These are a few of our favorite things...

It's been three weeks since we moved to our new home. I'm the kind that jumps in with both feet and gets familiar with the surroundings right away. Therefore, we've had more than our share of fun in the past few weeks. I thought I would highlight (with pictures even!) some of our favorite adventures so far.

Maci: Anywhere that she can find chocolate, she's happy. Needless to say, she's ecstatic here. We have started a tradition of going outside after naps to have a popsicle for snack. We made some homemade chocolate pudding popsicles one day. It ended up even worse than it looks.

Joel: "The bells," hands down. Each Tuesday evening in June, the campus offers concerts on their carillon, or bell tower. The highlight of the evening for Joel is that after the concert, there is a tour of the tower where you can climb to the top and even help ring the biggest bell. We have

been to the top of the tower five times so far (including during two campus tours), with our sixth and last visit for a while scheduled for this Tuesday.

Jonah: The Science Center was fun, and we all love that it's free. It's near Forest Park, very close to campus. Forest Park also houses the zoo, several museums, Turtle Park, great walking trails, etc. It's a great spot. Also, during our first bell tower concert, we had our first Ted Drewes frozen custard experience. Jonah quickly became a fan.

Darci: We live in a park. What more do I need to say? We explore as much of the 80 acres as we can every day. One of the many favorite places the kids like to visit is the fountain. We've also been enjoying our new shark pool. I'm so thankful to have so much time to spend together.

Micah: His favorite, least favorite, and everything in between is learning Greek, because that's all he does. He's doing great at it, so the time has been well spent. He does make sure to leave at least a little time for snuggling with us, though.

We're looking forward to see what new adventures are waiting around the bend for us. Although our lives are very different than they were a few short weeks ago, we feel so blessed to be on this journey. God is good, all the time.

Blessed Beyond Measure

"My life is a dream," Jonah announced at dinner tonight, while eating his favorite tater tot casserole. Here we are, unemployed, living on a shoestring, we can't get our house to close, we miss our friends and family like crazy, and we'll hardly see Micah for the next ten weeks, but nonetheless, I have to agree with Jonah. Our last nine days here have been nothing short of amazing.

We have met so many incredible people here who jump at the chance to open their hearts and homes to us. Our neighbors have shared their possessions with us, befriended our children, and become our new community in every sense of the word. We have benefitted from the generosity of others through donations of food, and we were able to treat the kids to a shopping spree at the campus second hand store for a grand total of $2.75.

Our kitchen cabinets are piled high, our closets contain enough hand-me-downs to last for years, our gas tanks are full, and our cups runneth over. We truly are blessed to overflowing. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. We really can feel the prayers. Many blessings from our family to yours.

Where to begin...

I'm a little too tired mentally and physically to be terribly eloquent here, but I'll touch on a few highlights of our first few days in our new home. The actual travel went well. The kids were angels. The unloading was a little rougher than expected, but not too bad. We have spent the last two days trying to balance the need to unpack and organize with the need to get the kids accustomed to their new surroundings. So, we've done some sightseeing, played outside a lot, and met lots of neighbors.

We're doing pretty well with getting settled. We still have a long way to go to get everything put where we want it, but we're very comfortable for now. We like our place, and we're having fun in our new hometown. Tomorrow we have our first play date with other seminary families, and we're going to a concert on the campus grounds. As long as the weather holds out it should be a fun day.

Blessings to you and yours!

Goodbye 2542

It's been a very productive Memorial Day weekend for us, thanks in large part to Grandma and Grandpa and Ash and Coley letting us loan out the kids for a while. We put a lot more stuff than we expected into storage, and took another big load up to my sister's for the garage sale. (Thanks Che Che and U.N.!) We have several boxes packed, and things are starting to look a little empty here at 2542.

We finally were notified of the actual unit number of our new home. Being able to picture where we'll actually be has really motivated me to get things going. The move is only 12 days away now. My checklist now has more things crossed off than are left to do. There are still some decisions to be made about what to take, store, sell, and buy when we get there. I'm praying for wisdom for that.

I'm also praying that we'll get some sleep around here. On Friday night, Joely decided to revert back to the sleep schedule he kept for his first two years - none. I can't even count how many times we had to take him back to his bed the last three nights. He knows something is up with us, but can't quite process what it is. I pray for peace and understanding for him.

We wish you a very happy Memorial Day. Blessings to you and yours.

Do Not Doubt

Oh, the pressure's on in our household. We move in less than three weeks now. We haven't really started packing, we don't have an actual address yet, we're not completely convinced that our house sale is going to come off without a hitch, we don't have my fall job plans or childcare lined up yet... But, the Lord tells us, "you must believe and not doubt."

What we have accomplished is a great deal of organization and purging of belongings. We have said a lot of goodbyes already. Micah's workin' the graph paper to determine what we'll have room for and where it will go. I have lists upon lists to get through, although quite a few items are already crossed off. We're not getting much sleep and the nerves are a smidge raw, but otherwise we're hanging in there. We have received some great encouragement in the last few days. We know that we will have so many people praying for us along this journey. Even so, it seems that as soon as we have peace about one area, something else pops up that we weren't expecting.

So, for today, we're clinging to this: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:2-6

Thank you for your partnership with us along this journey. Blessings to you and yours!

Nightmares and Catching Puke

I apologize for being indelicate, but we've been dealing with a lot of throw up and other unsavory substances at our house this week. Ironically, Micah had a nightmare Saturday night that he got 15 minutes notice on Sunday morning that he needed to preach the Mother's Day sermon at church. So, I asked him... If you really did have to preach that sermon with 15 minutes notice, what would you say? He said... I'd talk about catching puke. I requested further explanation.

Micah said that the Lord's heart is a lot like that of a mother with a sick child. If anyone but your own child threw up, you would back away immediately. But, when your own child is sick, you rush in there with cupped hands at the first sign of nausea. That's what the Lord does for us when we're dealing with all kinds of ick in our lives. He wants to be there like the concerned mother with cupped hands, offering to bear the brunt of the load. I'm not sure that analogy will ever really make it to a pulpit, but it was an interesting picture for me to ponder.

As for us, this week we pray for health. That Joely will overcome his ick, and that the rest of us will stay healthy. We have a big few days coming up. We have a lot of goodbyes to say this weekend. We're thankful that no matter what we do or where we go, we will always have the One who has the whole world in His hands right there with us. God is good, all the time.

GREAT Fridays!

I have always loved Fridays, but the last two have been extra special for our family. Last Friday after a great deal of prayer and preparation, Micah passed his last seminary qualifier exam - eight whole days before the deadline! Now he is a certified beginner in the study of the Old Testament, New Testament, and Christian Doctrine. Bring on Greek and Hebrew! I pray for continued stamina and wisdom for Micah as he has SO much more studying to do in the next few years.

As for this Friday, earlier tonight we signed a contract on our home! We took the for sale sign out of the yard, and are so thankful to be able to spend this weekend doing something other than getting ready for an open house. Farmer's Market, fishing, and baseball here we come! We pray that all goes well with the paperwork and closing details.

The move is only five short weeks away. Things are coming together, and our anxiety level is staying pretty low for now. Our next big project is packing. We pray for physical strength for that!

Blessings to you and yours.