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   July 3rd, 2009.. June 25th, 2010.. August 28th, 2010.. February 26th, 2011.. January 8th, 2013.. November 27th, 2013. What do all of these dates have in common? These are all of the dates that I have moved to a new place between to Full Sail in Orlando (plus all the different apartments with different roommates around there) to California, to now in Birmingham!! On Monday the 18^th, we had two guys boxing all of our possessions up. We were lucky to still be able to sleep in our bed that night. Tuesday, three guys put everything into the really big Mayflower truck and finished by 2pm. Shortly after, one of our Full Sail friends, Corey, picked us up and drove us to our hotel pretty close to LAX.

   I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Don't forget to be thankful for the little things too: a soft bed, hot water, shoes, nutritious food choices & an always forgiving God! We had a nice big gathering yesterday with Michael's parents, NaNa, Parker and his South Korean girlfriend, Joo. As well as Christopher and Meredith and her mom, Mrs. Kim, and all the dogs. My favorite was the pumpkin cheesecake, but also enjoyed the turkey and ham and stuffing. Mmmm!!

   I have had a cold since Sunday the 17th, with a mix of sore throat, cough and congestion. I have been drinking orange juice and taking Nyquil for a whole week now, but I keep assuring everyone that I’m fine. My new saying is, “At least I didn’t have to eat mud for dinner!” So far it’s worked quiet nicely for myself. I got that sad bit from my book “Kisses from Katie” by Katie Davis. She said that some of the kids in Uganda have to be fed salt and mud to fill their bellies since their parents- if they have parents- are not able to afford rice and other staples. That is so terrible!

   Oh, a happier note, things in Birmingham have been going well so far. I loved seeing all the mix of autumn colors in the trees as Michael’s mom drove us home from the airport. I had to take a few pictures. My favorite might be the bright red, but I also love the almost gold colors. I'm glad I took them the day after we arrived too, because as each day passes and it gets a little colder and the wind blows, the leaves gather more along the sidewalks and less on the branches.

   Michael and I went to Spain Park, the Galleria mall, got pizza at Salvatore’s one day and Mrs. Patty’s dinner meals have been very delicious. I especially loved the flank steak, seasoned green beans and potato casserole. We went over to the condo a couple times to get another tour of where we will be living. I definitely forgot how close everything is here. Target, Wal-Mart, Ross, Michael’s Crafts, Dollar Tree, Kohl's- all within a driving distance of less than five minutes.

   When we get back in January, we will begin to start applying for new jobs. As well as getting new driver’s licenses, Alabama tags, a public library card for me, and figuring out what to do about our bank accounts- the bank we used in California does not have a branch in Birmingham.
   Next week we will drive down to Florida and spend two weeks with my best friends, Alana and Mia. I have actually enjoyed not taking pictures (except of moving progress on our condo) and not bringing my cell phone with us when we go places. I haven't been anywhere alone yet and I believe a cell phone is really in case of emergency. Anyway, I'll try to squeeze in one post next weekend with the best photos that Alana and I take. But aside from that, I might not update until closer to Christmas. Enjoy your holidays and also life in general.
   After all, "Life is what happens while you're looking down at your phone."
        ~Michelle Horton, EarlyMama.com