A Word-Filled Birthday

I was not looking forward to my birthday last Wednesday.  Let's admit it--who looks forward to birthdays after '40'???  But I was REALLY not looking forward to this one.  We had just moved and I completely expected it to feel kind of lonely.  

But God had something different in mind.

First of all, our only family in Paducah is Eric's cousin, Erin, and her husband, Justin.  His birthday just happens to be two days before mine, so we had a little birthday celebration on Monday evening.  It was a lively event with lots of chatter from our crew about their teachers and classes.  Justin could relate; after all, he was a former 'Heath'en.  

Laughing and eating way too much cookie cake, the week was already off to a rip-roaring start.

Then, two 'new' friends text and asked me to go to lunch on Wednesday for my birthday.  

Wow???!!!  Really???!!!  How did you know it was my birthday???

Well, Facebook, of course.

And as I awaited my birthday, loneliness was forgotten and pushed out of the way as the anticipation of lunch plans took its place. 

I got up Wednesday morning, with more than a little to look forward to.  To start, I was going to my first day of CBS (Community Bible Study).  What better way to celebrate the morning of my birthday immersed in God's Word, studying the book of Acts of all things?  

CBS did not disappoint.  As I sat listening to the introduction on the book of Acts, I felt like a present had been handed down by the Divine one Himself...studying about the 'birth' of His church, while on mission to 'birth' a new ministry...

It was a 'birth'day indeed.  

Before I knew it, the noon bell had chimed, and I found myself sitting between two new friends whom didn't feel new at all...but like a couple of old pals.

And when I got this card from one, I knew wavelengths were colliding:

And a giftcard to the bookstore of all things along with some 'homemade' rolls???

Books and Bread???  How did they know how to speak my language?

              How did they know?

Short and simple....

God.  God knew.  Prearranging and ordaining.  He knew.

I left my lunch date all filled up and overflowing, mouth hurting from laughing. And between phone calls, emails and texts, I felt remembered.  Not forgotten.

I thought, 'how could it get any better than this?'

But it did.  

My family was about to put the icing on the cake.  

Eric--knowing my love for words and prose, gave me a card that I will hold onto forever.  It will go down in history as the card of all cards:

Complete with a long handwritten note full of more words--life giving, air-breathing words.

And, as if it needed anything more, ending with words full of dry-witted, ten-year-old humor:

A birthday filled to the brim, intertwined with Words from beginning to end.  

Written and scripted by the Author who never ceases to surprise.  And who always remembers. 

A Word-filled day I won't soon forget.

'For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do.'                   Ephesians 2:10

Our First and Our Last

The last three weeks have been full of 'firsts' and 'lasts'.  As we made our way out of Louisville, we recorded many 'lasts' -- last time to sleep in our house, last time to run with our old cross country team, last time to swim in our neighbor's pool...the list went on and on and on.  Yet, as we began our new adventure in Paducah, we were also experiencing many 'firsts', such as:  the first time to sleep in our new house; the first time to go to public school; the first time to live in a town without a Target.  Yes, while some of our 'firsts' were a bit dismal, others were extremely exciting.  Last Thursday's 'first' fell in this latter category as it was our first cross country meet!

Joshua, Sophie and Wes ran for the high school team while Jeremiah got to run for the elementary team.  Our school, Heath high school, put this meet on and I believe about six teams competed in it.  Some of the schools there included:  Graves County, Calloway County, Trigg County, Lone Oak, and Marshal County.

Jeremiah ran first in the elementary 'mile' race.  Since he has been watching his older siblings run for the past few years, I think their passion for the sport has rubbed off on him.  While other kids threw grass on each other and ate candy, he was all serious and somber.  He was in the 'zone':  



Soon they lined up.  Aren't they the cutest ever?

As they came around the first turn, I spotted Jeremiah immediately.  I was glad he was wearing bright yellow shorts.

I watched them pass me on the first loop around.  Jeremiah was upfront and looking strong, when suddenly I heard someone yelling, 'No! No!  They're going the wrong way!'  The front of the herd slowly came to a stop as everyone looked dazed and confused.  Coach Durfee saved the day though.  He began running back the way they were supposed to go and they all began following him, turning on the wheels again.  

