First Stop- The Lake

Sugy Island had shrunk this year because the lake was so full! Moo and Doo and their four Grands filled up the camper for some lake fun- brownies, playgrounds, boatrides, and memories. Thanks for the great start to summer!

Patch

A yearly tradition almost slipped by. This was actually my first day of summer. Making it sweet!

Disney on Ice

An adventure for all on a school night, but one that was well worth the extra effort.  Maeve and I, along with our favorite girls - Hillary, Chloe, Anna Belle, Becca, and Brenna- went to see Disney on Ice.  This was something none of us had ever been to.  The girls loved the special night and seeing many of their favorite characters perform.  Disney in any form never disappoints.

The Power of Prayer

About two years ago, I started praying for God to show us where he wanted us to be. Part of our place includes this dream home that we lovingly and painstakingly poured ourselves into. After a year-long building adventure, we moved into it and made it our home. We brought both of our babies home to it.

I began to question if this really was our forever house like we intended it to be.  When two public educators are paying tuition for their child to attend public school, the whole idea of the dream home quickly changed into more of a nightmare. Something definitely seems wrong with the whole principle of that reality. When I finally resolved that my home is where my family resides and not the roof over our head, I knew I would be okay with letting it go. I made up a real estate flyer couple of years ago with the intention of eventually putting our house on the market. 

I also began to pray that if leaving was what we were supposed to do then it would be obvious and easy. I said, "Lord, just make it easy; easy as in- let someone just come knock on our door wanting to buy our house." You know, just fall into our laps.  That seems easy enough for most, but when your house is so far off the road that no one can see your front door, it puts a whole knew spin on my request- an impossible spin perhaps.

Nothing is impossible when you are trusting in the Almighty God! We had a parent meeting with a teacher at my school concerning some test results for Cam.  In the small talk before the meeting, she mentioned that she had put three of their properties on the market and was looking for a big change.  I jokingly replied, "Well I should have the courage to put our one property on the market if you can just jump in and do all three."  She asked about our house and seemed interested in knowing more details of it.  I told her I would send her my two-year-old flyer.  Upon leaving her classroom, I thought our conversation was nothing more than small talk.

Well, the next day she tracked me down at school wondering why I had not sent the flyer.  Whoa - maybe there was a little more to this than I had originally thought. I promised I would send the flyer that afternoon. As soon as she saw the flyer, she started emailing serious, buyer kinds of questions:  What are your property taxes? What kind of water do you have?  Do you have covenants? What is the size of your lot?  Whoa!  I was a bit taken aback.  I didn't even know all  of the answers to these questions.  The next day, I got more questions and a request to come see the house.  What?  Ok.  I had the weekend to get it show-ready.  I could do that.  Until the request to show was bumped up to afterschool on Friday so they could see it before going out of town.  What? What?  I was reminded by my dear friend, my voice of reason, that this was what I had been praying for.  This small, gentle voice also encouraged me to stop freaking out and just trust.  So - I did.

I welcomed my teaching colleague and her husband into my less-than-show-ready home on a wet, rainy Friday afternoon.  They wanted to come in through the front door -which if you have ever been to our house, very few people actually have ever made the long trek to the front.  This meant they had to hike through the yet-to-be-cut wet spring grass.  They marveled at the porch and its views, looking past the layer of April pollen that coated everything.  And, upon entering, they were all smiles.  Her husband, being a builder, was able to recognize the unique touches we put into the details of our house.  She made the comment, "The flyer doesn't even do it justice!"  I cringed as the pantry door was opened and as we stood among the plethora of storage items in the basement.  As I was focused on the details of my stuff, they were focused on the potential of this property and how it could fit into their lives.

The next day I got a message from her saying how much they appreciated being able to look at it and how much they loved the house and the seclusion.  The message ended with: "I would love for this to work out."    Hmmm.   I still wasn't completely trusting.  I thought, well that was fun to think about for a little while.  But then, on Sunday night as I was putting Maeve to bed, I got another message.  It said, "We want to move forward with the possible purchase of your house!"  (I added in the exclamation mark!)  The message went on to give us an offer.  This is the part that floored me.  Without them knowing anything about the price we needed in order to not be under water in our mortgage, their offer was exactly what Tony and I had just looked at and agreed that we would need.  God was really showing out with this part!  Easy was exactly what I asked for and it was easier than I ever expected - no for sale sign, no realtor, no months and months of keeping a house show ready, no back and forth offers and counteroffers.  Just easy.

So now we wait on them to sell their house, which happens to be a beautiful, historic home on the strip of Madison, GA.  I have no doubt that the right buyer is going to come along for them and this process will continue to be easy for all of us.  In the meantime, we are casually looking at property potential.  We still haven't had the Griswald Christmas tree moment where the light shines down on it and we just "know."  We think about how hard it will be to pack for a move and how bittersweet it will be to leave the only home our children have ever known.    But, we have no reason not to trust Him as he steers both of our lives into the paths he has already chosen.

Dee Dee

Maeve is commonly referred to as Dee Dee. I think Tony started this and I really don't know why, but it has stuck. Perhaps it stands for Diva,or maybe the D is for Donkey because she is as stubborn as they come! Whatever, it is, we know she is our dream come true!

Hanging on the fence at Cam's game

Hands on her hip at the Mother's Day Tea

Baseball Boy

Cam is in his fourth season of baseball. He has a touch of his mama's nerves and a lot of his Daddy's humor while on the field. He's part of the trio that holds his team, The Brewers, together. He's played short-stop, third, and first.

When he's in the dugout, he isn't joining the little guys who are climbing the fence or jumping off of the bench; he has his helmet on and is watching the game. Out in the field when he makes a good play or gets a hit, he does a little jig and gives us a thumbs up.

He hit is first homerun!  It was a line drive right past the shortstop that rolled all the way to the fence.  And as luck would have it, most of his fans were there filling up the stands - Maeve, Clayton, Carson, Chris, Laura, C.G., Nonna, Pop, Moo, and Doo. (Tommy and Kim missed this one - but they were out the next game in the rain!) He really does have the best and most faithful fans.   So proud of our little slugger, catcher, and baseball enthusiast!  He's come a long way from the little boy who didn't even want to participate in practice and sat outside the fence.

Camping- Just Us

For Tony's first spring break with no coaching responsibilities, we decided to head on a big, out-of-town adventure. We hooked up Pop's big camper and loaded up the wah- wah truck. We were beach bound!

The weather was not ideal, but the company was.  We made some great memories and hope to make a spring break getaway a new McCullers tradition.

Suited up on the first day (It proved to be the prettiest and warmest day)

Their favorite cool-weather past time - cruising in the golf cart

So fun!  

Even CoCo bean liked to join us for a cruise around the camp ground

Funny Faces

What a great place for a playground

Laziness at its best

This boy could not stay out of the frigid water! 

Maeve McCullers spotted her initials - M.M.

Camping with these three is the best!