Photos of Our Mississippi Adventure

Here's our new life in Mississippi! We're missing the midwest, but loving the south. The Lord has certainly blessed our family in our new community.

Liliana's second first day of school. Poor baby had to meet her classmates with cuts and bruises all over her face (from a nasty spill on Halloween). She now goes to school three days a week, rather than two. That's been an adjustment for both mommy and Liliana. She seems to love her teachers and new friends, and her teacher says she fit right in on her first day.

Leila started eating rice cereal about 10 days ago. She loves to blow raspberries when her mouth is full, so the food flies all over. As you can see here, she enjoys mealtime. As a matter of fact, she enjoys just about everything. Leila is the happiest baby I've ever encountered.
Less than a week after we arrived in Mississippi, we ventured to New Orleans with the church nursery group. And I'm so glad we did! Not only did we have a fabulous family outing, but we also met a bunch of young families who quickly became friends. We already feel very connected.

Liliana loves the zoo, but the animals couldn't compete with the playgrounds. She had such a ball climbing and sliding that she didn't even care to look at the exhibits. In fact, she and her little friend, Charlie, pretended to build a fire with sticks for over 30 minutes while the adults chatted.

Here are the primate girls. Of course, my faves were the monkeys, chimps and gorillas. Leila watched and smiled at the people walking by all day long. She is extraordinarily social. In fact, she often chooses social time over eating and sleeping.

Here we are at the Hattiesburg zoo. After having so many wonderful experiences at the St. Louis zoo, we found our H'burg outing to be rather anticlimactic. We took a "behind the scenes" tour that lasted exactly eight minutes. Okay, so what the community lacks in animal attractions, it more than compensates with friendly people.

Liliana and her pal, Vivian, pet a baby crocodile at the H'burg zoo.

Liliana dressed up like Daddy, who wears a suit to work almost every single day. His job is quite demanding, and we don't see him as much as we used to. Liliana has definitely noticed. Almost every day, she comments that she misses her daddy.

Liliana dressed up like Mommy, perfectly accessorized with STL hat and sleeping baby.


Leila absolutely adores her new exersaucer. She looks so proud when she creates sounds and music with the various toys. And she seems like such a big girl standing up in the seat. I can't believe she's already 20 weeks old!

Liliana's school held their annual Thanksgiving feast on Friday. Here she is as an Indian Princess. As I snapped this photo, she just finished saying, "Mama, hurry! My teeth are chattering!"

Here's Liliana at the feast. Notice the blonde braid in the back. It was the insurance policy, just in case she balked on the wig.

Connecting

After less than three weeks in Mississippi, I find that I am quickly embracing my inner Southern Belle. My tendency toward a fast-paced way of life is showing signs of a slowdown, and my Midwestern accent has adopted a slight drawl. And, of course, I've always appreciated a cleverly accessorized outfit and a perfectly coiffed mane!

The people I've met are so friendly and caring, and it seems that many folks are going out of their way to help us feel welcome. We also dived head-first into church and community activities, which has accelerated our ability to get connected. Apart from intermittent moments of sadness and longing, I'm starting to feel more at home. I still miss our St. Louis lives, but I also see great things ahead here.

I wish I could say the same for sweet Liliana. She has been having a very difficult time adjusting to the new environment. She asks to go "back home to Missouri" almost daily, and she frequently cries about missing her friends, school and our neighborhood. Her behavior has been extremely hard to manage, and her mood seems to swing by the minute. To make matters worse, it appears that poor Liliana is experiencing effects of a concussion sustained on Halloween eve. Her balance and coordination are so out of whack that she continually falls and/or has accidents involving her head & face. On top of all that, she has also been battling a viral infection for the past few days. So, please remember her in your prayers...and lift up her health and heart to the Great Healer!

As I close, I must express our heartfelt thanks to those who continue to support and encourage us along this journey. We are so grateful for family and friends, old and new!

Many blessings,
Ramona

Missing Home

Today it hit me. I don't live in St. Louis, Missouri. I live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Until now, the move has felt more like a vacation. We hung out with family, went to a couple zoos, dined at restaurants and stayed with Wade's parents. Now that we're living in our new home, reality is beginning to set in.

I can no longer walk out of my front door and hang out with close friends. I can't catch up with pals at Sunday services and in the carpool line. I can't see our beloved small group friends every Wednesday night. There's no Trader Joe's, Houlihans, or Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. I miss my friends. I miss my old life. I'm homesick...very homesick.

On the flip side, I'm keenly aware of the blessings in this new adventure. We're close to family, the beach and friendly people who say, "Yes, Ma'am." Wade has a fab new job, Liliana's new school is terrific, our new church family is wonderful and I've had the opportunity to decorate our new house. But everything is new and it's just not home...yet. Please pray for my heart as I seek to serve Him in this new place.

Blessings,
Ramona

Quick Update

We're still alive and up to our necks in boxes. Hopefully we'll be living in our new home very soon. Today we took a break from renovating and unpacking to go with our church group to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Not only was it a nice diversion, but it was also a terrific opportunity to make new friends. We need them, especially when we're missing our old friends so much!

Southern Greetings

We're in Mississippi, ya'll! And it has been a whirlwind. We arrived at 2:00am Sunday, slept for a few hours and then unloaded the moving trucks all day. After a short snooze, it was off to school for Liliana's first day (photo forthcoming) and a frenzy of unpacking & arranging.

The house is coming along, slowly but surely. All of the updates are beautiful (thanks to my hard-working hubby)...and we should be able to move in in about a week. Right now, we're shacked up with the in-laws and getting acquainted with our new hometown.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers during this time of transition. We miss you, St. Louis! Come visit soon!

Farewell, St. Louis!

Say it ain't so, Joe! Here we are on Halloween as the Palin family. Today we finish packing, load up the trucks and head to our new home in Mississippi. We are so sad to be leaving the people we love, but we look forward to this new adventure. Thank you for all the sweet memories, friends. We love you and we'll see you soon!

Every blessing,

Ramona (for the family of four)