Wild & Crazy 24 Hrs.

Last night Matt and I went to bed hoping to get more sleep than we had the night before. We went to bed exhausted from our long work day Saturday night. Lydia woke us up about 1 a.m. to tell us her stomach hurt. We got her set up in our bedroom, anticipating that she would soon throw up. She did. We were up and down all night with her. So last night we planned on a good night's sleep--wrong again.

The wind started whistling through the crack in the french doors right by our bed about 2 a.m. Then we heard the thunder and the branches from the trees hitting the side of the house. Neither one of us were able to sleep until about 3:30 a.m.

We awoke to find one of the huge Silver Maples in the backyard split down the middle to the ground. Matt left messages with a couple of tree guys before he went to work. I headed to the pool with the kids for swimming lessons. While there, I made about four phone calls to take care of the mounting list of details which have become so common around here.

The kids and I headed to Elizabeth's appointment to get her hearing checked. She did great. Then off to McDonald's for a quick lunch. I ate the turkey sandwich I had packed. Back in the van to head to the old house to meet the junk removal guy. I talked with him, then the kids and I cleaned up the debris in the yard left from the storm and then we headed home.

Quiet time--whew, but not for long--the doorbell rang. It was the UPS man on his third attempt to find us home to deliver Matt's birth certificate. Matt needs to get his passport in case he is sent to China on business. (I've been praying this won't happen.)

Bob the tree man showed up at four to give me an estimate on the tree removal. He said the job was way to big for him and that I should get 3 bids from the bigger companies in town. I went inside made a few phone calls and then I headed over to the the neighbor's house to let him know we'd be taking care of the tree a.s.a.p. (It fell onto his property.) The kids and I headed outside to begin putting away all the stuff in the driveway. The three guys unloaded the trailer onto the driveway on Saturday and the yard sale look just wasn't working for me. As we worked, the first of the three big tree companies in town came to give me a bid.

Matt arrived home from work shortly thereafter with a babysitter and whisked me off for a surprise date night. He took me to the restaurant normally reserved for our anniversary. I had the chicken marsala. It was the best meal I've had in two weeks. I expected the mashed potatoes to blow my blood sugar numbers, but they didn't.

After dinner, we headed to a friend of a friend's house to check out the fireplace insert they planned on throwing away. We found out after we moved to this house that the fireplace doesn't work. We measured the insert and told the guy we would call him later to tell him if we wanted it.

We stopped at Winco on the way home so that I wouldn't have to take six kids with me to shop there tomorrow. Got home, started to unload the groceries from the car and a kid who was house sitting for someone down the street came running into our yard. He'd locked himself out and needed to use our phone. We invited him in, he made a few phone calls while I surveyed the damage the kids and the babysitter had made while making cookies. Pretty bad, and I had to change Joel's leaky messy diaper.

Meanwhile, Matt measured the fireplace to see if the insert would fit. Looks like it will, so Matt called the guy back to tell him not to throw it away. We'll pick it up by this weekend.

Matt took the babysitter home, I got the kids in bed, checked my blood sugar and then cleaned up the kitchen. Now we'll head to bed in the hopes that we will actually get a good night's sleep tonight.

(8:00 a.m., July 1st--We did get a good night's sleep last night and we awoke to our favorite noises--giggles and the pitter patter of little feet. "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." As a mother, I may not always get all the sleep I think I need, but the Lord always provides me with the strength I need each day to serve Him.)

Running Out of Steam

Our busy June is now turning into what's going to be a very busy July. We're tuckered out. Matt and three very hard working teenage guys (Colton, Justin and Joey) got most all of the work done at the other house yesterday. It was very hot, sweaty, backbreaking work. Matt and the guys made four trips back and forth between the two houses.

I went to yard sales to hunt for bikes for the two older girls. We figured out that Gracie's bike was stolen from our driveway at the other house. Elizabeth is ready to graduate to a bigger bike, so I went looking yesterday morning. The Lord provided me two bikes, although they both need a little work. Grandpa Tom had plans to come down here today to do the bike repairs, but was unable to do so because his dad, my grandpa, passed away last night.

