Tennessee... a Home like no other!

Sometimes I wonder, "How am I so blessed?"...

Living in Tennessee is a dream! Our family and friends have a thought because it is the "bible belt" and we are conservative and Christian that we moved here... that is a plus for us personally, but we really moved here because our dream is to have land of our very own to raise children on and to one day have a flock of sheep so I can pursue my spinning addiction (no intervention, please! haha) and because we love sheep!

 Here in Tennessee, the people are so sweet and kind and always willing to give a helping hand, that sometimes it's a conviction to me! I always thought I was very personable with people, but not as much as the people here! They will stop whatever it is that they are doing to have a lovely chat with you (however long it may be! No one is in any rush) and swap recipes and ideas on what colors would go well with what kind of yarn or quilting pattern, and give their "secrets" passed down from their mama's and grandmothers on how to raise children the correct way (even though we don't have children just yet!)... There is so much love here, you can't escape it! 

Our friends are blessed to live on this land with their own lake to fish from!

The countryside here is exquisite... Tennessee is blessed with over abundance of fresh water that rains from the heavens and graces the land with life giving water that penetrates this rich fertile soil and out from it grows the most colorful landscape! 

Not too long ago, we drove by this very small family farm that had cattle and horses and some alpaca contently grazing the lush grass, and I didn't envy this farm, I thank God for them. For this family obviously worked hard to get what they have now, and thus inspires others that the dream of owning land and working it to sustain itself is doable! 

An old barn still standing! Gorgeous!

Sometimes I look outside my front window and can't help but shed happy tears... My life has never been perfect, has never been "easy" but by the grace of my Lord, Jesus Christ... I am reaping the blessings... to store for myself? No! To share with others and to sow in their lives... 

 I daily pray that I may be a blessing to others either in deed or word... that all I do bring honor to the Lover of my soul! 

 Look around you, and count your blessings!

Christmas Tree, Oh! Christmas Tree... that's the only part I know in the song.

Merry Christmas!

 You know, i've never really remembered having a "cold" Christmas. The cold I experienced in San Diego was a zip up hoodie with a tank top underneath and thin sweat pants with flip flops on. My cold was in the low 50's and maybe it'll hit to the mid 40's up in the mountains where I lived... that was FREEZING to a born and raised cali girl like me!

 So coming to Tennessee... hmmmm... just a tad bit different... ok maybe not "tad", more like a major difference!!!!

 My first priority when we found our beautiful home was to make it a home right away before we unpacked one thing from our boxes and suitcases and to make a Christmas tradition right away to make the most of the month of December (as we moved in day after Thanksgiving).

 After putting all of our belongings in our home, my beloved and I hopped in our Cherokee (leaving sadie back with her blankie covering the crate with the scent of our apartment back in Alpine and of the car so she wouldn't get so lonely and a yummy kong filled with peanut butter!) and went looking for Christmas Trees. 

 We really wanted to go cut down our own Tree, but we didn't know where to go or who to ask, so we decided for this year we would go to Costco or Home Depot and get a tree. 

 We went to Costco and it just didn't seem fun to me. They all looked exactly the same, they were all wrapped up tight so you had no idea how full they would be, so we decided to drive around and see if there was a tree lot somewhere.

Not less than 2 miles down the road was a tree lot full of rustic looking trees that looked fresh and ready to be taken home!

Our tree wrapped from the lot ready to go home!

 They were a bit more pricier but it was so worth it!

These trees were freshly cut right across the border in North Carolina from a local farm there, the young man there definitely looked and talked like he came from North Carolina! He was an absolute charm! He not only talked to us about the tree but we ended up staying almost an hour just chatting with him in the cold! 

 His character was so warm, and of course he talked with us about our like minded beliefs in politics and God (We are very Conservative and strong believers and followers of Jesus Christ!), and he helped direct us how to train sadie to hunt and retrieve fowl when Dustin goes hunting (and I wouldn't mind learning to hunt as well with him!). 

He talked fondly of his "girl", a 1970's GMC truck that was passed from his uncle down to him, and he said, "I don't care how much someone offers, that truck damn sure ain't for sale!"

Brought our tree back home! I love everything in this picture!!!

