We Moved ... again.

I know it's hard to believe, and if you know me very well, then you are probably tired of hearing that we have moved...again. Yes, my extended "vacation" in Northwest Arkansas has come to an end. Graeble Van Lines packed up our Bentonville, Arkansas home on Thursday/Friday, June 21-22, and delivered all our worldly goods on Tuesday, June 26, to our new (older) home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Of course we would plan to move during the record-breaking hottest week of the year which is part of the Scott moving tradition. Our kids probably remember the year we moved from Whitehouse, TX to Dallas, TX on the fourth of July in 1996. Well, this move brought back memories of that move! It was so HOT!!! The crew was stinky, sweaty, and exhausted by the end of each day, and of course the air conditioner had trouble cooling the house with the doors wide open. We had to go for a long car ride at the end of the day just to cool off! It took a couple of days for our air conditioner to catch-up and cool down the house. If you know Fletcher very well, then you know how much he will miss the cooler, dryer weather of Bentonville, Arkansas, but I feel at home in the heat and high humidity of south Louisiana. Yes, it does feel more like home here to me in so many ways. Even though we are both originally from north Louisiana, there are many similarities to south Louisiana such as the large towering pine trees, and many other types of large shady trees, lots of flowers, and the thick moist humid air of the south. There is a huge old magnolia tree in our front yard here in Baton Rouge, and the street is lined with many large old magnolia trees and large old crepe myrtles and large old oak trees, and flags are flying for the Fourth of July. The birds are prolific here in south Louisiana, and there is a wide variety of birds living right in our backyard. It usually "comes up a thunderstorm" every afternoon down here, which I hadn't even realized how much I had been missing a good summertime afternoon thunderstorm. The rain and clouds are a cool and refreshing relief from the afternoon heat each day, and there is no need for a sprinkler system here. Yes, it just feels more like home to me. We have met a few of our neighbors all of which are retired and have lived in this neighborhood for over 30 years! They are friendly and everyone seems to have at least a dog or two, so we are fitting right in with our two dogs and no kids. Another unique thing that you don't see too often anymore is that the mail is delivered here by a mailman on foot who comes directly to your front door and places your mail in a small mailbox attached to the house. Now, that is nice. All we have to do is open our door and reach out to get the mail. Also at this house we have a circular driveway that is large enough to accommodate all of our vehicles! Although, we don't have an enclosed garage, we do have an old-fashioned covered carport attached on to the back of the house and plenty of parking in the driveway. And we are at the end of the street in a cul-de-sac. I want to say a special "Thank you" to my mother and daddy for coming right away to help me unpack. I probably wouldn't have gotten it done as fast and efficiently without their help. I really did appreciate it, and it really helped us to get through the first week in a new town to have them here. Thanks, Mother and Daddy, I love you!

Well, I've only taken a few pictures so here they are...

Mother and Daddy in Baton Rouge to help with the unpacking.

Packing and loading up in Bentonville

Bailey at the end of the first day of packing in Bentonville.

Tommy at the end of the first day of packing in Bentonville.

Tommy and Bailey had to wait outside for the carpet and floors to be cleaned.

It was a very hot day in Bentonville!

This is the front of our home in Baton Rouge.

Bailey has become a good "Watch Dog" since we have moved here!

This is her watching out the front window.

Thank you so much to our friends Deb and Bob Baldwin for having us over for dinner and also Bill and Denise Hart for bringing the steaks and joining us at the Baldwin's home on our last night in Bentonville. And thanks also to the Baldwins for letting us spend the night at their house so that we could be at our house the next morning to have the carpet and floors cleaned and to turn in our keys. We cannot ever repay the kindness these friends have shown to us and we will miss their friendship. They were like family to us while we were in Bentonville, and I hope that we will stay in touch. Even though we have only known them for the short time that we lived in Bentonville, we have so many fun memories of going with them to the Friday night auctions in Springdale and so many other times when they have included us in their family activities, and had us over to their home. We will truly miss you so much!! Thank you so much for all you have done for us!!

We also will miss Janie and Mike Robinson. They were the very first people we met when we drove into Bentonville in the late spring months of 2010. They are both Realtors at Crye-Leike Realtors in Bentonville. Janie spent many hours riding around with us for two whole days to help us find a place to lease in Bentonville, and we still didn't find anything. But she didn't give up, and she talked one of the other Realtors in their office into getting one of her clients to take their house off the market and lease it to us for at least a year. She went to the house and took over thirty photos so that we could see it, and then we leased it based on those photos and her recommendation without ever stepping foot in the house until we arrived with our things. And the house was more than perfect for us! We ended up staying there for two years! Thank you so much Janie and Mike for taking us under your wing and trying to help us to feel at home in Bentonville. Janie, you are a great ambassador for Bentonville, Arkansas, and thank you for being my friend too. I loved getting to know your family, and thanks for all of those lunch counseling sessions we had while Fletcher was always out of town and I was planning two weddings, and for being my "breast cancer buddy" too. I hope we will stay in touch.

Another special group of people we will always remember is the Goss Sunday School Class of First Baptist Church Bentonville led by Susan and Steve Goss, and their close friends and our family deacon, Susan and Jim Byrum. They constantly reached out to us and included us and helped us to feel at home and a part of our church family while we were in Bentonville. Right here I could make a list of about twenty people who became our close "church friends" that we bonded with through Sunday School where we met together each week to study God's word and we shared prayers and prayer requests for each other and fellowships. I can't say enough good things about First Baptist Church of Bentonville Arkansas, it is an extraordinary place full of people who love and serve the Lord and each other and reach out to the community of Bentonville as the hands and feet of Christ to show His love and mercy to others. We are so blessed to have spent a short time in their midst and we will always remember their love and kindness, not only to us, but to so many others. One other person I would like to mention in particular is the Pastor's wife, Laurie Smith. She was constantly reaching out to me at Ladies Bible Study and whenever I was around her she had a special gift that just made me feel like we had always been friends, even though I had only known her for such a short time. And there were other ladies in the FBC Bentonville Ladies Ministry that really made a special effort to make me feel welcome in their group. Thank you all so much!!I will miss you.

There were others in Bentonville that I crossed paths with that were like angels sent from God. I won't go into too much detail about each one, but I will carry those memories in my heart of a time of such extraordinary grace and mercy that could only have been the hand of God reaching out to me and Fletcher when we needed it the most. There was a meal that was brought to me after surgery, there was a lady that I met at the hair salon, the ladies at the BellaVista Christian Women's Club who prayed with me and prayed for my children that they have never met, and another "new friend" that talked me into going to Bible Study with her because if she hadn't wanted to go I might not have ever gone alone, we had great neighbors next door, and there were several doctors in Fayetteville that took good care of me, and I will forever be grateful for all of these people. God is well represented in Northwest Arkansas!

Now we have moved to Baton Rouge and now maybe it's time for us to reach out and minister to others. We will be on the lookout for opportunities to serve and hopefully we will have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ as we seek to serve Him in our new community. We know that God is always at work in our lives and in our hearts and in the lives and hearts of those around us. We just need to pay attention so that we won't miss the opportunities that will come our way to share the love of Christ in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.