Our adventure begins.

WE MADE IT!

Well, to New Hampshire at least. And this is our humble abode.

Here's how we got here.

Love this guy. He turned ONE on June 10.

I can't believe it.

So before we packed up the house and moved north, we threw a birthday bash for our little man and invited all our Chattaboogie friends.

I was grateful to be able to see them again without being sad.

Thank goodness for a celebration.

I don't think I could handle one more goodbye.

We actually had two parties. First night: cupcake. Second night: HUGE sheet cake.

What's this? SUGAR? YUM.

Here's Will on his actual birthday. He and Camden are best friends. Love it.

Sweetness.

Good thing I didn't obsess over his cake (haha).

Mom and Dad came in to celebrate and to help. Thank God for parents. With our house in boxes, we could use all the help we could get. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Our little family.

Will has blessed, expanded, and enriched our life immeasurably.

Will and his awesome buddy Laik. Will didn't quite understand the concept of sharing here.

He loves water and his Mr. Turtle. and WE LOVE HIM!

With godparent (and one of my best friends) Kat.

A week after this (on the same day we drove away), she and her husband Nate opened their rockin' new business. Check it out here.

One year ago, we got a picture just like this--but all three were little babes. My how time flies.

I love this picture.

Will is NOT happy with the enthusiastic round of "Happy Birthday" in his honor.

But he recovered. As Aunt B says, cake makes everything better :-).

It was a perfect first birthday.

Thanks for ALL who made it so special.

The next day we headed to the Aquarium with cousins Carey and Rachel and their boys :-)

Sweet Carey!

And then we packed everything up and moved away.

And I cried until at least Nashville.

But we got to Louisville in one piece and with one PACKED car, so packed that Camden had to lie on my lap during the drive. Everything we need for the next year (with the exception of some winter clothes) was in the back of our car. Here we go!

We spent 4 full days in Louisville catching our breath, reorganizing, and spending time with dear family--and going to the pool!

And what is summer without ice cream? Certainly not summer!

I love this picture of my Nonna and her chocolate cone.

On Thursday, we headed north. 9 hours later, we reached destination #1: Chambersburg, PA.

We enjoyed a wonderful reunion with our friends Lee and Jodie.

On Friday, we put in another 6 hours before pulling into Dave and Emily's in Glencoe Mills, NY.

They are expecting their own bundle of baby boy joy in November, so we had lots of fun talking about good memories and the future.

On Saturday, we headed out for the last time--destination: Wolfeboro, NH!

The drive to the camp school.
My classroom. Yes, I teach in a tent. It's actually pretty darn cool.

When we arrived, I perhaps went into a bit of shock.

Sure, the cabin looks charmingly rustic, and it IS. And it's plenty big. But the inside was in ROUGH shape. Unfinished floors, falling-apart furniture, 1-inch mattress on the floor, no working light fixtures, dirt everywhere. I am not sure the cabin had been touched since last summer. But we are now finding this little cabin private and cozy. A few touches from Wal-mart didn't hurt either.

Bathroom.
Kitchen.
Living Room.

But the beauty of this place is its location. Wolfeboro is an adorable New England town, and we are a 5-minute walk from Rust Pond and a short drive from Lake Winnipesaukee. It is beautiful up here.

Here's Will at the opening faculty and family cocktail party.

I think all three of us needed a beer by this point.

A "Yum Yum" bakery in town :-)

The day before classes started (last Thursday), I had the day completely free. So we headed north again, this time to Mount Washington.

The hiking backpack has gotten LOTS of good use. SO glad we made room for it in the car.

I love the picture above. Happiness.

We weren't going to be able to hike all of Mount Washington, but we wanted to walk for a little awhile. And then all of a sudden we noticed this gal:

Can you see her?

Yup! A MOOSE!! We were so excited we were tripping over ourselves! I kept creeping closer to try to get a better picture.

Check out all this gorgeous scenery. Man, it's tough to beat Vermont and New Hampshire in the summer.

Can you tell how tired I am by this point?

I started school the next day. I teach sophomores and seniors every day from 8-1, and I have to be at three meals a day, so there is a lot of interaction with the kids. I love the other faculty, and the teaching load is different but doable. I am definitely teaching kids who haven't found much success in school up to this point and need support, confidence, and skills. It has been challenging so far, but I think I am getting the hang of it

I had to teach on Independence Day, but Clay and Will attended the historic Wolfeboro Independence Day parade. You gotta love some of these pictures:

Sweet kids in their Boston Red Sox hats.

Will is not sure what to make of this parade.

Clay said there was lots of music...

...and of course the unicyclists...

...and boats on wheels with men in old uniform...

...and the John Deere with the built in canopy...

... and the Wolfeboro trolley.

And since we didn't make it out for fireworks (way past Will's bedtime), we went for a walk along Lake Winnipesaukee as a family. It was the first time in several weeks when we felt like we could actually slow down and just BE somewhere, you know? I felt like we had cleared a hurdle (or ten) and were getting back into some sort of comforting rhythm. It's not luxurious up here, but we're together and happy.

To our dear family and friends: We miss you all.

We promise to keep you updated and stay in touch.

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement, especially these past few weeks. It's been exhilarating and exhausting, beautiful and unfamiliar, stimulating and challenging. But we are growing and learning and loving a lot these days--and our hearts and prayers keep coming back to our love for you.

Overwhelmed.

Deanna and Katie with Will

It would be fair to say that I haven't been super excited about this move.

It wasn't what we were planning, NYC isn't a place I've always wanted to live, and the logistics of this whole move have been exhausting. I have cried about this move many times since we got that call Feb. 16. But I have also been learning more about friendship, what makes a good school great, and what is really important than I could have ever anticipated.

