It's been five months since I last shared -
"Closure and adventure - endings and new beginnings. We have visited many beaches within an hours drive during August's wonderful winter days, saying goodbyes and seeking hellos...."
Over these months we have said many goodbyes and are finding our hellos. Farewell to my in-law's home (after the huge task of emptying and preparing it for market), which is now safely in the hands of wonderful new owners.
Following weeks of diligent searching we found a new home which in many ways appears to be tailor made to our needs, particularly in regards to its location. A season of further packing and moving overlapped with preparing our old home for sale. Our large, gracious old home near the river sold very quickly (we accepted an offer the day after it was first advertised). Then there was the final packing, cleaning, moving and donating excess furniture and possessions prior to property settlement last week. Now another family is busily creating memories there.
So much has happened in the 13 months since my mil's sudden passing. We can look back on this season of challenge and change and see God's hand upon circumstances, answered prayer and decisions.
Our new home is less than an hour's drive from our previous town and only a few minutes drive to a larger regional city. More importantly, we are a 10 minute pleasant walk from the beach, a beach which is beautiful for walking but too dangerous for swimming. My husband's one request was a home where he could walk to the beach, especially as he is now medically retired. The climate is blissfully milder too!
One of our daughters has stayed behind in our previous town. Our younger son heads off to uni in another regional city in a few weeks while I am still homeschooling our youngest three daughters.
You can see much more of the last five months on my Instagram account - you don't have to join Instagram to view - just click on the little blue square camera logo under my blog profile (top right hand corner). However I wanted to place an update here on my blog to help make sense of all the pieces.
I've swapped river sunsets for ocean sunrises and we are finding our feet one week at a time. Will I keep blogging? I hope so. Instagram is definitely a regular sharing place as the commotion of the last 13 months settles and we begin discover our new normal.
