hello friends - i do hope you are enjoying your summer immensely.  well... we do have some news to share.  i have to say that i have been rather hesitant to sit down and write this post as it will make the decision that much more solidified.  mainly due to the nearly inexistent american housing market - our voyage to italy has been put on hold; we are moving back into the house this weekend and hope to try to sell again when the market turns in a year or so.  it has been rather like a roller coaster ride as we tried to decide what was best for our family, both financially as well as emotionally.  in the end it makes the most sense to us to try and wait the downturn of the market out.  we returned from atlanta a week ago now and have spent nearly everyday trying to get the house ready to accept us again.  i have a difficult time stepping backwards and this has been my biggest hurdle over the last week.  changing the paint colors, moving some furniture around - adding some new pieces - and my sweet, wonderful father-in-law who basically re-created our entire backyard to include a new bricked patio and two new vegetable gardens helps make the experience feel as if maybe this is a new journey and we are not slipping back into a mirrored reflection of our lives just three months ago.  the decision had seemed like such an easy one at the time - this is what we want for our family - let's do it.  but maybe slowing down, stepping back again and realizing where we are must be where we are meant to be at this time, has helped put it into prospective. 

so, i do hope you stick around for more adventures here as opposed to abroad - but we hope those adventures will come one day very soon - i, of course, will keep you posted.  and i have to believe that we at least obtained the girls' passports for some immediate purpose - maybe that means some jaunts in the meantime...

have a wonderful holiday weekend - i hope to be back in full swing in the next week or so.

be well friends...

xoox~jla

p.s. the new Photo Trade theme will be announced by 11 july

Comments

[Mom Quixote]

It's lovely to read your posts again. I am so sorry that Italy did not work out -- now. I am sure it will work out when it is supposed to.

[jo]

i´m going through something a bit simmilar: i might or might not be going away to sweden for two years, it all depends on a schoolarship, if i get it, then i'll go, if i don´t get it, i won't go. it´s so hard press hold on something that you had put your heart and set your mind on for some time... but, as many of the lovely and wise bloggers above had said, it happens for a reason and all we can do is open up our hearts to whatever comes next and just embrace that new oportunity.

sometimes the best things are the ones we don´t plan. it´s all a mistery. i do hope, from the bottom of my heart, that this is the best thing for you and your family :)

[Mandy Saile]

with your beautiful photography and open, honest and lovely writings, I will definately be happy to tune into your stories from home instead of abroad. Hope all is well and your settling in nicely. Take Care, Mandy of Bijou's Whimsy