 I then proceeded to find a tree that had a nest nestled deep in the tree!!!!! It was an old nest but it looked so natural and rustic how could I say no? Haha! We could have ended up like Chevy Chase in National Lampoon Christmas Vacation where a squirrel comes running out! But no, we didn't have that happen, Sadie would have had a fun time chasing and taking that squirrel out (she's hunted and killed other things. She's a hunter all right!)! HaHa!

You can see Dustin's legs as he is trying to make the tree more straighter, and of course i'm just snapping away photos... It's not like he needed help or anything. Sigh, i'm such a wife! Heehee!

 Finding a tree at a home depot, walmart or costco may be cheaper and quicker, but nothing beats finding a small lot and talking to the people who work there and not only finding a beautiful fresh tree, but make a memory and a friendship even if it's brief! That lot has been in their family for over 30 years!

I think I know which lot will be the place we will be going too to find our tree. It was such a wonderful time we had!

Sadie completely confused by this dinosaur bone! Haha! She had a look that said, "Is ALL this for me???" Let's just say she devoured that thing!!! It kept her happy and out of our way for that evening!

No, Dustin isn't saluting the tree. Lol! He was just trimming the top and inspecting his work as the top of the tree was hitting ceiling.

Lights are on, the burlap is wrapped around, all we need to do is decorate with ornaments! The fireplace  was amazing! It crackled and warmed us up!

How can you not have egg nog in santa cups and popcorn in these festive tins while decorating?

Ya, you CAN NOT leave out the Peanut gang!

The very first ornament we put on the tree was our very first ornament together as a married couple we got back in Hawaii!

The star was the last and final touch!

A simple and sweet rustic Christmas we will finally be having! The Lord has been so good to us! When you honor Jesus and obey Him, He honors you right back!

Dustin sitting on the couch enjoying his home, he didn't know I took this photo! I am so flattered each time I see my husband enjoy the works of my hand in our home!

Sadie's first Christmas experience!

Christmas jazz playing softly, fireplace lit up, egg nog in hand, with christmas lights on, snuggled up in the arms of my beloved with Sadie napping at our feet... This is the best Christmas EVER!

 

There is no place like Home!

It was a cool morning, Friday, November 21. I put on my walking shoes and slipped into my comfy work clothes and walked into the living room tying my hair into a tight bun, I couldn't help but smile when I saw all the boxes and suitcases I started packing a month prior (with the help of my amazing husband), knowing in that 2 more days, we will be heading away from California to find a new Home in Tennessee!

Majority of our belongings ready to be packed away from our apartment in Alpine, CA!

With the help of my most loving Mother, we three went to work and filled up our 6x12 Uhaul. Dustin was so amazing, He organized that Uhaul like if he was playing Tetris! He stacked it so well, there was absolutely NO way anything would budge during the drive!

My mami with her son before we began our packing up the uhaul!

Locking our apartment door one last time! It was a lovely place to live in,but now for new and better things yet to come!

We had some amazing memories in our comfortable apartment and had an amazing view from our yard!

My parents living room in their house up the mountain where I grew up, met dustin online for the very first time here, got to meet him in person for the first time in this living room, told him that I loved him for the very first time in this living room, told my parents we got engaged (on this same land he proposed) in this living room, and I waited in this same room to walk out the front door and down to the EXACT Same spot he proposed to get married! In this room our whole relationship was done in!

That night after a long day of packing and some cleaning and last minute organizing we drove our cherokee hauling all our belongings with Sadie up to the Home I grew up in, in the mountains of Alpine! We wanted to spend one last weekend with our parents and enjoy it before we drove a very long 3 1/2 days to our destination!

It was a nostalgic kind of evening, the night air was very chilly, thus my parents turned on their Wood Stove in the living room to warm up the home, the familiar creaks of the hardwood floors brought a lot of comfort yet also brought an emotional lump in my throat I tried to laugh away with humor.

My parents wood stove warming up the whole house from the living room!

 I got to sleep in my childhood home with my husband our puppy one last time in the living room next to the crackling wood stove dreaming of new memories we will be having when we head on East!

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning (the 23rd), saying goodbye to my parents was a bit hard, especially for Dustin who grew to love them like his own (He and my dad were pretty close!), but I couldn't remain sad for very long, the excitement of going out to the "unknown" with my husband was just too much! We were about to embark on an adventure, just he and I, to a place we have never lived in or know much about... So away we went!

