"Another sun-soaked season fades away...

...you have stolen my heart." Stolen by Dashboard Confessionals

I have arrived in my new home, I am unpacked and moved in and...deliciously happy. Why, you may ask? Is it merely a new location? No, it isn't. Is it the fabulous job? No, that hasn't started yet. Is it new people? No, I liked the old ones, thanks. What is it, then? (Picture of me with our pumpkin on our balcony.)

Friends, neighbors, total strangers who read my blog...I have great news. :) I am so utterly delighted to tell you that "that man" as Bella calls him asked me out and we are, yes we are really, truly, officially dating!!! And yes, I'm that excited about it. And now and in future posts I can refer to him as the Boyfriend, and you'll all know who I mean. :)

Our relationship so far has been...shall we say, untraditional? But we're doing our best, and he is simply the most thoughtful, dear person ever to walk this earth. We live two hours apart now, at my new home, and that makes all this a little more complicated, especially when you throw in work, family obligations, school...yes, life. But it is worth it. And I could gush all day (and no doubt you'll hear me gush in future posts) about how wonderful he is, and how much fun we have, and what a surprise it all was...but I'll stop for now.

He had to take a roadtrip this weekend so he was driving up from the south to see me on his way home, so I wanted to have a nice, restful afternoon with him. I decided a picnic was low key--plus I heard there were some very cute parks around, and I wanted to find them. It was so fun, what with the sun shining but the fall chill just barely beginning, and the leaves turning all sorts of colors around us and falling. My picnic was very successful, if I do say so myself. :) Then we went for a walk and he very sweetly consented to watch Bolt with me ("It was awesome! It was beyond awesome! It was...Beyawesome!") and then we hung out for a while with Jolly Berry, and then he took me out to dinner.

He took me to the Boathouse, a beeeeeee-yootiful (swanky) restaurant in town, and we had amazing seafood (I had rainbow trout, and he had salmon) and white zinfandel, and to make the evening absolutely perfect, when he brought me back to the house, Jolly Berry greeted us at the door with news that the Bengals (his team) and made an incredible comeback at the end of the last quarter against the Steelers and won, so the Boyfriend was absolutely ecstatic and I have a feeling it was one of his favorite days ever...though not all because of me. :P

So here are some pictures from that evening.

Life is so full of surprises! I'm so happy and even though there are a lot of big questions...God is so good. :) And I am trusting Him with this and the future and I am so grateful to all of you who have been praying for me. :) Now you can start praying for us.

Love!