Our Tender Tennessee Christmas & New Years

Oh, Tennessee. It was just as we remembered. So many hugs, the mountains, the crisp and fresh air, and the freezing temperatures! I never knew how much I missed turning on the radio and hearing some local bluegrass until I searched the many latin stations in South Florida to no avail. There's lots of brass, no strings. We packed up our bags with such anticipation. Lolly cat was taken care of by sweet friends and our sprinklers were on to preserve all the green! 

We knew that we'd be faced with many emotions traveling back home. We were ready to see how our hearts reacted, if we'd be ready to come home after an eleven day visit, or if we'd miss Tennessee more than expected. After leaving, we can now say that although we terribly miss our loved ones, we found much peace in coming "home" to Florida. This is our home for now. We have a precious community that God has knit together, a passion for this town, and the weather is divine! 

After scratching our heads over it a few times, I don't believe we'd been home since March of last year. We previously stopped by East Tennessee and traveled to Middle Tennessee for a church planting service at Belle Aire Baptist in Murfreesboro, TN. This round was such a joyful visit, yet very busy. We filled each day with family, friends, mountains, church, food, coffee, an incredible baby shower, a visit to Dandridge, Seymour, Chattanooga, and to our surprise, the emergency room...

Thanks to my lovely friend Katie, I was prepared to face the plethora of germs at both airports. This momma didn't get sick one bit! I was thoroughly informed about all the sickness going around in East Tennessee and I had nightmares about getting the flu. I also found myself daydreaming every worst possible scenario, haha! Quite pathetic to be honest. I literally had to sit up in my bed one evening and pray against my anxiety about getting sick. Ordinarily, I don't fret too much about germs but since I'm carrying this precious baby and I hate seeing my Blake and Jude ill, I was pretty concerned. I felt worry creep over me just like a sickness. God was so good to carry my concerns and help soothe my anxious heart... and wrecked from worry digestive system. Blake was so helpful wiping down each and every surface with hand sanitizer. Haha! 

Our big two-year-old did surprisingly well on the flight. He was content with his trucks, play phone, books, and the help of a few Curious George episodes and snacks. 

We couldn't wait to get off that airplane and hug somebody! Our first stop was at Mamaw and Papaw's house. There we would find cousins, aunts, uncles, pies, and countless delicious dishes. You can always count on genuine conversation, Mamaw's sweet hospitality, the Gospel to be shared, the peppermint coffee to be served, and the smell of home. There's somethings special that happens when we all sit down to a meal together. It was a breezy evening that was perfect for a little football while the food was being prepared. Jude had a blast playing in a back yard that didn't come with gators, snakes, and a hazardous body of water around the corner. Florida yards aren't so safe! We enjoyed the finest southern food, dessert, and then headed to the basement to open gifts. We received more gifts than we deserve but the greatest gift (like I said before) was just being together in one room. Not over the internet, in person. To sit and hear the amazing news of the gospel on Jesus' birthday with people we love... that's Christmas. 

We spent some time nestled up near the mountains by the lake in Dandridge at my Mom's house and we even got to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins from Georgia! Jude loved playing piano with Mimi, playing with some stickers (he loves saying "stickers" over and over), and especially Mimi's extra fun staircase. Up and down, up and down. He loved sitting by the fireplace and trying to figure out what he was looking at. We don't have any fireplaces in Florida, so it was all very new to him.  

Next up, we had a special visit with my Dad and Becky. Jude loved seeing the cat, playing with some new toys, reading some books, and of course the stairs too! Jude is lucky to have so many sweet grandparents who love him so much. 

Blake, Granna, and Granddad had quite the adventure taking Jude on some chilly Tennessee walks. Jude is like the Energizer bunny. He's either on or off. Going, going, going! My father-in-law was able to capture some awesome pictures of Jude and Blake as Jude discovered frost and got used to wearing an awesome hat. Jude didn't know what to think of the hat at first but after meeting the freezing temperatures, I think he became friends with it. So cute! 

Enjoying the playground with Granna.

Our little family Christmas photo! I'm about 33 weeks pregnant here with Laurie Kate :)

Can you believe that these fine people even threw us a baby shower?! We have the most amazing people in our lives. God is just too good. I'm in tears about it all over again. I'm going to post a blog all about the shower but I had to include some details here. For some terrible reason, we neglected to get a good picture of my dear friend Shelley and I together! So, this one will have to do. Thank you Shelley for coming all the way from Lebanon. Again, more details to come! Also, not pictured was our visit to Nana and Papa Dick's house with John, Jake, and Julie. :( Nana, you are the sweetest thing! Thank you for having us over and for all the sweet gifts you showered us with. 

I was also very sad to realize that I didn't get a picture of my friend Haley and I either! Haley is in the red dress on the left and we have been friends since I was four years old. I love you and I'm so glad I got to see you!

Another awesome memory from our Tennessee trip was getting to visit with these fine people. Blake organized a little gathering with all his old college roommates. It was so special to sit around updating each other on life's happenings, what God is up to, and memories of Murfreesboro and the crazy old house they used to live in. Along with the roommates came some very special ladies! I got to see Shelby, Michele, and Elisa! We had a delicious dinner at a local restaurant, saw Trey and Shelby's beautiful farmhouse, and then came back home to have dessert, coffee, talk, and play pool. Shelby was able to stay a little while afterwards so we piled up on a bed and had some special girl-talk. I'm so thankful for sweet friends! 

Blake and I also had the privilege of sharing what God has been up to with Desire Church at Blake's home church, First Baptist Alcoa. It was surreal to see our faces paired with the word "missionary" in the bulletin. We don't really think of ourselves as missionaries but I guess that's what we are. We are all missionaries when you think about it... living life to share the gospel. Jesus is our only hope and source of life! It was also surreal to be in a sanctuary... it's been quite a while. Our hearts were so encouraged to see many familiar faces, to share some praise-worthy moments, and some prayer requests with a sweet body of believers. We felt led to sing Hillsong's "Rhythms Of Grace" that morning. We were so encouraged by hearing the other missionaries' testimonies. It's so cool to hear about what God is doing in so many different cities. We can't thank everyone enough for their prayers, words of wisdom, love, and financial support. We are blown away by God's faithfulness!   

One unexpected adventure we found ourselves on in Tennessee was to the emergency room. Jude had a little cold that turned into what we later found out was bronchiolitis. Yikes. Sounds like a dinosaur to me. We usually don't freak out when he has a cold but this time, his lungs sounded different. He sounded like he had been running a marathon; we could tell that he was struggling to breathe. After face-timing with my sister who is a talented pediatrician, she strongly urged us to get him to the ER. Of course, it was Sunday evening and that was our only option. Poor little Jude. He was definitely not acting like himself. We are so thankful for the amazing team at Children's hospital in Knoxville. We got to the ER around 5:30 and left around 10:00 I think. Not too bad. They gifted us with a quilt, coloring book, crayons, and a teddy bear... so amazing! Jude really appreciated the gesture too. We tried to keep him away from the ER germs as much as possible, I wore a mask, and Blake was mister faithful with the hand sanitizer. Jude hates going to the doctor so it wasn't easy watching him undergo a breathing treatment, an X-ray where he had to be strapped down to the table, and all the routine checks. We had to administer a special medicine through a breathing machine every 4-6 hours for about a week and he felt much better. Praise the Lord he didn't contract the flu or RSV because that would have cancelled our visit to see family in Chattanooga! Blake was such an amazing help with the breathing machine... it became their little routine. Jude HATED it, he was terrified. After a few days, he got used to it though. :) God is so good.  

