The Why...

Moving to Missouri has been a dream of mine for 2 years. Now. It has happened. Let me tell you about it… 

I fell in love with Missouri because of the people. I loved it before I ever visited because I knew so many AMAZING people who lived there. I knew those amazing people because of Roundhouse. It’s a camp for members of the church of Christ who homeschool. I’ve been attending for 17 years and totally love it. One year I got to know Stacy Leonard and thought she was the coolest lady ever (which I still do). She has a daughter named Abby. We quickly hit it off as friends as well and started writing e-mails and letters. On my first trip to MO, I surprised Abby for her 12th birthday. That was so much fun. I'll never forget that trip. 

The Hecks are Board Members at RH, and I adore them. Lucky for me, when I come to MO to see the Leonards, the Hecks are just a few more miles down the road and I get to visit with them as well. Nathan and Ashley Cozort and their little sweeties live here, too… and so many others who I have met since the first trip…

Speaking of that first trip, since then, I’ve been back often. I really love it here. Once I came for a gospel meeting. Once for a family trip. Once to meet the Beck twins and see Aunt Shauna. And once for my beautiful Aunt Shauna's funeral. (And before someone asks: Shauna Heck was not my aunt. That's just what I call her and the type role she plays in my life.) 

Aunt Shauna had cancer. She fought it hard, and she fought it with a smile. She was an incredible example to so many of being happy and praising God even in the hard, hard times. She was a beautiful woman, she smile was adorable, and her laugh contagious! The very best thing about her, though, was the fact that she was a faithful Christian. The cancer might have beaten her physical body, but nothing can rob Aunt Shauna of her Heavenly Home.

Now I’m back in Missouri again. But this time, I'm here in my car—which is heaps longer to come in than a plane! And I'm not leaving. I'll be moving in with the David and Debbie Hecks (and Josh, Candice, Bob, and Dustin). I've been blessed with a special job: To be the full-time nanny to McKenna and Carter... Darren and Shauna's precious kids. I was floored to be asked for this “job,” and I am still completely honored and touched. I am praying for wisdom to be the best Christian that I can be—so that I can be the best help to this family as I can. Please keep us all in your prayers. This is a time of such change, some excitement on my part, but also such pain for all these dear people I love.  

It was super hard to leave “my kids” back at in GA, the life I’ve been used to, perfectly happy with, and busy at for many years. But after a lot of prayer time, talking to my family and a few special friends, this does seem to be the right step. I loved driving out here. It was fun to sing, pray, visit friends. To add two new states to my “visited states” list. And then there were the 3 turtles, the 4 deer, the gorgeous sunsets, the clouds and rain, the bright sunshine and birds flying. There was the plane taking off “on top” of me. The many, many cars. The changing interstates. The getting gas 4 times… And then there was the pulling up at the Leonards’ house and being “home.” =)

I’m gonna post the two notes I’ve put on Facebook in the past few weeks about this move. They tell a little more about the emotions and goals and just general info. Thank you all so much for your awesome encouragement! Love you all! KK