Hi Reader,

I don’t usually share personal stories like this in emails, but as August wraps up, I wanted to pause and bring you behind the scenes of a big shift in our life—one I’m still wrapping my head around.

Five years ago, we bought our “forever” home just outside of Washington, D.C. We added a tire swing, a trampoline, a basketball hoop—everything to make it feel like home for our five kids. I’d watch them out the window, running through the woods and playing in the yard, and dream about one day seeing my grandkids doing the same.

Then, everything changed.

Last December, my husband got word we might be moving to California. That door quietly closed by February, and I’ll be honest—I was the only one relieved. But in April, when he said “We might be moving to Florida,” I about hung up the phone.

I wasn’t budging. Ten years in the area created some deep roots. A church I loved. Friends who had become family. This was home.

One of my closest friends told me she was going to pray that the Lord would put us on the same page as my husband. I remember thinking, “That’s a 50-50 kind of prayer.” But when she said those words, something in me shifted. I knew, we were moving to Florida.

From the moment I accepted it to the day we moved, it was a blur—5 to 6 weeks of listing our house, packing up seven lives, and somehow landing in a new one. I was in a fog, moving fast, heart catching up with feet.

Just a few weeks ago, my husband returned to our old house to check on things. He walked through each room—each one holding memories. In the backyard, there’s a little creek he cared for like it was his job—clearing brush, rearranging rocks, tending it like the 99 sheep.

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He told me something had changed. Since the time we had left, the creek had shifted course.

In that moment, he realized something: maybe we won’t be coming back after all. Just like we can’t control the direction of a creek, we can’t control the direction God leads us either.

So here I am, in Florida. A place I never planned to be back in, living a life I didn’t expect—but trying to stay open to new directions, just like the creek.

If you’re facing an unexpected turn right now—or feel like your plans have shifted without your say—I just want to remind you: you’re not alone. And it might not be the forever home you had in mind… but it still might be exactly where you’re supposed to be.

XO - Ashley