My Grandpa was a man who definitely had a zest for life. He loved to hunt all kinds of birds and did so all over the world. He passed on this love of hunting to my dad and brother and even to Matt. He was gracious enough to take Matt goose hunting several times. Grandpa was also a good story teller. We kids always enjoyed the story of Mr. Singleterry, a hobo who lived in the woods near where my Grandpa was raised. One day my Grandpa and his friend asked Mr. Singleterry what he was cooking over the fire. "Big fat mole, wanna a bite?" was his response. Of course we always laughed when Grandpa got to the punch line. He will be greatly missed.

We will wrap up swimming lessons and finish the work at the other house this week. That house will be listed for sale tomorrow or the next day. We'll be preparing for the road trip to Grandpa's funeral this weekend as well as Matt's business trip to Chicago next week. In the meantime, I'll be running kids to routine doctor appointments and trying to unpack a few boxes here. I'm supposed to be keeping track of my blood sugar levels, so I'll need to call my doctor's office for a prepscription for more test strips tomorrow. I'll need to test my blood four times per day to make sure I'm keeping within a certain range. In the meantime, baby Jude is moving well and seems to be happy. The kids are wondering why I can't have him early. They're getting pretty excited about a new baby brother, with the exception of Lydia. This morning she asked me if baby Jude could be a girl instead of a boy.

Christening the New House

We experienced a "first" today at our new house--a plugged toilet. My eldest son did the honors this morning. Only problem--no plunger. It's still at the other house. Despite having sworn to myself NOT to forget the plunger when we were over there this afternoon, I did forget it. My next plan was to borrow one from our friends Brian and Julie since we were going over there anyway. Forgot to do that, too.

Driving home, I remembered, "Oh, yeah--the plunger." I called Matt and told him I'd stop at Lowe's to buy one before coming home. As I was walking to the car, plunger in hand, Matt called. "Where are all the rag towels?" Great. Lydia had decided to use and FLUSH the toilet. Well, when I got home the smell was overwhelming. I threw the towels in the washer, Matt unplugged the toilet and then I started the disinfecting process. I've spent so much time on my hands and knees scrubbing floors lately, I could qualify for it if it were an Olympic sport. Two buckets of Mr. Clean and a thorough spraying of Lysol brought the bathroom to more normal smell levels. I plan on leaving the bathroom fan on all night.

As predicted, Joel did have a great time at the pool. He was pretty scared at first, but after five minutes he more than warmed up to the idea of having fun in the water. When they say two year old boys are the most common drowning victims, they're not kidding. Matt had to keep a constant hand on Joel in order to keep him from slipping under the water. He had no fear. He even copied Lydia in blowing bubbles and putting his face under water. I'm guessing swimming lessons with the other kids are going to become a lot more interesting now that Joel has decided swimming is such a blast. He bawled and bawled when we finally pulled him out of the pool tonight. Here he is in a happier moment:

Getting Closer

I feel like we're finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to getting our other house ready to go on the market. We hope to get it listed by the beginning of next week. Then we can finally start to concentrate on this place, doing the things which have been screaming for attention, but that we haven't had time to take care of.

I finished all the touch-up painting on the other house last weekend. Matt painted the deck about 45 minutes before a torrential downpour. I expected to find white paint splattered up on the house after church on Sunday, but all was well. The deck just needed to be swept off.

Cindy from church finished cleaning the inside of the house on Monday. The kids and I cleaned the mudroom floor on our hands and knees that afternoon. The handyman had laid the tiles we never finished laying and it made the other part of the floor look pretty dirty. We scrubbed and scrubbed and got it looking better. Cindy also stripped the original linoleum floor in the kitchen. The chemical in the stripper gave her a nasty headache, but after getting some fresh air she recovered nicely. She did an awesome job on the whole house. I could never have done it all on my own.

Ron from church came and waxed the kitchen floor last night. Three coats of wax on his hands and knees--what a guy! The floor looks terrific. I suppose it only looked slightly better the day it was installed somewhere back in the early 50's.

We met with the realtor last night and did a final walk through. She said the bathtubs that were used for watering cows in the pasture definitely had to go. Matt was disappointed. He thought they made the place look "rustic." We'll have a company that specializes in junk removal early next week take care of tubs and the other items that qualify as "junk" (not "rustic treasures").

Today after swimming lessons the kids and I did more clean up at the house. Matt will have three teenage boys help him on Saturday to get the rest of the stuff in the garage and finish the last of the outside clean up. It's supposed to hit 100 degrees here on Saturday, so I went to WalMart this morning and bought plenty of bottled waters and Gatorade for the work crew.

It became apparent to me this afternoon that my kids need a break and some good clean fun. Our friends Brian and Julie belong to a community pool, so we invited ourselves over tonight for an impromptu swimming party. The kids are really excited. It will be Joel's first time in the pool this year. I'm sure he'll have a ball. We'll try to get some pictures.

New House Noises

Two weeks after moving to this house, I'm beginning to get used to its noises. Most of the noises have been of the nocturnal sort. In the beginning, these noises sent my heart to beating faster, but now they're becoming more familiar.

The neighbor has a peacock which especially likes to coo at night. Sometimes it sounds like it's right outside our bedroom window. I've noticed that any kind of disturbance gets the peacock going--along with all the neighborhood dogs. This past Sunday night about 10 p.m. I heard the sound of BIG fireworks going off. They seemed really close and definitely sounded illegal. The sound of the fireworks rustled the peacocks feathers--he was really letting loose. I read in the paper the next morning that the local baseball team had its season opener the night before and fireworks were part of the celebration.

Like clockwork, at 3:45 a.m., the neighbor's rooster begins cock-a-doodle-doing. He goes on and on until about 5 a.m. Then the pheasants take over. We have about seven roosters around here. We've even spotted a pheasant family with ten babies.

I also sometimes hear a train at night. This noise is actually a comforting one to me as I grew up in a small town where the trains passed through about twenty times per day.

Of course there are all the inside noises a house makes. I hear the cracking of the laminate floors at night (I wouldn't have known what that was except someone told me). The heat pump is right outside our bedroom and the furnace is downstairs underneath our bedroom so I hear those turn on and off all night.

Pregnancy exacerbates my already light sleep habits. No one else in the family has commented on any "new house noises," but I've been privileged to hear them all.

Work and Play

Most days we drive the 20 minute drive to our old house to check on progress made by the handyman and cleaner or to do work there ourselves. Sometimes we make this trip twice a day. Matt, Grace, Paul and I worked over there yesterday for the entire day. I got all the touch-up painting done. The others worked on the outside. They weeded, spread bark, sprayed weeds, set sprinklers and loaded the trailer--again. The two sheds and the barn are cleared out. The garage still has stuff in it. We hope to get all of that next weekend and make it our last load.

When we're not busy at the other house, we're trying to make things more livable here. I did find a couch and love seat for a good price on Craigslist. The woman who sold them to us even threw two brass lamps into the deal. We put the couch in the family room. It coordinates well with the two chairs from my grandma. The love seat is in our bedroom. It's hard to imagine having enough room for a love seat in a bedroom, but there is. Matt hung one of my grandma's big pictures over the two electrical panels in our room. Now all the kids think it's the coolest room in the house and they want to sleep there every night. So far, we've not granted this request, although I can see indulging them in a few weeks when Daddy goes on his business trip.

The kids started swimming lessons this past week. They'll continue for another two weeks. My niece, Raphaella, also joins us for swimming lessons. This makes five kids in the pool. Joel has been practicing his walking while the others are swimming. The last couple of days he has finally found walking to be more efficient than crawling. His left leg looks like a peg leg when he walks. It's just going to take a while for him to regain full use of it. Here's a picture of Joel and Paul sitting on the bench together while Paul waited for his turn in the pool.

This past Tuesday I took the kids to the airport to see three WWII bombers and a P-51 that were in town for a few days. Paul is just crazy about planes, so I couldn't resist. He loved it. I wasn't a very good tour guide, having next to no knowledge on the subject. We did see some vets and overheard their conversations, which helped a little. We saw one man who had been a rear gunner on a B-17 get his picture taken by the rear of that plane. The B-24 had all its crew members written on its side. I wondered how many of those men's tombstones I'd seen at Arlington when we visited there back in September. A mere $2,200 would have gotten us a ride on the P-51 for a half an hour. Rides on the bombers were only $425--and I thought the price of admission to see the planes just sitting on the tarmac was steep. We did get to see the B-17 in the air that afternoon from our back porch. Here's a picture of the kids looking out from the B-24.