As I watched the leaders have to backtrack and begin trying to work their way back up to reclaim their spots, I wondered if Jeremiah could recover.  Would he get upset and give up?  Or would he resolve to keep fighting?  Only time would tell.

So all of the parents waited and waited for them to emerge from the woods, to see how the race was unfolding.  Finally, they came!

Jeremiah was in fifth!

As they came around the bend and into the stretch, Jeremiah had worked his way up to second!

We were so proud of him!  Mostly, though,  for persevering through an unforeseen obstacle.    

He was all smiles regarding getting second, especially because only the first two places got medals.




Next up was the JV race.  They were running the boys and girls together for this one, so I had double scream/picture duty since both Sophie and Wes were running.

I quickly spotted Wes' blonde hair as they came around the first turn:

Then I spotted Sophie:

As they went into the woods, Wes and Sophie were in a steady second.

They held their spots pretty much the whole race.  Here they are finishing, Wes behind his teammate Donovan:

Wes' team won, Sophie's team finished second.  This was Wes and Sophie's very first time to ever compete in a JV race.  We were excited for them and their finishes!

Last, was the Varsity 5K race and Joshua's debut at this distance.

The world's best fans waited expectantly:

I heard the gunshot and then waited anxiously around the bend:

There he is on the far left.

He methodically began working his way up to the front...

...and finished in a strong third, behind his teammate Zac:

and this fellow from Graves County.

Heath Varsity won the meet!

At the dusk of day, our crew is all smiley satisfied:

...the beginning of our first Heath Cross Country season and ironically, the beginning of our last Heath Cross Country season, as Heath will merge with Lone Oak and Reidland high schools next year and become McCracken County High School.  So, whether you want to call it the 'first-last' or the 'last-first'...

It's officially begun!

An Update from Paducah!

I thought I would update you on life here in my super-quiet house, while laying on the couch, feet propped up, eating chocolate-covered sea-salted almonds from Trader's...

Ummmmmm..... NOT!

While I have much enjoyed a quieter house and have over-indulged on chocolate- covered almonds (to the point that my stash is gone!), laying on the couch with feet propped up hasn't happened yet, nor does it appear to be close on the horizon!

First, I apologize for being MIA in regards to phone calls and texts...it has been a giant whirlwind of changes. Moving houses and enrolling ALL FIVE children into public school after choosing to homeschool for nine years...well, it's been quite a lot to take in. And quite a lot of physicals to get, forms to fill out, school supplies to buy. And my right hand utterly refuses to write my address, phone number or emergency contact info one more time. REFUSES. Yes, it is having a severe case of writer's cramp. Typing is a welcomed relief, so be advised. I'm about to get carried away.

Not only has it been change galore, I don't do more than one thing at a time well, so alas, texting or talking on the phone always seem to take the backseat....AND my battery on my phone is shot AND my wall charger mysteriously disappeared so my phone is way too often sitting in my van taking a charge. I know. That was way TMI. But I told you my typing was about to get carried away.

Anyway, if you are even able to follow this and haven't given up yet, let me give you an update!!!

Secondly, I have written about our entire move in a series of three posts on this here blog.  You can read about it here, if you feel so inclined:

http://www.makingmorethanmanna.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-move-leaving.html

http://www.makingmorethanmanna.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-pitstop.html


http://www.makingmorethanmanna.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-move-arriving.html

Thirdly, we are settling in nicely here on Old Farm Road. Heather, Sheila, Michelle & Debi moved like lightning and had our place looking like home in no time! I mean, I helped and all but I must give them most the credit...because I was kind of walking around all looney for the first few days.

Here are some pics:

This is the kitchen area...my manna making space :)
 

Here is the den that flows out of the kitchen (very uncanny how much it is like our old house, isn't it?):

Here is the room in front of the den that I call the homework/play area.  (I thought we would do homework in here but it seems to happen in the kitchen or dining room. But O & Jerry do play with their toys in here):

Now, this is Sophie's room. Heather, Michelle and Debi can attest to the fact that Sophie got here room unloaded and decorated in exactly 30 minutes. It was like on a cartoon where someone opens up a suitcase and out pops a room complete with everything. Yep. In thirty minutes time, it was like she'd been here for years. 

 

 This is Joshua and Wes' room. They are my neat freaks, so they should room together just fine. And their decorating tastes are very uniform...notice their decision to line the top of their rooms with the racing numbers from all the races they have ever run. Just the fact that they still had them and could lay their hands on them was impressive enough to a mom that can't lay hands on her car keys. 

