Blessed Days...In His Hands: Last Stop....Baton Rouge, LA

So we were all about the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge! We had to check out the Tiger Mania store! Wow, purple and gold everywhere! We definitely joined dada in our Tiger spirit like never before!

Little Tiger!

I think they thought we were all going to the game...maybe next time!

Just dada and John got to see LSU beat North Carolina!

We hung out at John and Mitzi Millers house (dear friends we met while living in Baton Rouge) and said our goodbyes to Papa D, Tia, and Hannah.

So thankful for our family. They add much color and dimension to our life. They are generous, kind, funny, unique, southern, and think the world of all of us! We feel loved and enjoyed and you never know what to expect. They are so different from my own family in some ways and similar in other ways. I love that they came to me as family. There is a freedom often in being with them and as the years pass and we spend more time together it just gets better!

Deveraux thought Hannah was a pretty cool teenager!

Blessed to have you in my life Tara!

I felt on this trip Bobo and Deveraux really enjoyed their Papa D and Tia...

I was able to share a meal with my deal friend and school counselor mentor, Mary Ann. I felt such a wave of gratitude when I saw her and it brought back so many memories. Mary Ann offered me such a wealth of practical school counselor information and just life learning! I gleaned so much from this Godly, kind, generous, woman who took time with me and we shared many hours together, in moments I felt like a daugher and in moments a co-worker. It is so good to go back and see all the parts of who you are and the people who contributed to those parts.

Mary Ann brought myself and the kiddos such kind gifts, Bobo got a very cool Tiger cap!

Mitzi brought out the toys as we hung out with the Millers on Sunday morning...we had different times to catch up and chat...we are hoping to see them soon in Carmel.

Another highlight was spending time with Caroline and her family. Caroline started as my graduate school buddy and we continued a friendship. I am inspired that even with four kiddos she does counseling part time. Caroline has always been a grounded, sincere, and kind woman and I was so thankful to re-connect. And our kids had a play date...go figure!

Our first home in Baton Rouge. I remember setting up a home here. We were on our own for the first time. This is where I experienced, "leaving and cleaing". I definitely felt like a "little wife" in all the good ways. Many things were new, different, exciting. I remember listening to a series on Southern writers, I remember hosting (with my moms help) our first Thanksgiving, seeing Andrew's long hours of writing and reading, and not having many pennies to our name. There was also that question I had looming, now what? What do i want to do with my life? And thus started the journey of joining Andrew in graduate school.

It was so wild when we first came into town. So many memories. It is distant and familiar at the same time.

Our second and last home. Again, so many memories. A little more established, lots of studying for me, Andrew and I continuing to find our "married selves", and finding a precious Jewel in our neighbor, Mildred, who we loved so dearly.

I didn't want to leave quickly. It was like I wanted the memories to linger, I wanted to soak it all in and take myself back. I don't have many childhood memories, these memories are familiar and strong, so I wanted to remember in that space. But we had to continue our drive.

Mike the Tiger was included in the tour and he was a big hit! He lives across from the LSU stadium in a great cage!

A theme for me on the trip was seeing different pre-teens and teens and talking to their parents about how they have grown. It was honestly somewhat daunting. I heard and witnessed behavior I don't want to have to deal with as my children grow or ways that I don't want to see them behave. I also don't want to anticipate it with dread but hope that our story will be good when we enter those crazy years!