Finding My Way Home…

My how four years AWAY has given me a new outlook on, well, everything.

My life changed forever in December of 2006.  That’s the month that my family and I made the decision to start our journey in Chicago.  We ran around like kids on Christmas morning.  There’s  SNOW…Lake Michigan…The Magnificent Mile…Navy Pier…OPRAH (okay…I’m really the only one that said that, but I did get to mark that one off my bucket list last year…check check…).  In short, everything was wonderful and new as long as we were all together.

We have shared some wonderful memories, connected with some amazing people, and I personally have GROWN beyond anything that I could have ever imagined.  You see…I am just a small town Georgia girl…I rarely traveled and was just as content at home playing board games and in bed by 9:30 than to ever be out on the town, well unless I am doing The Electric Slide at a wedding reception with some of my BESTEST clients, but this small town girl has been and seen SO much over the last four years that there is no way to ever go back and not have a very REAL appreciation for people from all over this world, and how they live their daily lives connected to their land, their seasons and their community.

I knew when I posted this blogpost in January, of this year, that what we, as a family, were about to do was crazy…

and that we may fall flat on our face in the process..

but we would only be stronger in the end.

Little did I know at the time that I would be the only one left in Chicago by the middle of the year…Chandler is away at school in Kansas, and Mr. Whitmer is traveling the globe with his job…so thanks to their kindness and encouragement, we have all agreed that it is time to send me HOME!!!

I am trying to relish in the moment here yet excited to be FINALLY in the REAL moment there.  Atlanta is my home…there is no denying it…maybe it’s my natural affection for “y’all”, sweet tea, grits and all of the things that I have in common with the folks that live there.  Whatever it is, I must say that a part of me feels like I never left thanks to all of you and your loyal dedication to TriciaLee Photography.  I had no idea that 4 years into this move I would still have an opportunity to come back to Atlanta and shoot a couple of times a month.  Your friendship and dedication has not gone unnoticed, and I will be putting together a “Welcome Home” special as soon as I get myself settled in, south of  the Mason Dixon Line.  Oh and the plan is to be settled in before the first snow fall here in Chi-town…as the old saying goes.

Speaking of settled…things are underway for me to find myself a NEW place in Atlanta.  I keep hearing that it is suppose to be a “BUYER’S MARKET” and I am officially a buyer, but I’m having a heck of a time finding that special place where I want to hang my hat…I now realize that I am not just buying a dreamy getaway in Georgia, I am preparing to purchase a HOME filled with all the things that really matter.  In other words, I plan on staying for a VERY long time…if I had my pickins, I would stumble upon a dream cottage exactly like the one in these pictures and I do mean EXACTLY, I would LOVE to hear what you guys think and if you have suggestions on where I can find it, PLEASE chime in!

So…thanks for letting me share this with you this morning…truth is I having been dying to share…

These are the days…in which our journey continues to stay the course…

and our new lives will begin at HOME.

AND—with all of this being said…I am off to the gym for one of those endorphin rushes that seem to help me jump-start even the busiest of weeks…

Happy Monday!

ENJOY!!!