My husband left me for the open road, so I got a boyfriend

Yesterday was one of the most fun days of my life. I spent so many unadulterated hours with my lovely son that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. We went on a walk with Nonny & the girls, climbed up the stairs around 18 times, and sat on the trampoline for around 30 minutes just looking around and occasionally bouncing. Sometimes I can get terrified about being a stay at home mom and wondering how I'll entertain Elias without exhausting myself but when I truly just spend time with him - I enjoy him more than I could ever imagine. When Katie left the house yesterday, she said, "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone"... that's truly how I felt.

I can tell he is really missing Nick - today he kept playing with the phone and handing it to me until I finally called his Dad on speakerphone... then he just babbled and blew kisses till he accidentally hung up on him.

On a sad note, I think I went through the hardest day of the move (so far) today - saying goodbye to my sister. She is really my best friend and confidant. I had a rough thirty minutes after she left, but thankfully my mom was there to pick me up off the back porch bench and remind me that this feels alot harder than it's going to be. Thanks Mom and thanks Katie for being so missable.

Wrapping it all up

Just a quick Connolly family update...
As of today, Nick is in route to Puyallup. He and Donald are currently in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and head to Dallas tomorrow. On Saturday they'll be staying in El Paso, TX & on Sunday they'll be in San Clemente. Their last night on the road they'll be in scenic Redding, California & then they'll finally reach Puyallup next Tuesday - January 1st. On the 2nd, Elias and I fly out of Charlotte and reach Seattle around 9pm.

Until then, Elias and I are camped out at Nonny & Poppy's house in Charleston... and having an amazing time. It's been a MAJOR blessing. We've gotten to spend plenty of time with Katie, Josh, AnnaJaye, & Abigail... Elias has gotten tons of quality time with his beloved Nonny-dear AND we still have six more nights to go. Our last few days in Charlotte were so tumultuous and uber-planned... we were rushing from family to friends to family to friends and it's nice to have a little time to digest.

I know Nick is joining me in preparing his heart as he drives across the US, and I'm trying to take some time each day to think about what's going on inside my crazy head. While it may be a touch too analytical - it's really helpful for me to get ready for this transition. Two months ago, I was working part-time, missing my overworked husband & feeling like I wasn't experiencing motherhood the way I truly wanted to. Now I'm going into a season where my gifts are going to be used, my passions ignited, my husband present, and my son witnessing every minute. I couldn't be more excited and scared at once.

So I leave you with a picture of Elias... he didn't quite understand Christmas or gifts - which is good because this wasn't the best year for making memories or traditions. However, his pure joy in the last few days has been so precious... In general, he's been such a trouper over the last few weeks, even. We've been homeless now for two weeks - staying with friends and family who are so gracious to host us. This is his first night staying in a crib since December 9th and even though he really should be a mess - he's been a true delight. So - while I could be complaining about how much I hate transitions & how hard it is on me... I'll take a cue from Elias and go with the flow.

Mosaic Memories

This picture makes me want to laugh and cry all at once. Today was our last day at Mosaic before leaving for Puyallup and it was truly the definition of bitter-sweet. It didn't really dawn on me until this morning - but so much of who Nick and I are is because of Mosaic and what we've learned here. Two and a half years ago, we got married, high-tailed it back to Charlotte to join this group of people we barely knew, & tried to take on the city. This picture is from Mosaic's first gas giveaway, a week before our first service. Nick and I look like children and truly we were. Still are, I suppose.

When we came to help start Mosaic, we had about a million ideas of our own - most of which were silly and wrong. We thought we were big shots at ministry because we had served on staff at a church in South Carolina and had about two years of church work under our belts. Now, however, we know so much more because we realize we know nothing. We've just barely begun to learn who we are in Christ - who He made us to be and what He made us to do. In the past two and half years, we've just started the process of learning how to be married and how to be parents and how to be effective believers. Thankfully, we have amazing family, friends, and mentors to guide us - but the Mosaic team has been a huge part of that.

So here are so memories that I'm leaving with that I never want to forget....
- The first day we ever met with Naeem & Ashley, and the launch team of about 6 people in Charleston. How nervous I was to be meeting some spiritual heroes of mine - that would later become dear, dear friends.
- The first meeting once we were all in Charlotte, about 15 people packing into our apartment - with our IKEA couch placed neatly on the floor because it had no legs.
- The day we launched the church and were floored because a team of 6 had grown to 60 and all of a sudden, there were 400 people at our service.
- When we got to tell our sweet Mosaic family that we were expecting Elias... how scared and excited they were for us. Then later when he was born and there were 18 people in our hospital room.
- The day Ashley & my entire mommy small group watched as Tara prophesied about our move to Washington and how God was going to bless our family, even though I hadn't told any of them about it!
- Today... when I just had to walk away without really saying all I wanted to, without seeing everyone I wanted to see - because I know this story is not over. I can't wait to see what God continues to do in Charlotte through Mosaic and we both feel really honored and privelaged to be being sent by them.

We love you Mosaic family and we'll see you soon.

My favorite things... thanks Kelly

Since my friend Kelly uses a blog I can't comment on - I'm just fully responding to her blog that made me smile. She wrote a good amount about her favorite things in life right now and while my blog will probably be much more simplistic & less spiritual, hers made me happy and got me thinking.

