Our Pursuit of Happiness: Saying our Goodbyes

Once again it is time to say our goodbyes to all the people who impacted our lives this past year and made us feel welcome here in Mooresville. One would think that after moving so often (10 times in the past 15 years), saying goodbye gets easier but it doesn't. The more I mature and open up to others, the more meaningful the friendships are becoming and it makes moving so much harder.

Last week, Elliot had a final playdate with his little girlfriend Dori. These two are getting along so well and like each other. He gave her a goodbye kiss. What a little gentleman:

On Thursday morning I had my last MOPS meeting and the fabulous mommies signed a lovely card of well-wishes for me, which brought tears to my eyes. I will miss this group of women so much as it made my transition to move here so much easier. One last group shot:

I was also part of the MOPS planning committee and even though it may have been extra work, it was worth the friends I made there. I will truly miss these women. MOPS has been such a great way to get to know other mommies, share support for each, explore new things and also enjoy mom's night out together and play dates with the kids. Most members of the planning committee:

That same night, I hosted a last get-together at my house. Just some wine, food and friends hanging out and enjoying themselves. I also said goodbye to my 2 German friends, Nina and Sabine, this week. Having found friends here from your home country is always great as it let's you share the things you miss most about home with people who totally understand what you mean. Also, it's nice to speak some German once in a while. Auf Wiedersehen, meine Freunde!

Nina, Sabine and Fran

Our kids minus Amelia and the youngest one Heidi (2 weeks old)

On Saturday, Mooresville hosted it's annual Race City Festival and since we had to pick up Derrick early from the airport, we decided to stop by downtown on our way home. There were hardly any people there yet as it was not even 10am by the time we got there. The kids didn't mind as they had the bounce houses all to themselves. Amelia also got her face painted (a little rainbow) and there were plenty of balloons, candies and all kinds of other giveaways.

While Amelia and Daddy rode the choo choo train, Elliot and I went fishing for phones.

We completed our festival visit with a free hot dog and some homemade lemonade before heading home to take a good nap. I loved living here in the small town of Mooresville. The people here are really friendly and the city hosted so many fun community events and getting around was always quick and easy.

For the evening we invited our neighbors, Mike and Megan, over for a last BBQ. These guys were great neighbors, always there to help and easy to get along with. I hope we get that lucky in Nashville too.

The guys: Mike and Derrick

The girls and their baby boys (Elliot couldn't fall asleep so he enjoyed some extra cuddle time)

Baby Michael is such a cutie and always smiling:

On Sunday, we went one last time to our church on Sunday. The community at Fairview UMC was so welcoming and people are genuine nice that we felt right at home when we first came to church there. They took such good care of us, not just spiritually but also teaching Amelia, taking care of Elliot and feeding us lots of good foods. Amelia and her Sunday day school teacher, Ms. Katherine:

Elliot and his nursery workers, Ms. Christal and Ms. Cindy. Often times he was the only one in the nursery and loved getting all their attention and love.

While the movers were busy packing up the house, the kids and I went a last time to the library to say goodbye to our favorite librarian, Ms. Sandra, and then to the park to meet my friend Kim. On the way there I even had the chance for a last hug for baby Jenson, who has grown so much over the past year and I enjoyed cuddling during our MOPS meetings.

Enjoying our last meal at the house. While most of the kitchen and furniture were already packed and loaded onto the moving truck, we decided to make it a dinner-and-movie kind of night.

When I visited my dear friend, Jessica, Tuesday morning for a last goodbye hug and a cuddle from her adorable baby boy Kaden, she gave me a card and I love what it says in there: "Time for friends to say good luck but never say goodbye."

One last picture and goodbye hug from Ms Susan on Tuesday after Amelia's last day of preschool. She will miss her class and favorite teacher a lot. That's for sure!

We spent our last night in Mooresville with Amelia classmate Vera and her family as all our belongings were already loaded on the truck. I'm so thankful for friends who opened up their house for us and took us all in, gave us food and made our last night special. The kids loved having a sleep over: