I have missed blogging and it has taken a lot of strength not to type what has been going on! I took a short break because what was happening was so important to me that I did not want to put it out there until it was accomplished. There are times when I don’t want to tempt the devil!

We never expected our moving process to take so long! We were not able to move into the first place we really liked because we have a dog. After that we found an even better place and were not able to move in because other people wanted it too and started a bidding war for it. We walked away because we pay for value not for price. Unfortunately the other people that also wanted that apartment do not see it that way and are now overpaying for something because of their fear of loss. We have something bigger than fear of loss, we have fear of God. Our faith gave us the comfort that another condo in Miami Beach would turn up for and it did. Praise the Lord, we will be moving in next week to a condo that accepts our puppy and is in a great neighborhood.  Prayer works! I cannot stress that enough.

I love our puppy Bentley so much! He is so cute and loveable. Some of my friends even say that he doesn’t look real because he resembles a stuffed animal so much. However, I found my poor and loveable puppy to be more of a pest than pet lately. Let me explain. We are still looking for a condo to live in Miami Beach. One of the hardest things to find in Miami Beach is parking- even if you are a resident. We asked our kind realtor to find us something with parking. She found us a great place within our price range that had parking and an OCEAN view. I could not believe it! Not only could we sit in the balcony and have a meal or hang out while looking out onto the water but we could see the water and boats passing by from the pool. Let me not forget to mention the great closet space the place had! We were so excited and put in an offer immediately!

Now that we are in Miami everything has changed. Everyday God shows us more reasons why he opened the doors for us to come to Miami. Seeing God’s plan unveil before our eyes gives us the reassurance we needed to know that we made the right decision. Part of the transition has included attending a new church. We were received with open arms and could not be more excited to get involved with the youth and the activities they have going on. I know I said I would stop being Matthew’s self-proclaimed manager but I could not help myself. The moment I heard the church’s talented praise team I knew Matthew would love participating and volunteered him right away. He (thankfully) did not mind and is ready to attend practice with the praise team soon.

We have decided to take our little family from Tampa, FL to Miami, FL. Given that my extended family lives in Miami, the city has a tremendously diverse culture, great opportunities for travel, and it has beautiful beaches it seemed like an obvious choice for us. Yet, it was not. We took a few months after the wedding to decide where we should live. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Tampa to begin with but we knew we needed a change. We considered Michigan, Tennessee, Washington DC, Orlando, and even living overseas. After much prayer and deliberation Miami won and we could not be more excited about it!

It’s been a crazy week but I would not change it for the world! Our 6 month anniversary was amazing. We went to the movie theater in the afternoon and it was empty. It felt as if we had privately rented the theater for our special day. It was so romantic. The movie was followed by an amazing dinner at a Greek restaurant. Although I asked my husband not to get me any gifts (to avoid having to pack anything else for our move) he completely ignored my request and made sure I felt special in the midst of our crazy week. He gave me a beautiful card that immediately had my eyes filled with tears. The message he wrote on the card was so heartfelt that it took me a second to realize that he also gifted me earrings and a perfume. What a wonderful way to celebrate our journey together!