 

And here is Jerry and O's room. They are my not so neat peeps...I still have a little bit of work to do on their rooms. They also need some work on their bed making skills. 

 

And since we don't have a basement, we have created a spot in our garage. An old love seat with an old tv sitting on some cardboard boxes.  Look, he even posed for you!

 Eric thinks he can get a free box to hook up cable and we will be set. We can play ping pong and watch football/baseball out in the garage, Paducah-style.  We're just gonna fit right in.

Last Wednesday evening the youth pastors in the area came together and had a back to school rally at a local park. All the youth groups in the area came together. They asked Eric to speak at it. Eric would tell you that this is not his gift; isn't it like God to put you in a position where you need God to show up?  God did, in fact, show up that night as a couple of hundred youth worshiped and prayed together, breaking up and praying together by school. That small person upfront is Eric:

This is Joshua and Sophie's middle school group praying together:

Transitioning to public school after eight years of homeschooling has been such a smooth transition that I keep waiting for some type of bomb to drop...for something to not go well. I guess that is just God's grace. That's all I can figure. God's grace. I am going to blog soon about our decision to go to school after all of these years and our experience thus far. It's coming.

One last sweet story before I close out. Without any prompting by us, Joshua decided to start a prayer group at their middle school.  They meet once a week fifteen minutes before school starts.  They had their third meeting this past Tuesday.  Joshua was worried no one would come because he hadn't reminded anyone. Guess what? Ten students showed up.

And....this is at the middle school which is situated right behind (so close I think they might be connected) to the high school. The same high school where twelve years ago a student open-fired on a student led prayer group.

But what the enemy means for harm the Lord will use for good. The fact that so many students would show up for prayer on a venue with that kind of past stirs my heart. All I can say is God sure is up to something and I love that my children get to be a part of it.

Thank you for sticking with my update...and I will be posting many more updates on my blog since I have all the time in the world now (HA!).   But I will definitely be trying to write more. 

The Move -- Arriving

As we drove out of Evansville, Indiana onto the Pennyrile Parkway and then on to the WK Parkway, it brought back vivid memories of a young college girl who drove this same path many a time on her return to campus from visiting home.  I had always loved this drive and tonight was no different.  It was a beautiful evening full of interesting clouds in the distance that looked as if could shower down at any given second.  Yet as we got closer, they proved otherwise.  

So we drove west into a sunset that was streaming through overcast clouds...two hours from beginning our new life.

We finally pulled onto Old Farm Road with a few visible rays of dusk to spare and little legs jumped out of our rig before I had a chance to put it into park.  Clamoring down the sidewalk, they ran to greet cousins who were eager to show them their new bedrooms.

I walked in and felt like I was on a version of Extreme Makeover.  For as our children and I had spent the day with my family celebrating my dad's birthday, Eric--along with my sister- and brother-in-law, and Dean--had unloaded trucks, put together beds and unpacked boxes.  Not only that, several Paduckians had showed up over the day to get in on the action...Our children's new cross country coach--Coach Durfee--showed up with a friend and a team member.  David and Beth--friends from way back.  A board member and his wife, Rodney and Debbie--whom I've labeled the king and queen of hospitality.  Justin and Erin, our cousins--but, more importantly, dear friends.  Coach Durfee also came loaded with a delicious dinner that his wife Vanessa had cooked.  Michelle and Debi arrived late afternoon from Louisville with our furry Murray and one of our vehicles. 

Our sweet Father above rained down hands full of service, welcome and warmth to lovingly embrace us into our new life.  Supernaturally arranged and exceedingly gracious was this gift provided to our family. 

My sister in law, Heather, had the task for the day of being me--directing movers to put furniture where it should go.  There is no one I would trust more to do this.  No one.  How grateful I am she was there to 'wo-man' the crew ;) !  A woman's touch in the home goes a long way.  Heather, Debbie, Beth and Erin spent the afternoon lining the kitchen cabinets with shelf liner and unpacking the kitchen.  When I walked in that evening, it was unpacked and fully functioning.  Amazing. 

