the journey begins...

or continues. or whatever you wish to call it. i actually chose to title this entry because of a Vacation Bible School song Warren sings over and over (and over) again...those are the opening lines, and i gotta tell you, those VBS songs have been a solid boost to my moods these past 6 weeks. but back to the post...

our journey CONTINUES, i suppose i should say; we are moving on. yea, not sad about leaving the redneck riviera. no more neon, no more crowds, no more tawdry, tarnished and tacky surroundings (or less of them, at least). now i must be fair - not ALL of Panama City Beach is like this description. it has its good points...like this fantastic sandwich shop (www.lovelizas.com) Ben took us to today... there is a great Target store. Pier Park is nifty (I'm sure it would be awesome if you didn't have an almost 3 year old in tow). the people at Publix are nice (and i remind you, you can purchase WINE at the grocery store...right into the buggy! what a luxury!!). there are calm and peaceful sights once you get off of Front Beach Road. i just would have enjoyed them much more from a home perspective of say, Rosemary Beach? Alys beach? Seacrest even? sigh. live and learn.

but i found out today that we're being moved BACK to Pensacola. Pensacola Beach, of course. the job here in PCB is over; BP has shut it down. not enough oil to worry about, and now that the well is capped, no need to spend so much money to make sure the media is giving them good PR. but there are still places that DO have cleanup needs, and Pensacola Beach is one of them. so off we go. again.

nope. don't know when we're leaving. don't know for how long. don't know where yet; don't have an address. will have to (sigh) set up another new PO Box, change all the addresses on my bills and magazines (again) and have things forwarded (again). worse things could happen, so i'll try to throw a chuckle or two in with those sighs. will keep you posted.

and on that note:

i know several of you have been checking in to see what's going on with us, and have been continually greeted by the same old post proving the existence of Ben...sorry for the lapse. i just get tired of hearing myself think sometimes, and considering that my thoughts and Warren's chatter have been about my only constant companions these past three weeks (yikes...its day 21 for wee man and I today!!!)-i just didn't have it in me to post. and trust me...other than a wonderfully relaxing, uplifting and enjoyable day trip to a friend's family's condo in Seacrest (gorgeous. no, let me correct that...GORGEOUS!), it's pretty much been Post Office trips, gym trips, Publix trips, Target trips, and lots of time with Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. and, seeing as I forgot to bring my camera with me that particular day in Seacrest, I had no images to share. Suffice it to say it was unbelievably therapuetic to see friends from home. i came to realize that perhaps Florida isn't as godforsaken a place as i imagined...to understand why people CHOOSE to come down here for vacations. i can handle Seacrest...maybe we WILL come back and vacation someday (someday...very, very far in the future!). And to have an almost ENTIRE day with Ben?? unreal. i was in a perfectly good mood for 2 whole days after that - no episodes of anxiety or sadness or anything!!! woo hoo!

we've had some moments here in the past few days where we faced a good deal of uncertainty (is the job here ending? is there more work to be done elsewhere? will we be sent home? somewhere else? do we want that? or this? or...??!), but now we at least know where we'll be next week. as i said, we'll be in touch. think we're headed out to eat again tonight (this will be just the second time in 21 days we've been out to eat just as a family, the 1st being lunch today??!), and i am most excited. finally - getting to explore the locale as a family. nice.

will post more when there is more to tell. love to all, and thanks again for all the prayers. i have most definitely felt them!!