Here it comes...

The end. It's scarily close. I still can't believe we'll be moving away from Dornoch in merely a month and four days. I feel like we were just preparing for goodbyes and taking care of all the details of moving to Scotland a couple of months ago, not the couple of years ago that it was.

We talk about the logistics of moving all the time: the stuff we need to get rid of, what needs to be packed, our schedule once we get home (which is already super busy for the first 2.5 months of being there. oh yeah, and then 1 month after that we'll have a baby, so that will be a bit busy as well. a great kind of busy though!), the growing to-do list, etc. But I don't think it's hit me that we're actually, seriously, really, physically, leaving. I take that back, it started to hit me tonight.

We just got home from being treated to an awesome dinner (at Luigi's, our favorite restaurant in Dornoch which we will miss immensely) with some wonderful friends. Two couples we have had the joy and privilege of meeting and getting to know over the past two years: Valerie & Alister and Fin & Margo. They have been such an encouragement to us, more so than I think they'll ever know or than I could accurately express. Their lives are incredible testaments to God's faithfulness, they reflect his love in such vivid ways.

They showered us with beautiful gifts, handmade gifts that are both very unique and will be great reminders of our time in Dornoch. I tried to express our gratitude for the gifts as well as for their friendship, but of course the words seemed to come out in a blubbering mess that didn't amount to anything close to what I was trying to say. And it was then that I realized a few things: 1. there were some tears looming precariously on the horizon, 2. the hope is that we will visit Dornoch and see all of our friends again, but who knows what the future holds, there will probably be people we might never ever see again in this lifetime, and 3. this whole leaving business is tough work.

All things that I've known previously, but the reality of situations usually hits us slowly; a fact which I am eternally grateful for since it dramatically decreases my rate of freaking out and being overwhelmed by various events.

We are different people than when we were two years ago. Different in a good way. We've had to experience things we never would've wanted to experience, and we've also experienced things we never dreamed we'd be able to experience. We feel like we've grown as a result of those things, which makes each one of them worthwhile.

I'm rambling, but at least it's an accurate reflection of what my brain is like at the moment: a jumbled mess.

Summary: I'm so grateful, for all the people who have graciously and lovingly welcomed us to into their lives. You will all forever hold a place in our hearts.

ps. Alister and Fin are incredibly talented artists. You should definitely see some of their work: Al is a graphic design artist, and Fin is a photographer.