1. How hilariously impressionable Elias is right now. He is all about the sign language and funny gestures and we can make him do just about anything. I don't konw if it's the 'first child' in him, but he is all about performing and making people laugh. My favorite is the hand to forehead exasperated gesture. He saw me do it one day and now he does it every ten seconds... when he's laughing, when he's tired, when I discipline him. It's like he just uses it to say "oh mom....."
2.Target wrapping paper, enough said.
3. Mary Jane style crocs. Kalle started telling me about a year ago that these shoes were cute but I refused to sign on. All of a sudden this week, I just that I HAD to have some. I asked for Christmas but I think Nick is still holding out.
4. Crushed ice... it just never goes out of style.
5. That Elias has finally started giving real kisses on the lips - I'm addicted.
6. Long pajama shirts... Nick finally let me buy one for Christmas and he promised we could take a family Christmas pajama picture.
7. Embroidery embroidery embroidery. I feel like we got every gift embroidered for Christmas & I'm loving it.

Right now...

I'm enjoying a nice game of Mafia with friends after Staci's graduation party. We've had such an amazing week so far & it's really going to be a fun few weeks to come. On Monday we totally moved out, on Tuesday we closed on the house, we spent Tuesday through Friday with the fam in Mt. Pleasant & had a wonderful time. Elias officially fell in love with his Nonny - even more so though he ever had before. I've truly never seen him interact with someone besides Nick & I like that... he wanted her every second she was in the room and she played with him until they were both pooped and I was tired from watching.

We're in Charlotte for a little over a week and we would love to see each and every person possible. This Thursday, the 20th, we're having a going away party and we're just sort of doing word.of.mouth/evites so please send me your email if you'd like to come! For those of you who've asked about our address/support info - our new address is PO Box 512, Puyallup WA, 98371. We'll all be there by the first of January.

I have to say - God has been so real to my heart in the last few days. I know that's odd to say but I just feel like He is carrying me through this entire month. I really didn't believe that I would be able to get excited about this move because it was going to be so hard to leave the people I love... but day after day I'm realizing that this goodbye is so temporary. I can't even really get sad about not seeing people because I know I'm going to continue to see what God is doing in their lives and they'll still be so much apart of our story.

Okay enough jabbering... I think I'm a little too tired to make an intelligent thought. Plus, right now I'm the mafia (in the game we're playing) so I should try to be a bit more involved. HAPPY GRADUATION STACE.

All our bags are packed....

we're ready to go.

Last night at 646. I think we're both beyond exhausted and ready for our little Christmas "vacation" to start. Tomorrow the movers come, we have our last 412 for youth ministry. Tuesday we close on the house and drive to Charleston for a little vacay and much needed quality time with Nonny, Poppy, & Caroline... until Friday when it's back to Charlotte for Staci's graduation/party. Saturday we do Christmas with Nick's extended family, Sunday my dad comes home for the holidays.

Monday thru Thursday is Christmas shopping, family time, visiting friends, Friday the 21 is dinner with my best friends from high school/Forest Hill, the 22 is the Hopper Family Christmas party, 23 is Powell family party, 24 is for Nick's family and our little nuclear family. We'll wake on the 25 and see Nick's nana, aunt and uncle, drive to Cola and say bye to Dad & Judith, drive to Charleston and do Christmas with the Hopper side, spend the 26th as a family, and Nick starts his trek on the 27th. Elias and I will then relax and enjoy time in Charleston until the 2nd when we drive to Charlotte & fly to Seattle.

Just in case you need to know where we're at in the next three weeks.... now you know. I'm really excited for the coming days. I'm going to try and appreciate them for everything that they are - not wish that I was anywhere different or that any circumstance was any different. I love Christmas, I love my family, and I'm excited for this little season to start.

"You must be busy...

... you haven't blogged in forever." You're right Merry - it's time!

The past week has been been a whirlwind and it just keeps getting a bit more busy each hour. I've barely been checking my voicemails & emails, much less updating the old blog. I'm going to be a bit more intentional for the rest of this experience though... the Lord is teaching us so much and helping us get so excited about our new adventure and we'd love to share it with you! So... for some updates:

- Yay! It's finally public - I can tell my blogging friends that my dear sister, Katie, who we lovingly refer to as Ruby is pregnant! That little stinker waited until Thanksgiving to tell us but we truly couldn't be more excited for her, Josh, AnnaJaye, & Abigail. She's due around the end of June so we'll be making our first big trip back in July with the WHOLE family.

- We are in the middle of this move and surrounded by boxes... I didn't realize how much I hated packing but it's been actually fun to be with Nick so much and watch Elias 'help'. We'll finish up this weekend, move out on Monday, close on Tuesday and then hopefully it will be semi-smooth sailing from there on!

- God is truly amazing us with our support raising. We've only truly received four pledges for yearly support & we're already halfway to our budget. That is an amazing feat. Our biggest donation so far was a random $6,000 donation from a couple in Seattle that we've never met but read an article about New Beginnings. Wow. Also - "Mosaic" (via Naeem & Ashley) told us that we'll officially been sent as Mosaic Missionaries. They're going to have us make video updates every few months to keep the church updated. That was much much more than we expected or could have asked for.

- Glory baby is doing good. She's kicking the mess out of me and making sure I'm good and tired each night.

I think that's all I can handle for now. There's still packing to do and I'd love to help my husband with it.

love love friends. Jessi.