Change

It is hard for me to believe that we left Midland, MI over a month ago and have been living in this house 6 wks already (this Tues). I have said that I would recount the events of our leaving MI and moving to CA. This last hour I went through tons of pictures, trying to edit and prepare them for posting. I currently have some uploading into my online albums at K*dak Gallery. I like to put them together for you at Slide.c*m after that. As you can imagine, I haven't had a lot of time to spend on that project. In fact, I noticed that it has been since Spring that I put a slideshow together. Looking back, it was around our Spring Break that life got really crazy with Kris's appendicitis, then trying to get a trip rescheduled for a survey trip to CA, planning recitals and concerts for the end of the school year, deciding on a candidating trip to CA, etc, etc. I really did snap lots of pictures. You just haven't seen them.

Well, preparing to leave MI and move across the country was quite a task, but this has all been of God, and we've seen Him working in our lives every step of the way. Our friends, Michael and Jenny, helped us soooooo much with packing several different days in the weeks before our move. We also had people help watch the kids for me different days, which was a blessing for me AND the girls. There wasn't much fun going on at home at the time. Matt and Sarah Bright came over the weekend before our truck arrived, and they, the Muths, and we furiously packed the last of our things. Sarah and Jenny did an awesome job getting our kitchen in boxes! The guys were amazing too, working like machines in all parts of the house. On the big moving day, Janet Kroon came and helped clean much of our house. The Forbes came over too and were a big help in cleaning that day. Of course, we can't forget the Muths again. :-) Thank the Lord for all of our dear friends who have such servants' hearts and blessed us tremendously!!!

Before we left our church family at Calvary Baptist Church in Midland, we had some very special "get-togethers." My wonderful friend, Deb Poupard, hosted a farewell for me with ladies from our church and others who joined us for Bible studies over the years. Another special time was with our Sunday School class at the Theaker's house, where we had dinner, enjoyed the outdoors, let the kids swim, and just have a wonderful time of fellowship. We sure miss everybody and treasure the memories we were able to make over the years! Our church in general gave us a farewell reception the last Sunday we were there at Calvary. I don't even know if I can think about that (sniff, sniff). Really though, it was wonderful--the people were wonderful! We were given a beautiful plaque and roses at the end of the service, and then we went down to the gym for food and time to be with each other once more. There was an open mic for people to say things to us, mostly sweet, but of course, some ribbing going on too. :-) We were showered with so many cards, gifts, and kind words. It was humbling and a time to be cherished for sure. The tears flowed quite freely! Pastor Dan and Pastor Reece prayed over us, and then a line formed "a mile long" for us to hug people, cry some more, and say our final goodbyes. What a privilege it was to serve alongside people from Calvary for nearly 4 yrs--to God be the glory, great things He has done!

Our moving truck came, and everything went well on moving day. We went to Rich and Deb Poupard's for dinner before we were to begin driving through the night. The Muths were able to come to dinner as well. After dinner, we went to the Browns house and said our first of the last "gut-wrenching" goodbyes. They're right around the corner (practically) from the Poupards. We took the girls back to Rich and Deb's because they graciously offered to let the girls get bathed and in pajamas while we went and finished last-minute cleaning up/packing the last suitcases at the house. Once that was done, we went back to get the girls and to say our difficult farewell to Rich and Deb. The Muths were at our house at this time, cleaning out the fridge/freezer, so that they could have our food that was left. We took the girls back to our house for one last walk through. We talked about memories made as we went through the rooms. Yes, the tears were flowing then too, but mostly from me. When we locked the house and walked out on the front porch, it really hit Emma. She burst into tears, and the four of us prayed, and sobbed together, thanking the Lord for what He had done in our lives while we were in Midland. Michael, Jenny, and Aaron, who had been woken up to go home, were on our driveway ready to say "see ya!" :-) The sobbing continued. The hardest part was that Olivia had really joined in, and my heart just ached hearing my girls cry like they did. Michael prayed with us, and then we got in the van to head out. Olivia was crying really hard, and Michael went over to her carseat and sang to her. Okay, I haven't recalled these moments so vividly in a while. You don't have to ask what I am doing right now. . . Well, we were off! The chapter in our lives that was lived out in Midland came to a close, and new adventures awaited us. I just kept remembering as we drove out of town how good God is and how thankful I am that His ways are higher than ours. His are perfect! I am thankful that He is my Shepherd and He will always lead us to what is best for us.

Yes, this was long, and is only the beginning of my story about our move. Probably more than anything, I needed to journal all of this for myself. I hope you can rejoice with me though!