https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts daily 0.75 2024-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/cc5d8b51-ab2d-4cdd-9e9f-759cd2bd442b/irina-iriser-AV0M5WwJGwM-unsplash.jpg The Blog - What Really Counts When we first started thinking about making the move back to my hometown of Hayesville, NC there were a lot of people who thought we were just flat out crazy. The endless comments about how small it was, what it didn’t have, what we would be missing, lack of this, lack of that, the home we were leaving, and the list went on and on and on. Let me just say, I am a thinker by nature who can quickly get in my own head and worry about EVERY little detail. So..when these comments were made, that’s exactly what happened. My mind and Mama heart went crazy with worry about impact to my daughter. I shed so many tears thinking and worrying about my daughter and what was best for her future. When I finally took the time to step back from it all and really looked at the things that were being pointed out to me, they were just that. They were all things that could be physically counted in some way or another. While I knew those things mattered, they weren’t what mattered most to me. What I wanted most for my daughter were those things that I felt were so priceless that they couldn’t be counted. I wanted that hometown where people knew my daughter by name. A place she could wake up and really breathe in the fresh mountain air. A place should could walk in the woods and see wildlife at every corner. A place she could grow up with cousins her age and make memories that would last her a lifetime. A place who came together under the Friday night lights and a place who loved you no matter how much or little you had. I wanted her to feel at home around every corner. While my values may not be the same as others, they are mine and they are what I dreamed of giving my daughter since the first pink line appeared. So here we are, back at home, and living the life we hoped for and with a little girl we never stopped praying for. https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts/JustOne monthly 0.5 2023-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/1667158615099-I5G6WJNA3T0CHV8VM02S/unsplash-image-pYaKs30p9zg.jpg The Blog - Just One https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts/community-matters monthly 0.5 2022-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/4b112b69-1500-4246-8b13-828f91797658/School+Supply+Drive.jpg The Blog - Community Matters - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts/more-than-a-game monthly 0.5 2022-04-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/1646676618008-9KTTWDXE7UG3DW62S20G/Dalton.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/1646678275962-QXKI5JAF49GMJUM72CLL/Seth.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/cd12750d-8ede-4097-abde-ed3b95fe3f39/Team+Photo.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game - Make it stand out Hayesville Yellow Jackets, March 2022 “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” ― Phil Jackson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/ac225f39-4369-48e9-b987-b50ae432a824/Jake+Shooting.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game - A beautiful jumper from Jake McTaggart who finished the game with 32 points. “All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have three characteristics: they play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard.” ― Larry Brown https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/870be2c0-d8e5-4415-a590-5ce75d8fb182/Best+Student+Image.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/6e795fb6-58d0-4436-908f-566e99b53a1e/Brooke.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game - Make it stand out These ladies are all smiles headed to cheer for their Yellow Jackets https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/32fbc2d1-f813-49ac-9268-7c932f6823d0/Kolby.jpg The Blog - More Than Just A Game - Senior Kolbe Ashe, the focus of a box-and-one defense, continued his leadership finding gaps in the zone and dishing off to open teammates. “The two ingredients in basketball success are playing hard and playing intelligently.” ― Pete Carroll https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts/the-value-of-bucket-friends monthly 0.5 2022-10-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/503e229b-9af3-4bbd-ac58-b8e5eb1a6b62/BUCKET.jpg The Blog - Value Of Bucket Friends https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts/thank-you-coach monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/91412589-0275-4f88-b7b2-4a0a908a8dec/0098+%2893%29.jpg The Blog - Thank you Coach https://www.theruralnotebook.com/all-posts/blog-post-imperfectmom-9br7p monthly 0.5 2022-01-30 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About The Rural Notebook If you’ve ever asked yourself any of the questions below, you’re probably in the right place. “What is small town rural life really like?” “Could I make the move to a rural town?” “Could I be happy in a small town?” “Would my kids be happy in a rural town?” “What are the pro/cons of rural life” “What do people do in a small town?” Hi, I am Amanda, the face behind The Rural Notebook. I grew up in Hayesville, NC, a beautiful rural town about 2 hours to anywhere (Atlanta, Ga., Asheville, NC, Knoxville, TN, you get the picture). I moved away after high school and spent my college and adult years in the larger cities building my career and traveling. Now, I am married with a young daughter and a sweet fur baby, and my goals look a little different. In 2021 after dealing with the impacts of the pandemic, we decided to make a move back home in search of a more relaxed environment. My husband and I both have full-time jobs and have worked from home for several years, so making this move was an easy decision knowing we would continue with the careers we enjoyed. I am a flower-loving, antique collecting, creative introvert by nature, so blogging is the perfect atmosphere for me to not only share our story but some of the projects I find myself involved in when my mind gets restless. So now you have a little more about me; welcome to The Rural Notebook and my story of coming home. https://www.theruralnotebook.com/social-links daily 0.75 2022-01-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/c33177d4-dfdb-40b5-a8ff-7102fd1b7e48/A-30.jpg Social Links - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.theruralnotebook.com/privacy-policy daily 0.75 2021-11-29 https://www.theruralnotebook.com/disclaimer daily 0.75 2021-11-29 https://www.theruralnotebook.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-11-22 https://www.theruralnotebook.com/mytown daily 0.75 2022-01-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/dda632a0-f673-4887-985b-09ea3c3b1675/151758376_921060812031704_2389040568427157667_n.jpg Favorites The Beal Center https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/d8b58142-dd12-4ee3-8b44-aa3cbff25063/lake-chatuge-dam-suzy.jpg Favorites Lake Chatuge https://www.theruralnotebook.com/home daily 1.0 2022-12-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/abfde218-1ceb-45ce-99ed-0f3326569a7a/Denim+Ipad+Stock+image.jpg Home - Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/0ec069a9-b8fa-4f0e-99ca-7b6d91f8ddd1/irina-iriser-AV0M5WwJGwM-unsplash.jpg Home - WHAT REALLY COUNTS When we first started thinking about moving back to my hometown of Hayesville, NC, many people thought we were just flat-out crazy. The endless comments about how small it was, what it didn't have, what we would be missing, lack of this, lack of that, the home we were leaving, and the list went on and on and on. I am a thinker by nature who can quickly get in my head and worry about EVERY little detail. So..when these comments were made, that's precisely what happened. My mind and Mama heart went crazy with worry about the impact on my daughter. I shed so many tears thinking and worrying about my daughter and what was best for her future. When I finally took the time to step back from it all and really looked at the things that were being pointed out to me, they were just that. They were all things that could be physically counted in some way or another. While I knew those things mattered, they weren't what mattered most to me. NOT EVERYTHING THAT COUNTS CAN BE COUNTED What I wanted most for my daughter were those things that I felt were so priceless that they couldn't be counted. I liked that hometown where people knew my daughter by name. A place she could wake up and breathe in the fresh mountain air. A place she could walk in the woods and see wildlife at every corner. A place she could grow up with cousins her age and make memories that would last her a lifetime. A place that came together under the Friday night lights and a place that loved you no matter how much or little you had. I wanted her to feel at home around every corner. While my values may not be the same as others, they are mine, and they are what I dreamed of giving my daughter since the first pink line appeared. So here we are, back at home and living the life we hoped for, and with a little girl, we never stopped praying for. Welcome to our journey of rural life, love, adventures, and a whole lot of in between. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/c683e20a-09f6-4e7b-a0cb-19bef7ad4847/Periodical12.jpg Home - Around Town https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/16cbea76-ac1c-4bde-ac7d-13ca3f4d682d/Image.jpg Home - lifestyle https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/147852ee-6c4a-4123-bc9d-3a229d5f2fa3/91642472-_T7A4741-HDR.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/1ba0d616-bde6-467e-88dd-cf1c33d417cf/91642473-_T7A0828-HDR.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/a457a1c0-9fd4-49f1-9be9-85300a28e6b0/Hydrangea.jpg Home “To have looked for the best in others; laughed often and loved much; who gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who filled his niche and accomplished his task; Who has left the world better than he found it, whether by a beautiful garden, a healthy minded child, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who has given the best he had; Whose life was an inspiration; whose memory is a source of strength for others- this is to have succeeded.” ~ Mrs. A. J. Stanley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61826471dec2ad76a2d18ab6/b5672bf8-ad19-4b4f-9894-350f478f0375/91642469-_T7A0046-HDR.jpg Home https://www.theruralnotebook.com/store daily 0.75 2023-02-17