Clay and I moved to Chattanooga 4 years ago as newlyweds. I was excited about my job, sure, but I was more excited about being married and finally living in the same town as Clay. But a funny thing happened. I fell in love again.

Who knew that I would fall in love with an all-girls private school on the North Shore of Chattanooga? Who knew that I would be so warmly and completely welcomed into an already established community of committed educators and students? Who knew that I would slowly but surely realize over and over again that the people with whom I work are the nicest, most thoughtful, most generous, most fun individuals? When I started in 2007, I didn't know if I would ever feel invested in a school of potato-sack uniforms and may queens, but man, I am smitten. SMITTEN. I could not be more devoted to this school, this place, these people.

The hardest part about leaving Chattanooga is saying goodbye to these people. I have been trying to delay it and deny it, but the moments keep creeping up on me. And today, at the end of my last exam to my last class of students, two of my dearest friends and colleagues, Katie and Deanna, handed me a beautifully wrapped box and said, "open it."

Remember that I have only been at GPS for four years. This is a place, and rightfully so, where people don't leave. They retire. My presence has been a blip on their radar screen. But they have done such an amazing job of making me feel like I mattered. And that's just it, that's exactly what makes a good school great: it makes every single person feel like she matters. BECAUSE SHE DOES. Teaching at GPS for four years and then becoming a mother makes me so clearly aware that every single person in this world matters. Every person is someone's child, someone's whole world. We need to treat people with more than just respect--it's love that makes our days worthwhile. I have loved coming to work every day for the past 4 years because I genuinely love the people there. They are smart and funny and creative and kind and understanding and generous. Most of all, generous. They give give give of themselves all the time and it inspires me time and time again. My days are full of interactions both within and outside the classroom, and these interactions make my life RICH. My days at GPS have been so full. And then I come home and I am so full of love for my amazing husband and my beautiful son and I fall asleep every night overwhelmed with gratitude to God for the blessings in my life. I will never earn these gifts--they are indeed blessings from God. Overwhelmed.

The gift inside was a Kindle. I threw it back at them (how nice of me, huh?) and refused to take it. How do you accept such a thoughtful, generous gift from two people (and really, a whole group of people who contributed) who have given me so much love, support, and friendship already? I am full. I can't accept any more grace, any more love, any more blessings. I have more than I could ever desire. And yet the love keeps coming. Overwhelming.

The Kindle is particularly meaningful because of who gave it to me and what it represents. Katie is our inspiring librarian who reaches into the lives of our classrooms and not only helps us with our lessons but also finds way to illustrate them beautifully and powerfully in our library. She started a book blog for the girls, she organizes book clubs for both students and faculty, she crafts an award-winning newsletter, and she bends over backwards to address teachers' needs perfectly and immediately. But she is also my role model as a mother and wife. She makes homemade dinners in the Crock-Pot every morning before ushering her kids off to school, she supports and encourages her kids' ballet and swim lessons and sports' teams, she supports her sweet husband professionally and personally, and she manages to do it all with a bright smile and a contagious laugh. She is superwoman in my eyes.

Deanna is a jewel. I didn't discover this beautiful friend until the start of this school year, and I often wonder how I got along without her for so long. While she and I worked together (and lets be real: she was a million times more helpful and encouraging than I) on the school newspaper this year, it is to her credit that my life was blessed by her thoughtful and graceful friendship. She took me where I was--a hot mess of a new mother who was trying to stay somewhat on top of her classes--and loved me despite myself. She brought so much joy to my days through emails and meetings and brief chats in the hallways, and while I am so aware that I don't deserve her friendship, she stuck it out for some reason and enriched my life enormously. She is also an avid reader and a fascinating cocktail party companion.

So these two women, along with a group of friends ("colleagues" just doesn't cut it), gave me the gift of STORY. They know just how valuable and life-giving books can be, and because they know that Clay and I have had to donate or sell most of our book collection to make this move feasible, they found a way to give me the breath of books back. And that's just what books are to me: breaths. They sustain, they connect us, they move us forward. This group of friends know that, but in the same breath, they also gave me eternal inspiration and companionship.

Stories are powerful. Their stories are powerful, Will's story is powerful, and Clay's story is powerful. Your story is powerful. And as I told one of my classes last week when they asked me to define "writer," everyone has a story to tell. Writers are simply people who take the time to write it down.

So the story of our family is about to take a turn. I pray it is a turn for the better, but that's hard for me to say because at this very moment, I just don't see how things can get much better. But I am armed with a new camera (the result of yet another gift from the school: wow), a handheld device of infinite stories, and eventually the gift of time. I have a husband who understands and cherishes the power of a good story. I have a son whose eyes light up when I pull out a book to read to him. And I have dear friends who have shown me over and over again that life and work can have tremendous meaning when they are infused with love and generosity and selflessness and grace.

I am excited to see our story unfold. And I am grateful for the opportunity to tell it.

Thank you Katie and Deanna and Jane and Anne and Susan and Claudia and Kim and Melanie and Tracie and Keith and Jill and Nancy and Sheryl and Sarah and Rebecca and Nancy and Jenise and Suzanne. The Kindle is a gem. Your friendship is a treasure. I love you all.

A few more pictures:

The one above is from the greatest group of seniors I could have ever hoped to know.

I adore them.

And here are most of my sweet sophomores. Ah, I will miss those smiles.

For one of our last classes together, they brought in a cookie cake with a Macbeth reference on it--how cool are they??

One of my students created a Shakespeare mask for every single one of my students. I walked into my classroom one day and this is what I saw. Brilliant. What I didn't tell them in the midst of being so excited and surprised was that the faces behind the masks make me even happier than Shakespeare. Now, THAT is saying something :-)