Feeling Yucky

The last few days I've felt pretty gross. I do have gestational diabetes and will go to a diabetes education class in a week. In the meantime, my friend, who has had gestational diabetes during her last two pregnancies, has given me some valuable tips. I've learned how many grams are in one protein and one carbohydrate. This makes label reading easier. I also learned that you have to eat 3 meals and 3 snacks per day. Yesterday was my first day of doing this and I felt a bit better. I also went to Costco yesterday and picked up some roasted almonds, turkey and good salad dressing (without sugar). I'm allowed to eat as many vegetables as I want :) I really can't tell you how much vegetables don't appeal to me when I'm pregnant, but I'm sure I'll learn to love them.

My friend Julie has made five meals for us since we've moved. Her family belongs to a local community supported agriculture program. The meals she's prepared have each included two to three vegetables. Last night she made roasted radishes. They were actually pretty tasty--even Matt liked them. I dished up several servings because I can eat as many vegetables as I want.

I know this is only for a season and I'll have the reward of a bouncing baby boy at the end of it all. God is still on the throne and I am still His child.

Sold Out

I finished the book of John in my Bible reading this morning. Jesus met the disciples for the third time after His resurrection on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias. After providing breakfast for the disciples in a miraculous way, Jesus asked Peter this question: "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?"

As I read Jesus' words I was immediately brought back to a time five years ago when my good friend and spiritual mentor, Jenny, related to me a story about these words. The Lord had asked her this very question. He had asked her to give up a couple of areas of service that were very dear to her heart in order that she might follow Him to a different church. I've thought about Jenny so many times in these past couple to months. It's been almost a year since she passed. Jenny loved nothing better than to hear a good story about how the Lord was working in someone's life. I've longed to tell her all about everything the Lord is doing in my family's life.

Jesus' question penetrated my heart this morning. How sold out am I for Him? How much have I allowed the cares of this world clutter my brain and push out thoughts of Him lately? As Oswald Chambers said, "He educates us down to the scruple." My sinful self desires to be first, not last. I've been reading a book called Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God. In it, the authors point out the paradox of the Gospel--only in dying to self does one find true Life. The world tells us the opposite. "You've got to think of yourself because no one else will. You need 'me' time. You deserve it." I even had a fellow sister in the Lord say those very words to me a few weeks ago. God says, "Be holy, as I am holy." I can only do this by dying to self through the power of the Holy Spirit. Only by holding loosely to the very things my flesh longs to keep a tight grip on, do I find true abundance. Being a follower of Jesus is not easy, but there's nothing that compares to the joy that is found in being one of His own.

Father's Day

I wasn't very organized for the big day today. Yesterday we worked all day at the other house. Also, Matt's sister, Lori, had her baby(Conner) two weeks earlier than expected. We had planned on getting the rest of the stuff in the garage and the barn over to the new house, but with all the unpredictability of the day, we were unable to achieve this goal. We did get the lawn mower over here, though. We were also able to clear out the inside of the house to get things ready for the handyman and the woman who will be cleaning.

Today I woke up early and headed to the store to get some orange juice (Matt's favorite) for breakfast. When I got back, Grace helped me prepare breakfast. We ate, gave Daddy his present (a new watch to replace his broken one) then headed to church. After a quick lunch, we headed up to the old house to pick up another van load. As we were driving home, we passed the new bakery. It was open, so Matt decided to stop. We've stopped there four different times, but each time all the baked goods were sold out. Today we hit gold, though. We purchased a chocolate cake that weighed close to 10 lbs. The girls and I had wanted to make Daddy a chocolate cake for Father's Day, but we didn't have time, so we were glad to get one. Joel cried all the way home. He saw the cake in my lap from his car seat and was quite sure that I was one mean Mommy in not giving him some right then and there.

When we got home, my Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna were here. My Mom, Dad, brother and cousin arrived shortly thereafter. My sister and niece came about dinner time. We had a very nice get-together. We topped off the evening with the decadent chocolate cake, which I figure will be my last until the baby comes as I'll probably be on a diabetic diet soon.

As for me, I got to spend the day with the three men who've most influenced my faith in Christ: my Dad, my godfather (Uncle Keith) and my dear husband, Matt. It was a blessed Father's Day.

Here's a picture of one proud Daddy with his family:

Busy Days

The last couple of days have been packed full of activity. Matt, Elizabeth and myself headed up north on Wednesday. We had made an a appointment for Elizabeth to be evaluated by a woman who specializes in helping kids with learning difficulties quite some time ago. Even though the timing seemed inconvenient, especially for Elizabeth who is still adjusting to our move, we felt we needed to go. Elizabeth is a visual spatial thinker. These types of kids don't learn well in traditional ways. Most all people are verbal thinkers. Examples of visual spacial thinkers in history are Winston Churchill, Leonardo DaVinci and Albert Einstein. Tommy Hilfiger, the fashion designer, is also a visual spatial thinker. Elizabeth had chronic ear infections until she was three. She probably missed a lot of tones and frequencies because she couldn't hear them and her brain is not wired to hear them now. So, for a week in July, this woman and Elizabeth will be working together to help Elizabeth weed out the negative ways her brain functions, while keeping all the positive things her brain is able to do. No voodoo involved, just brain exercises. The cost for this therapy is not insignificant, but we know the Lord will provide. Grandma Dianne and Grandpa Bob have agreed to house and feed the woman who will be helping Elizabeth, so this expense will be eliminated. Already the Lord is at work.

Yesterday morning I headed over to the other house to meet Cindy from church. She's going to be getting the place spic and span for us so that's it's ready to sell. We talked about what she'd be doing and I apologized for the mess. Who knew all those dust bunnies lurked under the piano and washing machine? She and the handyman will begin working on Monday--hopefully they won't be in each other's way.

I also had my blood drawn to test glucose levels and my ultrasound to check on the placenta yesterday afternoon. It all went the opposite of the way I thought it would. The placenta is just fine and is no longer lying low. I usually pass the glucose test with flying colors, but yesterday I didn't. I've been fasting for 12 hours and will sit in the blood lab this morning for 3 hours while they do another test. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my Friday morning, but I'll take a good book and make the best of it.

Joel also had his last appointment with the orthopedic doc yesterday. All is looking really good and Joel is even able to take a few steps now. Good thing the baby gates arrived Wednesday.

Tomorrow we head to the other house to collect the rest of the things in the barn and garage. If we have time, we'll do a little clean up, too. I'm impatient (and pregnant) and I'd like to have that house on the market and this house all put away and organized, but it's just going to take time. The Lord is generous in providing for all our needs (and beyond) and He'll be gracious to give us the strength to do what we need to do each day.

Vision of Glory

Move day is a busy and chaotic time, both physically exhausting and mentally straining as you try to remember and sort every item you own. But there are also many moments of joy and more.

• To really labor beside other men (and women too I suppose) is a joy of its own. That they are working to help you adds a touch of humility.
  
• A house full of busy people is exciting (if you can keep up:)
• A house full of excited kids (>10), exploring, sharing the joy of something new.
• A shower and a soft bed in the quiet at the end of the day.

There are many others that I could have seen (or might have remembered) but you can think of your own. But . . . there was a moment of glory that exceeds the others.

As I passed through the living room, I saw my sister-in-law nursing her few-months-old baby, my 8-months pregnant sister, my mother and my own 6-months pregnant wife, all sitting and talking. What words can describe that fleeting moment?

Three things are said to be the most beautiful: a woman with child, a ship in full sail, and a field of corn waving in the wind.

-matt

The Albatross is Gone

We sold our Suburban last night. Yep, that's right. Three months after buying the 12-passenger van, we've finally sold the Suburban. We've spent nearly $300 on advertising and car washes. Matt finally advertised the Suburban in the free classifieds at work and a guy who works down the hall from him bought it. He and his wife home school their four kids. I kept telling Matt that the car needed to go to somebody who just needed more space for their kids, not somebody whose main concern was whether it had leather and dvd players. We couldn't be more tickled that our beloved Suburban went to such a great family. The timing for us couldn't be more perfect (isn't God great?) as we've just moved into a bigger house with bigger expenses. Like my mom often reminds me, "God is never early, He's never late, He's always right on time."

A New Place to Call Home

Matt was finally able to set up the computer last night. One of the joys of old houses is the lack of modern electrical/cable wiring. Matt is not satisfied with the way he has things working, but ignorance is bliss. I can check e-mail again and get on the internet, so I think it's just fine.

The movers came on Friday to move the furniture over to this house. Although it took much longer than Matt and I expected (they only had two guys for the first half of the day) the furniture did get moved and we did get beds set up. I slept better Friday night than I have in a month. Matt's dad had an emergency appendectomy on Friday, so the plans Matt's mom had for helping us on that day dissolved, but the Lord provided. The kids were able to stay at my friend Tammy's house for the entire day (even though she had company coming for the weekend on Friday night). What a blessing this was to us. Tammy also made us a quiche for our Saturday morning breakfast. Wilma, Nila and Nicole were also huge helpers here on Friday.

Saturday morning started early with the men from church and family coming here to unload the trailer loaded with some of the boxes. Jim, Jan, Felicity and Doris came and helped me unload all the dishes, silverware, etc. Later in the afternoon, Shannan, Julie and my sister-in-law, Jessica, helped me finish unpacking/arranging the kitchen.

Matt and the guys made a trip back to the old house to bring back two trailers. I thought I was surely going to be responsible for someone having a heart attack, especially with all the boxes of school books that had to go upstairs to the loft. Thankfully, there were no medical emergencies, although Matt's brother-in-law, Chris strained his knee. He was a trooper on Saturday, making a couple of trips to Lowe's with my dad and Matt so that they could install a new stove fan as the old one didn't work.

My dad single handedly kept Lowe's in business on Saturday. He made four of five trips there, including one trip to buy us a free-standing water cooler for the kitchen. The well water here is a bit above the limit for nitrates, so we're not allowed to drink it or cook with it. The two realtors involved in this house deal bought us the reverse osmosis system for the kitchen sink, but it only holds two gallons of water, so we felt we needed to augment this with the water cooler.

Matt's mom and my mom kept the kids entertained on Saturday. Matt's mom also provided two huge Subway sandwiches and all the trimmings for lunch. The only thing left after all was said and done was a small bag of Doritos. She also made dinner for the evening crew, which consisted of only family members at that point. No one else was obligated to stay that long. Matt and I know we are loved.

Elizabeth has by far had the most difficult time with this move. She hates change of any kind and big change puts her over the edge. Grandma Jane took Elizabeth under her wing on Saturday and it helped a lot. She even played Elizabeth's favorite game, Life, which is not Grandma's favorite. I got my love of games from her :) Anyway, Elizabeth was pleased. Making Elizabeth the official tour guide of the new Macduff home has also helped. Each time she gives another tour, she finds more things to be excited about.

Our friends Brian and Julie brought dinner over last night. Our families sat down together to share a meal as we have so many times in the past. The kids played hide-and-seek and we talked. Even though the location has changed, it's a familiar and comforting ritual. Matt and Brian got my microwave set up. My sister and niece came and spent some time with us. It was such a nice, relaxing evening after so many chaotic days. God is so good.

Yesterday morning, before church, we sat down as a family in our new living room. Matt read the list of all the people who have helped us in the past three weeks--almost 40 names. We are so humbled by the outpouring of love, support and sweat :) God worked through each and every one of those people to provide for our needs.

Matt read us several verses from the Bible concerning homes and houses. Here's the one that struck me:

When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deut. 6:10-12).

When Matt and I were writing up the offer with our realtor (a sister in the Lord) for this house, I told her this was our dream house. This was the house for which we'd been searching for a full year, the house which would mesh with the vision the Lord has given Matt and me for this family. I also told the realtor that it's just a house. It's going to burn--in and of itself it has no eternal value. Only what we do here (in Christ) has eternal value. Matt and I pray that it will be so--to God's glory.

One Day Left

Today is our last day to pack as the movers come tomorrow. We've pretty much given up hope on being able to pack the garage this weekend. We'll have to come back next weekend and clear out the garage and barn. Matt's brother-in-law, Chris, made a heroic effort to get the chicken house moved this weekend, but we decided that BIG project will have to wait. We have neighbors who have always done an excellent job of taking care of the chickens while we're away, so we're not worried. Instead, Chris will bring a pickup and trailer on Saturday to help us with all the boxes.

Signing for the house went well yesterday. Since Monday, we've had a steady stream of folks stopping by to lend a hand, for which I'm so grateful. This move just wouldn't be happening without all of the help we've had. Mary and Beth packed on Monday. Russ brought a few more boxes and a promise to help on Saturday. Julie and Brian came last night to help and will come again tonight. Today Ruth and Myra will pack the kitchen. Nila will help me with the rest of the house, clearing surfaces so that the movers can move the big stuff. The kids have spent time this week with Aunt Jessica and Aunt Cami. Tomorrow my friend Tammy and Grandma Dianne will each take a shift.

It feels like a circus around here. I'm not much for circuses, but I know it's only temporary. The God I serve will give me the strength to do what I need to do. I read one of my favorite stories in the Bible (1 Kings 18:20-40) this morning--Elijah (prophet of the Lord) vs. 450 prophets of Baal & 400 prophets of Asherah (ministers of Satan). Yes, God is STILL ruler of the universe and He can surely get me and my little brood moved this weekend.

Overwhelmed

Today I feel like the guy in the movie Facing the Giants. When the Lord works everything out at the end of the movie, he falls to his knees and says something to the effect, "Lord, I'm so overwhelmed!"

I, too, am overwhelmed by God's goodness. Matt and I have been quite concerned in the past week about the initial bad report the septic at our new house received. Two septic companies declared that it was failing. One guy from the county came and looked and said he just didn't know what was wrong with it. Matt and I just replaced a failed septic at our own home. It's a lot of money, hassle and yard work. We just weren't very excited about the prospect of doing it all over again, but we placed it in the Lord's hands.

This morning there was a big pow wow at the new house. Matt, the homeowner, the two realtors, the septic company and the big wig guy from the county were all in attendance. Well, the big wig guy watched the septic get pumped and then declared that it was in fine working condition. As a precaution, we had an addendum written into our contract to include a reinspection in six months and any necessary repair done by the current homeowner if need be.

Tonight we had our final walk through of the house with the homeowner. He said he and his wife and family (they have 7 kids) had a goodbye BBQ at the house and a good cry. All their kids are grown now and the house is too much for them, but they're sad to leave the house in which they spent so many years. He and Matt made a very thorough once over of the property in which the homeowner told Matt about everything and even told Matt the things he'd planned on doing had he stayed. We were glad to have this information. He even told Matt he planned on leaving the leaf mulcher, lawn sweeper and fertilizer spreader that attach to the back of a lawn tractor. He gave Matt his 12" table saw. He said he had no use for those things any more and he wanted us to have them.

While he and Matt were talking, I stepped onto the front stoop. Just then a car passed by. It had the windows rolled down and I heard the woman say, "Is that the Macduffs?" Her husband stopped the car and they got out. She came running across the road. "Are you guys thinking of buying this house?" I said we were signing papers in the morning. Wouldn't you know, this woman was supposed to be my discussion group leader in the Bible Study Fellowship night class this past year, but then I switched to the day class. She and her husband live just around the corner. He goes to the men's evening class with Matt. God is so good.

As we got in the car, the rain began to pour in absolute torrents. I couldn't help thinking of the time 5 years ago after we had to leave our church. I sat outside in a snowstorm and watched the flakes fall and the Lord brought to mind this verse, a verse which has had such special meaning to me ever since that time:

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

Summer Sans Corn on the Cob

Paul lost his two front teeth--one last night before bed and one this morning after he woke up. I'd like to say he's upset about not being able to eat corn on the cob, but he has something else on his mind. Today he reminded me again about the birthday present he didn't get last year--a jet pack (like the kind the guy wears to fly into the Superbowl). "I really want a jet pack for my birthday this year, Mom, but I know you won't get it for me. I'm tired of pretending I have a jet pack. I want a real one," Paul said to me in the most pitiful voice and with the saddest puppy dog eyes.

Happy Boy

Joel is one happy little boy. He's completely oblivious to all the chaos that surrounds him with this move. Every morning he wakes up, pats his legs, grabs his toes and grins the biggest grin. It's been one week since his cast was removed. He's still pretty weak, but he's so much happier now. It makes me realize how sad he was when he was in his cast. He's able to crawl on all fours, but still has difficulty standing. Actually, this has been just fine with me as I'm so busy trying to pack I don't have time to chase a mobile toddler. Today I'll head to Wal-Mart and buy some more size 3 diapers. I thought he'd surely be in a 4 after the cast, but he's a pretty skinny little guy right now and the size 4s are falling off. He still doesn't have much of an appetite, but we're figuring he's just going through one of the stages that toddlers go through when they don't eat much. Chicken nuggets are his current favorite--not the best choice, but at least he gets some protein.

Tears

Today the floodgates opened. Both Paul and Elizabeth had a good cry. They've been pretty upset about leaving this house. They say they're going to miss "Jubilee" the cherry tree the most. "It's the best climbing tree in the whole wide world," Elizabeth keeps telling us.

Matt and I have been feeling the squeeze in this house for a couple of years. Constant sources of frustration for me have been the laundry/pantry room and the kitchen. Matt has been frustrated by the garage. The kids don't feel any of this. Their needs are so simple.

Grace has only scant memories of the house we lived in before this one. Elizabeth was 18 mos. old when we moved here. For the little ones, this is the only house they've ever known.

I tried to comfort Paul and Elizabeth by telling them that change is hard. Moving is hard. When my parents moved out of my childhood home it was hard on me. I had already been married two years and had a child of my own.

I've told the kids that Mom and Dad know the Lord is leading this family to move to the new house. This house is an answer to prayer. Obeying God, for the most part, is very difficult, but always yields sweet fruit. God loves us and knows what's best for us. These are all hard concepts for little ones to wrap their brains around. They understand the concrete--a real tree that they can touch and see and climb. They can't imagine loving another house as much as they love this house. I've ask them to trust God to give them a surprise made just for them at the new house. I'm praying for their little hearts--that God will manifest Himself to them in a very real way and they would know their true comfort can only come from Him.

God is in Control

This weekend, I began to feel discouraged and overwhelmed. I asked God to confirm that Matt and I are heading in the right direction with this move and He has been faithful to do so. I kept repeating to myself, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' " (Isaiah 30:21).

This morning at church, Pastor made an announcement to ask for more volunteers to help us get packed and moved. As of this afternoon, we've had multiple offers to help, including the offer of another trailer, help moving the chicken house on a flatbed truck and help cleaning this house after we move out. The offer of cleaning was like God saying to me "I AM STILL IN CONTROL, MELISSA." I've been pretty concerned about how I was going to manage getting this house cleaned and ready to sell. I know I won't be able to rest until this house is on the market. Everybody in real estate knows that a house is more likely to sell in the spring and summer months. Our goal is to have this house up for sale by the beginning of July. I estimated it would take me about three full days to clean this house, especially in my condition.

This afternoon I received a phone call from a woman in our church. She said she was willing to help me pack, but her area of expertise is really cleaning houses after people have moved out of them. This is what she does for a living. She wanted to donate her time to get this house clean for us. I was floored. I hadn't even prayed specifically for this item yet, I was just worrying about it. As has been the case all along, God went before us and provided for the need even before we asked (as in the case of the loaning of the horse trailer).

The Lord provided help by way of my friend Peggy on Friday morning. She and Grace finished packing the school room. Our Bible study group had a potluck that night. Lisa and Sarah refused to let me bring anything. They did all the clean up, too. All we did was show up, eat, fellowship, do some Bible study and play a quick game of baseball.

My friend Julie called me on Saturday and realized how completely overwhelmed I was and then showed up with dinner. I had a ham thawed in the fridge, but the thought of putting it in the oven was too much. We were so glad to have hot food ready to go on plates. She's also going to provide more meals the week after we move in, knowing that we'll be busy enough just trying to get the necessities unpacked.

My biggest problem now is trying to prioritize and assign tasks to the people who have volunteered to help this week. God provides so abundantly. Why am I so surprised? Every good and perfect gift truly does come from above.