Where He leads...I shall go.

So often, God speaks to us but we don't always listen as we should. We even "give" things to Him but in reality we still have a grip on it. Sure that grip may not be what it was before we "gave" it to Him but we have not fully released it to him. There are other times where he is tugging at our hearts to do something but we often ignore Him. We don't want to "give Him what he wants. We are like that, us humans. We often want what our hearts desire and we don't pay attention to what He desires for us. I have learned these lessons with our move out to good ol' San Antone. I love the city, love Texas and love the friends I have made. The ones I have made here can tell the ones back in Mississippi that I speak of you and the great state often. I do miss it. I miss my family. I miss the trees, grass, water and the southern charm.

Even with all the things I miss I KNOW God has a plan for me being here. I don't know if it is for myself, Baylee or Brian. It could even be for the people that we left behind in Mississippi as to why God brought us here. All I can tell you is he has a plan. I just have to keep reminding myself of this. When I started out here I was called to work at a particular hospital. I met some wonderful people there that I am lucky to call friends! At the same time, there was a tugging in my heart. In the course of just a few days, Baylee mentioned the hours we were working and an opportunity arose for me to apply for a different job. I wasn't looking to go anywhere else but I felt another tug. One that I recognized to be from God. I then chose to pray about it. The short of the story is I applied and received an offer for a new job. I did ultimately choose to take the new job. I do plan to stay along at the hospital job as long as they will let me PRN but I am very pleased with my new career path. I see doors opening for me that I wasn't even aware were available!

What is God telling you to do? Are you listening? Will you obey?

Catch Me If You Can!

...am I in Texas or Mississippi? Your guess is as good as mine! :) The last few weeks have been a whirlwind but it has been enjoyable albeit tiring! I was in Texas a little over three weeks until I came home for a few days last weekend. I drove then so I could bring Ruger back to Mississippi and take a load of boxes out to San Antonio. I drove back to SA on Monday. It was a pretty trip. We have gone through Dallas and gone through Houston and they are both good rides. This past time I went through Houston &  for whatever reason it seemed like it was a little easier to stay awake than through Dallas. Either way is a good drive...even if it is 10 hours! I worked my last week with my preceptor Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. I flew in to Mississippi Friday morning and will leave back out on Tuesday. I will be in SA for about 10 days and then I will drive (Again!) back to Mississippi for my baby brothers graduation. That will be my last trip back to Mississippi for a while...possibly even until fall. Mainly because a lot of family/friends plan on coming out this summer and once Brian and Baylee get over there with me we have to get settled in & get her ready to start school in the fall.

Baylee is doing good. She has been helping her daddy work on the house and doing a good job. With all she had going on the past year we never let her get her permit but we finally got the things together and she will be able to get it here in Mississippi one day next week. The rules are a little bit different in Texas so there are a few things she will have to do there but she may not have to keep her permit the whole year before she gets her license (Of course, this also depends on how well she does with her permit!). The weekend of Hunter's graduation is Brians May drill so we will head down to Nola with him and then he and Baylee will go back to SA with me to take the rest of our things. Baylee will stay in SA with me (other than little visits to MS before school starts). Brian will come back to Mississippi to finish up the house and then the plan is for him to be in SA with us by the beginning of June. Baylee is excited about the pool, possibly getting a job this summer, all the things to do in SA and starting school in the fall. She will be going to a show choir camp here in MS the beginning of June and one in SA the end of June.

Brian has a telephone interview Monday with an ambulance company in SA. He has already spoken to the operations person there and really likes him and the company sounds good. Should he officially get offered the job, he is hoping to start the beginning of June so he can give his supervisor in MS a good 3-4 weeks notice because they have been shorthanded. His supervisor knew that we were moving when he accepted the position but Brian still wants to be courteous. He has worked really hard on the house but we have a lot left to do still. Maybe not as much as it seems but you know when you are the midst of it, it seems like a lot...especially when you are in a time frame. We were hoping to rent our house but we may put it on the market for a short while first and see how it goes. If it doesn't sell fairly quickly (Within a set time frame...we haven't decided how long yet...just have to look at our finances) then we will rent it. 

Out in San Antonio, things are going well. It is different living in an apartment when you are used to a house and extra space but the apartment is nice...even though it is small! At least, it doesn't take long to clean! :) My work is fabulous! I still have to get used to the equipment, processes and what the doctors like, etc. but I got it in MS so I know I will catch on in TX. I LOVE my coworkers...as well as my other friends I have met there in SA. They have done well to help me adjust and fill me in on all things Texas! I can't wait for my family to get over there so they can enjoy it as much as I do!

Well...guess that is enough rambling for now! I just wanted to do a little update to let everyone know we are doing good and how we stand on everything! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Home Sweet, New Home!

We made it!

It seems - surreal? - odd but nice? I am not sure the exact word to use here. We love it here and are very excited to be here, of course! The home we are moving out of in Mississippi was our "first home". It is the only home Baylee remembers. We loved it but strangely was not sad as I left, even knowing it was probably the last time I would "live" in that home. I am sure at some point it will hit me but it just hasn't yet. The only odd feeling is having our things in a different place.

