I Used to Pray for this Day...

Well, not really pray, but I remember when I had a houseful of little ones and then middle-sized and even big ones, and I would look longingly toward the day my house would be quiet and ...well... mine again! Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom and I love my kids SO MUCH, but there are days...

It's hard and tiring and frustrating and painful and amazing and fulfulling and... you get my point.

So anyways, this week I moved another child out of the house. Arielle is now a citizen of Nashville, TN, where she will spread her wings and probably fly. Maybe she will never come back to reside in St. G--I don't know. I have looked forward to this day for her because I have always known that she has the potential to make a huge impact on this world. Moving out is a very exciting step--one that I definitely loved taking--and for me, watching my kids conquer each milestone has been a joy.

So Karter and I flew with Arielle and her boyfriend, Braxton, to Nashville to move her into an apartment that she found all by herself by using GOOGLE MAPS!!! Seriously!? She would log on to Google Maps at least once a day and "go for walks" up and down the streets of downtown Nashville.

One day she "passed" a reddish brick building that looked like it could be an apartment building, zoomed in on the name and address of the place, and then found the contact info. Well, of course they had an apartment available at better than the right price (she is the master of attraction when she wants to be,) and now she lives in it. It is seriously in the best location for her, close to everything (she sold her car to lower her outgo and pay her deposit), and if there is anywhere she can't walk, there is a bus stop across the street. 

When the apartment complex office worker, Roy, was introducing us to the apartment, he told her that everything--carpet, linoleum, paint, refrigerator, AC--was brand new because the old resident was a chain smoker and it had smelled terrible. So once again, SCORE! It's a tiny little studio that is really perfect for her.

AND it has a pool with a terrific view on the roof!!

We spent two days shopping thrift stores and discount stores with my sister-in -law, Roberta (who is the master shopper) and found the perfect prices for everything she needs to start her new life in Music City. It was such a blessing! Karter would have preferred to do more sightseeing and other fun stuff, but he definitely was helpful. He was a huge help when it came to putting furniture together. He has his dad's brain...

Karter and I flew home on a late flight, with a short stay-on-the-plane layover in LA. While we waited for the new passengers to board, Karter went to the bathroom at the front of the plane. He didn't come back for quite some time, so I decided I needed to find out what he was up to...

Needless to say, this not is a charmer, and I have a feeling he is going to be at least as adventurous and influential as his older siblings. Other than the fact that he says we didn't "have enough fun," I think he enjoyed his first flight and being able to help his big sister grow up. 

We landed in Vegas at midnight (pacific time,) then we had a 2 hour drive home, which means I finally got to lay down in my really comfortable bed at 3:30am. 

Mekenze and George and Lukas had been staying at out house while we were gone (they were shootin a music video for MEK's latest single, Element) and they woke me up around 9am so I could see them and play with my cutest boy before they went home. Just imagine waking up to this face wanting his "Gramsie."

He loves his grandma, and that makes me so happy!! 

Then they left and the house was suddenly so quiet and empty. Karter was downstairs playing 2K14 or whatever else he does down there; Dave was still out of town on business; Madyson is in Iowa for another 2 weeks at a summer dance intensive; Curtis is married and living his life...and life is slowly--no, RAPIDLY--showing me how short it really is! I am excited for this new phase, and heaven knows I'll find things to fill the quiet spaces in my time, but for now it's just odd...

I'm not complaining, by any means, but I AM adjusting.