Core Truths

Making the decision to move from Texas to western North Carolina was, for the most part, fun and exciting. We got to tap back into the things that mattered most, we got to revisit parts of our hearts that had laid dormant, and we got to move towards the unknown with a renewed passion and purpose. But, that’s not to say it didn’t come with obstacles and difficult moments. There were a great deal of things we needed to consider and we had many things to figure out. For the most part, it was all a welcomed challenge. But there was one part—one difficult part. A part that was so difficult, it was the one thing that would have made me change my mind. The one thing that would have made me stay right where I was. When we made the decision to move, we knew we were fulfilling a dream in the making. We had longed to simplify our lives in every way possible. We so badly wanted to be in a place where we could play outside all seasons of the year. We dreamed of living in a small community in an old...

  It’s the early part of leaf season here in western North Carolina. And while the leaves are just starting to change where we live, it is a much different story at higher elevations. Brandon showed me a picture of what it currently looks like up along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I told the fam, “We should go…like right now…like put on your shoes and I’ll meet you in the car!” Truth be told, right before saying that out loud, I had other thoughts. Like, “We should go, but I kind of don’t feel like making the 45-minute scenic drive to get there,” and another like, “If I just stay here, I can wash another load of laundry.” But then I thought back to last year when we were planning our fall trip up here to see the leaves. Every single day, Brandon would show me pictures posted to Smoky Mountain Facebook groups of the changing leaves at different elevations. He was so worried that we wouldn’t get our timing right to be here, and that we would miss peak season. The fall leaves are so be...