day.  It is a "holiday" in a very loose term.  They just set fireworks off at night.  You can read about the remembrance day here.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks...


Jojo being Jojo