Hello from Florida! My heart is deliciously full and my cup really is running over (Psalm 23).
We had a long, but thankfully uneventful trip. Although we managed to skirt the edge of the storm, we still drove through almost every kind of precipitation imaginable: snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, slush, and that nasty salty/dirty/snowy/slush that sprays as the plow drives by. But with every degree warmer it got, we threw a little party in the car. Josh even saved a candy cane just to celebrate entering Florida.
My mom, in true Southern fashion, had a hot dinner and hugs ready for us when we arrived. We were exhausted, and I’m sure we smelled pretty bad after 25 hours in a car, but it was good to be back. The next morning, quite bleary-eyed, we got to see our church family again and spend time with loved ones; we even went to the {heartbreakingly beautiful, deliciously glorifying} Emmanuel ballet that night! Mom and I had a date-day on Monday, and Tuesday we cranked up the Christmas music and got all of the wrapping done. Throw in a visit to our favorite Irish pub (the Cup o’ the Irish), and a viewing of Thor 2 with friends, and you’ve caught up on our week!
I used to hate that Ocala never changes; but I’ve come to realize that I love the fact that it never changes. I was worried that we would come back after being gone for 6 months and everything would be different, which I feel like is the “curse” of being a missionary. Of course there are some things that are different, but the people you love are still the people you love. Family is family and that never changes, and that makes home the same. Home isn’t a place, it’s people.
Of course, I love the place, too. The oak trees with their Spanish moss draperies, the carpets of resurrection ferns, the warmly delicious weather, porch swings, the birds chirping, and the squirrels chattering (and occasionally falling out of the trees…) There’s nothing quite like Central Florida for beauty.
That’s all for now, I’ll try and write regularly while we’re here. I’ll be keeping up with my Photo-A-Day and I’ll be active on Instagram for sure, so you can still see what’s going on in our lives.
{By the way, my hubby just got on Instragram, too, so you can follow him and see all his cool airplane photos! Follow Josh here. Follow Erin here.}
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