It’s a bittersweet thought to be moving away from Lynchburg, Virginia. David transfered in 2008 to Liberty University. After graduating college, I got a job and moved to Lynchburg in April of 2010. So he’s been here for 4 years and I’ve been here for 2. We have loved our time in the ‘burg. Here’s our top 10 list of things we will miss the most (in no particular order):

1. Friends
We’ve developed many wonderful friendships over the past few years. From game nights, to sporting events, to Buffalo Wild Wings nights, to just hanging out – we will miss our friends a lot!

2. One Community Church and Our Small Group
After I joined David in Lynchburg, we began to search for home church together. We heard about OneCC from some friends, and really connected with the church’s heart and mission: Love God, Love People. Our OneCC family has been a blessing in our lives. We’ve been challenged by the teaching, enjoyed volunteering in community projects, and  thrived from the fellowship. This past year we joined a small group. It was great  to dig into the Word and each other’s lives!

3. Waterstone Pizza

One of David’s and my favorite things to do is eat. We REALLY like food. Especially good food. And Waterstone Pizza has the most delicious, brick oven pizza. All of their pizzas have a wonderfully thin, crispy crust. I could eat here every night of the week for the rest of my life.

4. Liberty University

Liberty has been an endless source of entertainment while we’ve lived in Lynchburg. We loved tailgating before the football games and have attended a lot of other sporting events like hockey, basketball, baseball, and softball. Liberty hosts several concerts throughout the year and we’ve gotten to see The Fray, Needtobreathe, Ben Rector, Family Force Five, Dave Barnes, and many others.

5. Our Workplaces and Co-Workers
David and I have both been blessed with really great jobs while we lived in Lynchburg. We will greatly miss our co-workers, especially those who truly became friends.

6. Our First Home Together

When I moved to Lynchburg, we had just gotten engaged and I shared an apartment with a friend. It was exciting to search for our first home together. We found the cutest little two bedroom house to rent. It was so nice to have a backyard and a place to call our own. Even with its flaws, it was the perfect home to start our life together.

7.  J.Crew Warehouse Sample Sales
Although neither of us are highly fashionable people, we both love a good deal. J.Crew is headquartered in Lynchburg, and every so often they will have a weekend warehouse sale. People drive from 8 hours away to participate in the event. The line wraps around the building, and they only let so many people in the building at a time. You are handed a plastic garbage bag and a price list. From there, you just go to town stuffing your bag with items to try on (in the middle of the warehouse – no dressing rooms!). It’s exhilarating and exhausting. But for $10 pants and $15 cashmere cardigans, totally worth it. One of my  most recent deals is getting a pair of $200 black pumps for $30. David’s all time favorite is his $1 Duncan Imperial yo-yo.

8. Area Hot Spots and Events

We loved going to the Farmer’s Market downtown, browsing through all of the many antique and thrift stores, disc golfing, and hanging out in the parks. Kind of adding to #3, there’s a lot of really wonderful restaurants in the area – from Farmbasket, to Main Street Eatery, to Stella’s Bakery. There was rarely a weekend where we could say that we were bored.

9. The Proximity To Other Really Cool Places
Lynchburg is centrally located to places like Charlottesville, Roanoke, North Carolina, and Washington, DC, to name a few highlights. We’ve taken several trips and toured a lot of cool, historic places on the east coast. We’ve definitely put a few thousand miles on the car since we’ve been married!

10. The Mountains

Virginia has beautiful landscapes, and Lynchburg is surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sometimes I’d forget, and suddenly notice them while driving. That was always a nice surprise, especially when the sun was setting. We’ve hiked Sharp Top near Roanoke, and always tried to take our visitors to the LU Monogram.

We have no idea where our travels with take us after Turkey. We don’t know if we’ll return to Lynchburg, move to Michigan, stay overseas, or settle in some other state. But wherever we go, we will always consider Lynchburg as one of our homes.