Happy and Sad

We have great news! Our house sold in 3 days! We were so excited. It was like a ton of bricks was lifted off us. I couldn't fully get excited about the move and figure out the logistics of the move, knowing we had a house that could be still sitting on the market. On a sad note, we found a new home for our dogs Duke and Bailey. For those of you who have known us for a while, you know we've had Duke since Matt was a Junior at ACU and we got Bailey a month before we got married. They were our babies before we had Hayden, but with the move, having to live in a duplex until we find a house etc., we had to find them a new home. We posted them on Craigs List (how sad is that?) and requested that they stay together. A lady came and got them on Sunday and it was so sad. She has a son and his wife and their two kids who live with her, and a teenaged daughter, so they will get lots of attention. She emailed us this morning and said both of the dogs have been sleeping with her daughter, they've been going for walks every day, and seem to be adjusting quite well. I cried on Sunday when they drove away and Matt had to fight back the tears too. Then we went to church on Sunday night and asked one of the elders to read a letter to the congregation. I wasn't expecting him to get "choked up" when he read it, but he did. My eyes filled up with tears and I really understood how hard this move is going to be. Matt and I have said when we moved to NC, it was a new adventure, he had a new job, we were buying our first house etc. We also knew we'd be going back to Texas and Oklahoma often to see family. With this move, we are leaving a great state and have grown so much in the 2 and a half years that we've been here. We had our first child here, we bought our first home, and we really learned the importance of a good church family. Everyone here has opened their hearts and homes to us on so many occasions and we leave here with nothing but happy memories. I just pray now that we stay in touch with everyone. I know people say "we'll come see you" and "we'll stay in touch" but once everyone goes on with their lives, you kind of forget to maintain old friendships and memories. Hopefully this won't happen. North Carolina will always be special to the Noe's for so many reasons, but one huge one is that Hayden will always be able to say he was born here. We are trying to find some keepsakes for him to take with us. Hayden and I only have 9 more days here, but Matt will be back and here until the 3rd of January. So our lives right now consists of packing, packing, and "reliving" great moments. We will get to spend one more evening with our friends here this coming Saturday. We are having a Chili supper and Cowboy's watching party. I'm not sure if I'll have anything to post before we leave, but I'll be back once we're settled in Texas. Until then......