We feel pretty good about having that first ER visit under our belts. Health is a gift. My heart was broken as I peered over my little mask into the emergency room filled with sick children and some pretty sad parents. Some people looked like they hadn't eaten in days. Some people looked hopeless, oppressed, and plain depressed. I'm not talking about the fact that they were obviously dealing with a sick child, I'm talking about spiritually. There was a distinct darkness around me and a part of me just wanted to start singing a Christmas carol out loud or something. You know? I just wanted to spread some hope! I wanted to say, "Jesus loves you, He cares, and it's going to be ok!" Haha! I found myself talking and being more comfortable around the Spanish-speaking side of the room. I have the good Lord and funny old South Florida to thank for that. I'm a different person thanks to this unique Florida path that God is leading us on. We even bumped into an old friend of ours at the ER who wasn't sure if her baby was going to live. Thankfully, he is doing much better but it didn't look so hopeful for a few days. Life is such a gift. I pray that we never take it for granted.    

Next stop, CHATTANOOGA!

I just couldn't wait to meet this little bundle of joy! Meet Jack Allen Laman, my sister Amy's newest addition. He was born on December 23rd and we had to wait all the way until January 1st to meet him. I cried and cried while we were in Florida as she was having her C-seciton because I just wanted to be by her side so badly. I love my sisters so much and it breaks my heart to miss such special moments in their lives. I also met my nephew Joseph for this first time on this visit. He's a year old today. 

I'm thankful for the internet and face-time but there's nothing like being in the same room together. Amy and Kevin were kind enough to have us all over at their new home. They had only been home a few days with their newborn so it was a crazy us to all barge in! The house quickly became a lot like the opening scene in Home Alone. People everywhere! We celebrated my step-mother's birthday, opened Christmas gifts, stayed up until around 2:00am talking by the fire, the men played Catan, we made a big tasty meal, thanked Becky for cooking for days to supply us with so many special treats, and we were just together. We fought over the fudge, the kids got into some trouble, there were a few bumps and bruises, and a lot of laughs. Everyone's children are such a joy! Oh, and we also watched the VOLS WIN A BOWL GAME. I never thought I'd see the day! GO VOLS! 

It was madness but it was good madness. There are now seven (almost eight) little cousins now! Life finds us in a different stage where we are all raising our own families and it has become more rare for us to all be under one roof. We sure did miss our sister Mary Beth and Falcon who live in Hawaii! 

Joseph is shy about the internet so, he gets a nice red heart on his face. He's so cuuute! 

Jude LOVED seeing Parker!!!

My sweeeeeet boy. He did such a great job sleeping in so many different houses. I think he was ready to get back home. 

Jude also had a blast getting to play with Harper and Reagan! It was so much fun watching them go wild! We had a special visit with Sarah and Laura, it's been too long!

Granddad captured Jude playing so cutely with his trains. TRAINS... he's all about trains!

These girls are sooo sweet! I'm so glad we got to see you!

After all our travels, we headed back to Maryville where we would soon fly back to Tennessee. Jude enjoyed one last walk in the cold weather with Miley, Blake, Lonas, and Granna. This momma was taking a break on the couch. I really wanted to join them but this baby sure is getting heavy! 

We boarded the airplane after a nice three hour delay and made it back to Florida around midnight. Jude didn't sleep on the plane at all, he was pretty miserable and we were ready to be back home. It was not easy saying goodbye to so many loved ones and to Tennessee. 

Moving 900+ miles away from family has given us such a different perspective on our rare visits home. We happen to have one of the most amazing families. Sure, there's been ups and downs, drama, and more drama. No family is perfect. No family is going to get along all the time. We had an amazing visit. But you know what's better than family? God's perfect love. He is our everlasting Father; family members don't live forever. We can certainly treasure the memories we make but life isn't all about family. I can't put all my hope in family. Jesus is our prince of peace; we all know there are times of anything but peace within families. He is our constant. He is unconditional love. This time two years ago I was an active worshipper of FAMILY. I idolized family, family time, memories, sentimentality, and togetherness. Sometimes idols disguise themselves as good things. Jesus wanted my whole heart and all of my attention and boy, did he rearrange my life. I'm so thankful for a family that knows the unconditional love of God. We aren't perfect but, we know how to love because He FIRST loved us. 

 See you next time, Tennessee!