We left out about 0600 yesterday morning an arrived about 1745 last night. Just in time to pick up our keys. I am very glad that we had planned ahead & gotten everything taking care of. It was interesting trying to get the uhaul trailer close enough to unload the things we had packed. God was good though, as usual, and no sooner than we had the door open on the uhaul a downstairs neighbor had her husband go get us a dolly. (Is this even how you spell it? I don't think I have ever had to write that before.) They said "hand truck"...or something like that. I dunno. You know I say odd things...as my husband says...like an 80 year old. Oh well, 80 year olds are cool. So there's that.

Next, a guy about our age walked out on his balcony with his daughter and offered help in which I declined. However, he put on his shoes and was downstairs helping before we knew it. They had just moved here from Jacksonville, FL a few weeks earlier with his wife's job. Brian promised him a grilled steak when he gets back to Texas...so yeah...excited about that. That man can grill a mean steak!

We have everything unloaded out of the uhaul and his truck. We took the uhaul back last night & had Del Taco for dinner (Think Taco Bell with less grease & fresher ingredients). Brian LOVES Del taco...that man. We parked my car, which is still full to the roof...quite literally...in our garage which happens to be huge & we are excited about that! We will have plenty of room for things to be stored there, as well as our bikes and Brian's things out of the garage at the house.

So today's game plan: 

•Clean the bathrooms (Yes, they look spotless but I am not chancing it!)

•Unload the Tahoe

•Pick up our things in storage 

•Go buy new mattresses for both rooms

•Map out my path to work & other important locations before Brian leaves Texas

•Continue to unpack

Tomorrow I have some HR things to do at the hospital & afterwards we might sight-see since Brian & Baylee leave Wednesday morning.

Wednesday my mom flies out here & she will help me finish unpacking & we will get everything decorated (Brian wants things to look nice but gets aggravated with the whole girl decorating process of move something 10 times before you find a spot for it which happens to be the first spot you picked anyway.) We got cash & gift cards as going away gifts so we will put them to good use in our new home!

Over the next month or two Brian & Baylee will continue to work on the house in MS & packing anything we left behind. We will have it up for rent hopefully soon!

I think I covered most everything now! I have more to say but this post is already way too long but I promise to check back in soon!

We are all doing great & we appreciate all the prayers, love & support our family, friends & coworkers have provided for us!

Until next time...love from the Garretts.

Our New Family Member

How could you not love these two faces? These are my two favorite boys in my life right now! Ruger, our newest addition, fits right in. Brian bought him for me for Valentines Day. Yes, I know, *swoon*...sorry ladies ...he's mine! :) Last year my baby boy Storm passed away. I had missed him terribly and my sweet baby knew it so he brought another sweet boy into my life! So when you read about "the boys"...here they are & Ruger is now the baby around the Garrett house! He is already spoiled! I am not sure if they will miss me or him more while I am over in Texas the next few months!

San Antonio Bound!

Hello Family! We can barely believe it but in just two short weeks we will be moving to San Antonio! This has been something we knew was on the horizon but now that it is finally here, it seems surreal.

Brian won't be transferring military units until the fall but we wanted to get there before then to get settled in, find a church family and get Baylee involved in the community before she starts school in the fall. I applied for four different jobs and God blessed me because I was offered all four. This allowed me to pick the one we felt was the best fit for our family. I will miss my current work family terribly & my new coworkers have big shoes to fill! I have no doubt they will be almost as great as my current coworkers!

Many people have asked us, " Why San Antonio?" I am not sure that is a question that is easily answered but I will make an attempt. After Brian's last deployment, we knew he wouldn't be at the Station in NOLA long. We also knew wherever he transferred to, we would want to live close to that area because long distance life is for the birds! Neither of us want to be away from each other too long. Brian has always liked Texas and wanted to live there. I am indifferent but knew Texas would accept my nursing license. That began the journey towards Texas. We ultimately decided on San Antonio. At the time, neither of us had even visited the area. We have since been twice and fell in love! I believe God has a season and place for everyone and right now ours is San Antonio. We are very excited about all the attractions, wildlife/natural areas and culture the city has to offer!

Baylee has had a tough few years at school and is very excited about hitting the reset button in Texas. We had decided as a family, due to several circumstances, that we want Baylee to restart tenth grade in Texas. By doing this, it provides her a more stable foundation as well as better opportunities for growth. God is really moving in this area for us.

Currently, our plan is to rent an apartment while renting out our home in Mississippi. Brian & Baylee will take me over to get the apartment settled and then they will come back and get the house ready before they ultimately move to San Antonio with me. Should we decide to stay in San Antonio, we have researched and talked to several home builders & will build a house in a neighborhood in the same community we will rent our apartment in. (West San Antonio area.)

We are in Nola for Brian's drill weekend. Time to pack up and get out of here! We will keep everyone update on us via this blog. If you are interested in being notified when new posts are added, add your email address to the mailing list on the top right corner of the blog. You will have to follow the instructions to make sure you are added properly. (You will probably have to check your junk email to finish the process.) Also, even if you don't blog, you can comment at the bottom of each of my blog posts. Should you have to use the anonymous feature, make sure to at least put your name at the bottom of the comment so I know who it was from and can answer you! Be on the lookout for more posts!

Love y'all!