It has been a whirlwind week and I thought I'd make my way past the piles of (mostly empty) boxes to share God's goodness.

On Friday, a good friend took my big kids in the morning on a 3 Mile Walk!  This gave time for BW to pick up the truck, for me to run some errands and then start the mad rush of just trying to get everything in a box.  It's cracking me up as I am unpacking about how specific I was with the initial boxes I started to pack almost 6 weeks ago.  They all had themes and were from the same space.  By the end, there were a handful of boxes that just said Miscellaneous.  My inlaws took my little ones and tired them out at the mall and by the time all the kids were reunited again, they were sufficiently tired out and either napped or sat quietly watching a movie.  A dear seminary couple expecting their first child came for our crib - 1st time our house has been without a crib in 8 years!  BW took apart the bunk beds and friends came throughout the day to help load the truck.

Boy2 just loved going in and out of the truck:

We had sent word out at our church and through the seminary's e-mail that we were packing up the truck Friday night.  I ran out to pick up some pizzas and by the time I got back, our house was swarming with activity and almost all the major furniture was already out of the house.  In fact, they were being so efficient that things started getting put in the truck that weren't really supposed to such as our sleeping bags that we would sleep on that night and my clothes for the next morning!  What a blessing to receive such an outpouring of love and service.  Amazing to think that less than 3 years ago we had moved down for seminary really not knowing anyone and God has blessed us in a mighty way.  It almost brought me to tears.

I slept horribly that night.  Between thinking of how much I would miss everyone to what I hadn't done to the fact that I may have to meet my new church family in the same clothes I worked in all day I don't know that I really slept much at all. 

The next morning at 7am, there was a knock at the door.  It was my dad & brother.  My dad has moved me every move in my entire life and was a man on a mission as after he moved us, he would drive to Northern California to move my sister.  Two men from our new church made the drive down to help us and brought a pick up to be loaded.  I emptied the refrigerator(throwing a lot out) and then packed up the car to visit a friend so the kids wouldn't be underfoot.  She greeted me with a Coke - just what I needed and such a treat:) and gave me some down time to visit and relax.  The plan was for us to visit a bit and then BW would call me when they were getting on the road, giving me a head start on the 2 hour drive.  The kids and I hadn't yet seen the house so I had planned to get there early so I could try to figure out where I wanted things before people started coming over to help unload. 

Unfortunately, my cell phone wasn't getting a signal at the place I happened to be sitting and by the time BW got hold of me, he was halfway there.  I loaded up the kids, went through the McDonald's drive thru and we were on our way.  When I arrived, I could tell which house was ours because there lots of cars and so many people unloading in and around the truck that they looked like little busy ants.  My first order of business - to find the bin with our winter clothes in it because it was cold! 

Then I blinked and the truck was unloaded.  Our Senior Pastor said a prayer and a few people stayed behind to help assemble the bunk beds while BW took the truck back.  God held back the snow just until BW got back.  Then the kids were begging to go outside.  I pulled out their snow boots and big jackets and they were out eating snow: 

What an awesome present from God welcoming us.  The kids, who have never been in snow much, were so excited that we had moved here!  Within a couple hours, this was the view from our front window

and out our back door:

I just couldn't believe that we had only driven 2 hours from LA - we had been in shorts earlier in the week!  We were brought dinner that night - Snowy Day Soup of all things!  Brent's mom was great about lining my shelves and unpacking my kitchen(though I have moved a few things, Barb:).  I was able to find everything we would need for church the next morning.  I was exhausted and had a great night's sleep, except for the fact that our older kitty, Tyus, whined much of the night.

The next morning, BW had his first experience with shoveling snow.  He scraped off our windshield with a plastic spatula while I tried to find a jacket/gloves/scarf for my mother in law(they had been on a cruise in Mexico earlier in the week and hadn't planned for snow either).  The kids would have been content to skip church and go play in the snow, but came along dutifully. 

As we drove to church, I just kept thinking "I can't believe I get to live here!"  Once inside, I had this amazing sense of peace and feeling of being home.  Although I knew pretty much no one sitting around me, I knew that this was home and just where God had planned for us to serve all along.  And I thought of the prayers I had occasionally lifted up to God for the church we would one day serve in full time and realized that these were those people and I was home.  BW was given a few minutes to explain his philosophy of Children's Ministry.  I loved the sermon as our Senior Pastor quoted some of my favorite authors - MacArthur, Puritan John Owen, John Piper and felt convicted and encouraged.

There was to be a potluck for us, but we wanted to take BW's parents back to the house quickly to pack up their stuff so they could leave from the party.  The round trip was a perfect "power nap" for our little ones(and a time of stress for Boy7 as he noticed the snow had melted significantly since morning).  When we arrived back, we found that everyone was waiting for us and as we opened the door, it felt like I was walking into my Wedding Reception with all the faces smiling at our family and singing Happy Birthday to BW.  Before we arrived someone noticed that the tables were all full and there was no place for us to sit.  They set out another table, but the only place left was on the stage/platform.  So we took our places on the stage which was a little bit like feeling like we were behind glass at the zoo as the buffet line passed by our table.  Fortunately, with the power nap and a wide variety of food, I was pleasantly surprised at how well my children behaved. 

After the food and yummy dessert(including a triple layer birthday cake for BW), we got to meet many wonderful people and said goodbye to my inlaws who I think may have had even more fun than we did meeting everyone.

Now, don't laugh, but I'm in love.  I'm actually giddy.  I have that same feeling I had when I first met BW.  I'm in love with this town and this church and I love the house BW picked for us and I love the great God who has orchestrated this whole plan out for us.  I guess this is the "honeymoon" phase that I have heard about during seminary wives-- I just didn't know that it would really feel like a honeymoon.  Oh, I know that it won't always feel like this and some days may feel like the opposite - which is why we can't trust our feelings and need to trust in the One Person that will never change.  But I almost feel embarrassed by how wonderful it all is and how much I've been blessed.  It certainly isn't because I have done anything to deserve it.  I am humbled and am in awe of God who was gracious to not give me what my sin deserves and instead given me the exact opposite, an abundant life.  "He does great things that we cannot comprehend." Job 37:5b I also thank God for all of our wonderful friends and family who have been praying for us.

All right, back to my boxes.  I promised the kids that I would open some toys today.

Blessings!

-J