Monday, July 1, 2013

Goodbye Golden Meadow Lane

July.  The months between October and now have gone by so quickly that at times I wonder if they really ever happened. Was it all a dream?  Did we really survive?  And then I look around and I see a long legged beautiful five year old, a four year old with a head full of white blond curls and the bluest eyes you have ever seen, and a ten and a half pound eight month old who is one of the most inspiring people I have ever encountered and I realize the truth.  We did survive.  Jesus did reach down and touch our lives.  The miracle was real and is still happening everyday. 

And so here we are living every day differently than we did before she was born in about a hundred ways.  And in the middle of the chaos, in perfect Hall fashion, we have added moving to the list.  In ten days we will move ourselves, our three precious girls, their Uncle Brett and the memory of our boy out of yet another home.  It will be the fourth home Kathryne has lived in since she was born.  The sixth move for me in seven years of marriage.  But this move is different.  This time we will move into OUR home.  Honestly, I am not really sure how in the midst of everything we managed to find a home, have an offer accepted, and get approved for the loan.  Jesus and trust.  That is the only answer I can come up with.  And so we will move into a home that Doc has seen once and I have walked through quickly three times.  All the way trusting that He would have stopped us if the path was the wrong one.  So we are packing (well I am writing).  It will be the first move EVER that I was not either pregnant or just through a birth and can actually help!! And as I walk around this house and pack, the reality of how the Lord placed this home into our lives at the perfect time hits me and I am so very grateful. So I prepare to say goodbye to another year and a half of memories in Franklin TN.  Reminded that not once has the Lord stopped challenging us since we have moved here.  Reminded as I look at our precious Josie Hope that He does have a plan and He is in complete control even when we cannot see it. 


Dear Golden Meadow Lane,

In ten days we will pack up our three girls and all of our things and leave you here empty, just as we found you eighteen months ago but we will never forget you.  You, my friend, have been more of a home for us than any we have landed in since our move to Franklin TN four years ago.  You were placed into our lives in His perfect timing and in many ways were exactly what we needed at the scariest, craziest time of our lives.  Sure there were things about you that we would have changed and our last weeks here have been more stressful than we would have liked, but none of that can undo the things that were right about you for our family.
Mr. Robert and Josie

You were convenient. Conveniently located 3 miles from the office of their daddy which changed his commute during the 8 months that we needed him more than we ever have.  Conveniently located one mile from the interstate that I traveled endlessly for four months taking care of our third baby.



Uncle Brett and his girl.
You were big enough.  Big enough to allow space for the man that came to take care of our girls as we fought for our youngest child.  Big enough to house the family that came to help us during the most stressful time of our lives.  Big enough to make room for everything we needed when we brought Josie home.  You were surrounded by love.  You were set in a location easy to access for everyone that loved us enough to help us, provide for us, feed us. And next door to a family that has become ours. A family that loves our kids like they belong to them.  That has helped us ways that we would never have asked for or expected.  A family that has become our family and has made Franklin TN feel like home to us, finally. 

Ms. Haley and her dancing buddies!
Ms. Kari and Kathryne
Golden Meadow lane, thank you.  Thank you for doing exactly what I asked of you.  For providing us a safe, happy home.  For giving us more good memories than bad.  For protecting our girls and showing them how a real home feels.  You will be missed but never forgotten. You will forever be the home that made our lives easier and happier during a time that was harder than anything we could have comprehended.  I pray that the Lord will fill you with a family that is equally as blessed as ours and that His hand here and the love we leave behind will be felt by them.

The Hall Family. 

And so here we go again.....on to a new chapter, a new adventure, a new home.  Holding our breath and walking slowly onto the water hand in hand with the only One that knows what is next. Thank you for loving us, for praying for us, for caring enough to read.  Please continue to pray for weight gain and healthy lungs for our tiny girl.

XXOO
Melanie

To read my first letter to Golden Meadow Lane look in February 2012.  ;)