As we approached Yuma, AZ I had mixed feelings, I was in "awe" because passing the Yuma city line will be the furthest I have traveled with my husband, and this may be the very last time I go see my grandmother who is 100 years old.

 We entered into yuma and we drove to the nursing home where my sweet grandmother was staying, I walked in by myself and saw her sitting quietly in her wheelchair. I couldn't help but feel hot tears coming into my eyes, as she looked like a helpless, sweet little girl, and yet remembering  her always joyful attitude and constant laughter growing up was ringing in my mind!

Dustin and Sadie waiting for our trip to begin from Yuma, AZ!

 I talked to her for a little and she recognized me (to my surprise) and blessed me and my family on our trip and I kissed her goodbye. When I left I felt a peace, knowing that my godly sweet grandma's prayers will follow me and my husband and our little ones for years to come!

We had quite a trip! Sadie was an absolute dream! Sitting quietly or napping the whole time, and never once had an accident as we let her out each time we had to gas up, and almost every trucker, no matter how tough they looked, absolutely adored our sweet, gentle sadie! Telling us she was absolutely gorgeous and what a good hunting dog she will be if we start training her now (which Dustin is wanting to do very much so!), and how well behaved she is for just 7 months!

The princess on our bags and soft blankets, she was in pure bliss!

We traveled up through flagstaff, AZ which was beautiful no doubt, but was so extremely windy that (I was driving during that time), I was so nervous we would have to pull over and wait for the wind to die down because our uhaul trailer was having quite a time behind us being pushed around slightly! But by the grace of God we made it up to 8,000 ft in elevation just fine. Seeing snow on the ground driving through arizona and New Mexico was a beautiful sight! So quiet and serene, like what I was feeling inside!

high elevation in Flagstaff, AZ

Snow in New Mexico! It was beautiful!

This was entering Texas! Everything is bigger in Texas, so is their faith in Jesus! :)

  

                                                                                    We arrived in Tennessee day before Thanksgiving and had 2 appointments to look at rental homes. We were tired but excited at the prospect of renting a house and no longer and apartment!

 We prayed that the Lord blesses us with peace if we find the home meant for us, and if not that He will allow an unsettling over us if it is not the home. Prayer surely does move mountains!

The first home I was excited for because of the fireplace and living room. The area was a bit crowded and seemed a little claustrophobic, but the inside of the home was very charming! The only thing was, right when I met the landlord, a strong twisting unsettling happened in my gut, and I wasn't sure about the home no more. Dustin loved it! But I spoke with him privately and said, "Trust me, there is something about that landlord I don't like. He is nice, but... I just can't put a finger on it, there is something here that is not right.". So we said, "No" to this home.

The second home, the landlord was an absolute dream! But the inside of the home was something you can get lost in! There were 3 rooms but each room was connected by a door that went in one bathroom and out the other so you had to be sure to lock both bathroom doors before having privacy and it was just not very pretty! The landlord was very sweet about us saying no, and he even offered to bring Thanksgiving food over to our hotel so we wouldn't feel so left out!

 Thanksgiving came on by and we got to spend it with 2 dear friends of ours who live closeby.

Friday came and we had 3 appointments, though we only saw 2 homes, I was starting to feel nervous that we won't have the home of our dreams for a decent price and we will have to hurry and find something because our uhaul rental agreement was about to expire that day!

The first house we saw I thought it charming! It was a 1950s bungalow and there was quite a charm there and it was super close to where Dustin would be working! I was about to give Dustin the thumbs up when I was walking toward the kitchen by myself imagining how I would decorate when I heard the Lord speak to me and said, "Before you make a decision, go look at the other home. You will regret it if you don't.", when the Lord speaks, I have learned time and again to trust and obey right away without second guessing!

 So we told the landlord we would let him know if yes or no, and we went on to a home further away from where we were (about 20 miles), and right when we approached the area, I was in love!

Right when we pulled up, I took a picture right away. That was how sure I knew this was the Home the Lord blessed us with before I even got out of the car!!!

Our Sadie wondering where she is... you are home, Sadie Girl!