That night I was comforted by having Heather, Michelle and Debi there to help set up our house.  I was comforted by the sound of my niece and nephew running around the house with our children.  It makes me smile that I can always think back to our first night in Paducah on Old Farm Road and see their faces.

Michelle and Debi stayed through most the day on Monday, working at record breaking speeds.  Michelle put up shelves and began transforming our garage before I could blink my eyes.  Debi lined bathroom cabinets; Heather unpacked every box in sight.  I walked around from spot to spot and tried to be useful.  I am not sure how much work I really did.  It was kind of like an out-of-the-body experience.  Not that I've ever had one, mind you (in case some eyebrows just shot up).

Monday evening a new found Paduckian friend--Leigh--offered to come by and pick up Joshua, Sophie and I and take us to the middle school registration (while the rest of the crew went to the elementary registration).  Her daughter and Sophie became fast friends.  Since her daughter runs cross country, Leigh brought our kids home from practice that first week.  All I can say is, what a gift.  Her family and their hospitality have had such an impact on our family's transition.

Throughout the week we were welcomed night after night with dinner for our family from sweet FCA families.  It was a huge blessing to be able to unpack and not worry about fixing dinner.  Another gift from Him.

Thursday (four days after we moved in) was the first day of public school ever in the history of our little family.  For the past eight years, we have homeschooled.  Wow, is all I can say.  We move to a new city, start a new job and start a whole different way of schooling--all in the same week.  It should have been overwhelmingly overwhelming.  Yet, it was and continues to be overwhelmingly peaceful, overwhelmingly 'working' and overwhelmingly all-right.  Amazing how an overwhelming dose of God's Spirit can bring order to chaos.  Amazing.

Thursday evening, my mother-in-law, known as Mimi, arrived with my brother-in-law, Trent.  The next morning, Heather, Trent and their little peeps left to pick up their oldest from a camp in Missouri.  We said 

              'see ya real soon'

And as I remembered the Louisville memories of best friend-cousins playing together almost daily, a piece of my heart backed out of the driveway with them.  

As they drove away, I thought about the past week and how much their loving arms had been a part of it.

I will never forget the week they sacrificed to help us get our home set up.  I will never forget.  Makes my heart smile right big.

But Mimi was here to soften the blow of the bye.  She stayed with us through the week-end, putting her finishing touches on the work Heather and I had done throughout the week. We had a sweet weekend of watching Olympics, unpacking, organizing and decorating.  

            One more part of the gift from above. 

Before we knew it, her time was up and we were once again out in the driveway saying

                  'see ya real soon',

And in a blink of an eye, gone were Louisville family and friends that had bridged our transition.  

Now it was just us.  

Yet, it was time.  It was time for it to just be us.  Besides, we weren't really alone.  

He was with us.  He had always been there, from the very beginning.  He would never leave us nor forsake us.  So we grabbed His hand, walked into our Old Farm Road home and began our new life.

       

The Pitstop

I drove out of Louisville, my big rig packed to the rim with children and stuff.  With the long trip ahead of me, I had to stop in one last time at my favorite coffee spot:

But we weren't headed to our new home yet.  We were taking the roundabout way to Paducah and making a pitstop in Indiana.  We had a special someone to celebrate:

There was some intense pooling:

And some more intense pooling:

Lots of talking and visiting:

Lots of jumping:

My partner in crime, snapping away beside me:

The youngest and cutest guest:

A cousin photoshoot:

The cook:

Lots of yummy food:

A cake for the honored guest:

And a special gift of  '70 Things We Love About You':

"Your ability to find the best water parks, AAU track meets in the summer, Your blue Corvette with the yellow stickshift, Playing Electronic Detective with you, Your waffle/ice cream concoctions, Eating breakfast at Denny's, Working at your jobsites growing up, Riding in the gold Cadillac listening to 8-track tapes, Riding roller coasters with you at King's Island, Fourth of July firework shows, Listening to you, Uncle Jon and Grandpa discuss politics at family get togethers, all your stories, talking on the CB to truckers about the nearest smokies..."

Just some of the seventy things we love about our Dad. 

It was an emotion-filled day.  Leaving our Louisville, visiting and celebrating our Dad who lives in California and we only see once or twice a year...saying another round of goodbyes I mean see ya real soon's...

                 Getting a small coffee refill

              ....And then jumping back in the big rig and heading west--

                                  straight into the sunset and our new life.