Trip to Knoxville

A few weeks ago we decided to take a quick trip to Knoxville, Tn just to get away for a few days. We have such fond memories of that place and sometimes it's nice to go and reminisce about those 4 years we spent there as newlyweds. We were young and naive......stupid is more like it. We made many mistakes as most newlyweds do, but we also learned many valuable lessons, not the least of which was learning how to live completely on our own with only God and each other to rely on. It brought us closer together. Deepend our love and friendship. I think I speak for both of us when I say that Knoxville feels kind of like our home town. The girls have listened to us talk about our time there and they seem to sense how special it is to us. They love Tennessee football and the color orange will usually always invoke a response out of one of them. Mark and I remembered the other night that when Annie learned her colors as a toddler she would go through them and say...red, yellow, blue, purple, brown, black, white, green, BIG ORANGE!! So funny and made daddy so proud. At age 2 she could sing the entire alma mater, fight song, and Rocky Top. I don't think we ever got that on video. Like I said, stupid. Anyway, this trip was fun and too short. We centered the trip around food - as all good southerners do. We took a trip to the UT Bookstore to stock up on all things orange that were lacking from our wardrobe and bought Jack his first football. We made a trip down to Pigeon Forge to take Annie and Ella to the Christmas Place and Bass Pro Shops. I think they have as much fun at BPS as they do at the Georgia Aquarium.

There was one thing about this trip that was different from every other time we have visited since our move here in 2004. Leaving Knoxville is always sad for me. I almost feel an ache and a strong urge to stop by a gas station and grab a home buyers guide. But this time, I didn't feel the ache - well, maybe not as much. I feel like God has placed us where we are for a purpose. Knoxville was not a time of much, if any, spiritual growth in my life. We were regular church attenders but that's where it stopped for me. I have amazing opportunities to be around godly people who encourage me in my walk with Christ. Could this have been done in Knoxville? Sure! But maybe, since it wasn't, God decided to place me somewhere else. It has taken us a good while to really enjoy living here but it has become home to us now. Maybe someday we will move back to Tennessee, but for now I believe we are right where God wants us to be.