 As we pulled up to the home, I almost began to cry with the beauty of such a lovely home! The Landlord greeted us warmly and we had an amazing time looking around and I couldn't help but right away give my husband the thumbs up! That Home was EVERYTHING I told the Lord that I desired, from the number of rooms, to a HUGE backyard, to a big front yard with a rustic looking home on top of a small hill in order to have a higher look on everything surrounding us, I also desired hardwood floors only, an attached garage, a BIG fireplace, and an open kitchen to have room to move around in... Each and every thing I asked the Lord for, He provided in that home within the price we could easily afford!!!!

 We got the house that night and right away Dustin and I got down on our knees (literally) and thanked the Lord for His mercy and favor and goodness upon us... and thanked Him over and over for his guidance and protection on our journey to Tennessee and to our Home! We dedicated our Home to the Lord and invited Him to dwell and reign there and prayed over our home and plead the blood of Jesus in every corner of that home!

 The next day we unpacked our Uhaul (praise the Lord for our friend, James, who volunteered to help us unload the sofa, beds, and trunk so I wouldn't have to lift!), and before we unpacked one thing from our boxes we returned the uhaul and went and found a beautiful Christmas tree from a lot that farm all their trees in N. Carolina (not too far from the border of Tennessee), came home and made our house a home by decorating and lighting up the tree!

Our cherokee that wonderfully pulled this uhaul all the way from San Diego, CA to Tennessee!!!

Sadie approves of our new life!

 I can't believe it, I can't believe how far we have come since our wedding day 2 years ago to now... we started at a humble beginning now look how far the Lord has brought us and how much higher He is taking us! Thank you, Jesus... Your goodness is amazing to me!!!!!!

We stopped by North Little Rock, Arkansas

 

Taken by our dear friend, Aaron at the Old Mill, Little Rock, Arkansas

Tennessee... Here we come!

I am so excited! In a week my beloved and I are moving (along with our sweet Sadie girl!) to our new home... Tennessee! 

 The original move was to Fairhope, Alabama (we fell in love with that small town last summer), but my husband who is a man who is an amazing leader of his home, told me a month ago that he was not feeling a peace about us moving to Alabama, of course, I was crushed! I wanted to go to that charming little town like we originally "planned" (amazing how we think what we plan will go as planned, when many times God may have planned something quite different for us! ) and begin a family and a home!

 But I immediately regretted my pouty attitude I bestowed upon him and a couple of nights later (while we were playing our usual card game of Phase 10 at our local Starbucks), I had to ask forgiveness for not fully trusting what the Lord was putting in His heart! So I asked, "Where is it that you think we should go?", Dustin then said, "I really think we should move to Tennessee.", I paused for a moment then looked at him with a smile and said, "Where Jesus leads you I will follow, let's go!"... Hehe if Abraham could obey the Lord when He told him "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.", then who are we to doubt? Abraham, i'm sure, had absolutely no idea where the Lord would take him and yet he went, the Lord was much more merciful with us by giving us a location before we "went"! ;)

We are blessed that I know 2 friends who live there and I am super excited about moving to a brand new land, and to a state that is not only conservative but has strong Christian values which this country so desperately need!!!

 Today, we decided to go and enjoy our last Saturday sightseeing around our favorite spots, which was a local coffee shop (they know us there quite well! Haha! I am desperately going to miss their coffee! Sigh...) and Coronado...

 While we were taking photos together (selfies as they call it! Haha!), for some reason a beautiful hope came over me with extreme joy about our new adventure!!! I turned to look at my beloved to tell him what I was feeling that moment, when I looked in my husbands eyes, I saw a future that was full of a deeper sense of joy, love, fulfillment, adventure, peace, comfort and growth, not just individually but as a married couple... more so than what we have now!!! Why? With a marriage founded on Jesus Christ, all things are possible and the Lord reminded me right there, "Elisa, here are the plans I have for you... a plan to prosper you both and not harm you... to give you both a future and a hope."! Thank you, Jesus!

 Today, Dustin and I were carefree and full of excitement and enjoying each moment we had together... because in a weeks time... To the east we go, to a promised land we are ready to claim to not just take dominion of, but to dedicate it to the Lord of our Marriage... Jesus Christ!!!

My beloved and I! I love this photo! Taken on Coronado Beach!

Overlooking San Diego from Coronado!

Beautiful San Diego!

We had a lot of fun digging in the beach and being silly!

Dustin using the panorama on my phone and I decided to say hello! :)

I can never imagine living my life without my beloved by my side and I by his! I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine!