I have lots I plan to update you all on, but the goal of this post is to share our latest news: Mike has received and accepted a call to Otley Reformed Church in Otley, Iowa.
Coming to this decision has been an emotional roller coaster, to say the least. I mean, we just had a baby. She's 5 weeks old. I'm a hormonal, nursing momma. Moving with 4 littles under the age of 6, one of them being an infant, seems daunting. And crazy. Yesterday, I had great plans to get lots of packing done; Lydia, however, had other plans. I couldn't get her to settle for more than 5 minutes at a time, which made it impossible to get anything accomplished. So, I was left feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at my lack of progress. I know it will all get done, somehow, but some days I wish those magical packing fairies would just show up at my house and tackle sorting through this mountain of STUFF for me (by the way, why in the world do we have so much STUFF?!?!)! Ha. Thankfully, Lyddi Girl seems back to her usual, happy self today, so we've had a MUCH better day!
When Mike first approached me with this possibility, my brain was screaming, "No, no, NO. This is NOT the timeline we discussed. We're happy here. Things are good. I am NOT ready for this!" Slowly and surely, however, God has been working on my heart. The two admonishments I've heard over and over from Him are, "Trust me," and, "In MY time." We know that God's timing is not our timing. We shared the news with our Fairview church family this past Sunday. Oh, how we agonized over this. And prayed. And lost sleep. And cried. We love these people so much. Fairview has been our home for 5 years. We've brought 3 babies home here. This was our first church to serve. We've shared heartaches and sorrows and joys and triumphs with the people here. We've spent time in their homes, and they in ours. Our kids have attended fantastic schools with passionate teachers. I'm part of a moms' group I love and have made so many friends there. It's difficult to explain the depth of love we have for this place and its people. Leaving will not be easy.
With that heartache comes great excitement and anticipation. We already love the people of Otley Church, and are so looking forward to fostering relationships with them. With a new church come new challenges and opportunities. We're buying a house that we love, which is also super exciting! We are familiar with and fond of the greater Otley area. We're moving closer to family. <-- can="" enough="" how="" i="" nbsp="" say="" t="">blessed
I feel to have this opportunity. Raising littles with no family nearby is TOUGH. Doable, but tough. So, lots of exciting events to come with this adjustment.
One of my biggest fears about moving was how the kids would handle it; Joshua in particular. He loves his teacher and his school. When we told him about the upcoming move, he had a couple questions, and then he said, "Okay. Can I play Wii now?" Haha. What a kid!
Anyway, that's the gist of what's been happening around here! Lots of FEELS. I'll leave you with a pic of our most recent, adorable addition! :-)
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