Thursday, April 23, 2009

Trip #1

Well, trip #1 is complete! We left Monday evening at 7pm and drove all night to Phoenix with a HUGE load of stuff! We unloaded the trailer, slept for 6 hours and turned around and drove back... 51 hours, 38 of it spent driving... I should specify that Lowell did all of the driving because our new truck is a stick; he hasn't taught me to drive one yet... So my only jobs were navigation and keeping him awake. It was a very long exhausting trip (although Lowell will tell you that I sleep the whole time I'm in a car...) but we had a few hours of great conversations... It is always fun to remember what it was like to just be the two of us. :) The kids spent a couple nights with their friends and had a great time. Now that we're back, we're going to load the truck on Saturday, I think and then we're going to leave for good either Monday or Tuesday. I have mixed emotions about leaving - we are going to miss our friends but we know that this is what God wants us to do and that we will be blessed. And I'm excited about starting my degree program. Again, a little nervous, but excited. I finally feel like I'm growing up. :) I still have some packing to do, and lots of errands... We're running out of time, but we've been reassured again and again that God is taking care of us. We're so blessed and SSOOO grateful! :)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Answered Prayer

There are some things that I attribute to God taking care of me that other people may find silly or insignificant. However, I really feel that my God is interested enough in me and my life to be involved in the little things; not only does He love me enough to worry about my eternal life - to die for me and forgive my sins, but my God loves me enough to care about my everyday life. For example, I was supposed to bring a tape measure and a screwdriver to work today for Susanna to use. By the time I remembered that, I was halfway to school and running late... And then I remembered that I had a few random things stuffed in my purse... Guess what two of those things were... Yep, a screwdriver and a tape measure. I just love it when I see little things like that and I know that God is smiling at me.
There are also very significant things in my life that I attribute to God taking care of me too. For example, Lowell and I had been working with a man to rent his home in Phoenix and things were just becoming hectic. He wasn't able to make his mind up about whether he wanted to rent to us or not and he kept going back and forth until finally we just had to give up and say, I'm sorry but we have to find someone else! So, I began searching for another rental and about an hour later, I called a gentleman and within 10 minutes, we had the details hammered out and we're going to go get the keys to our house on Tuesday. Easy as that. I prayed that we would find a house, and God was faithful; He answered my prayers.
I don't want to sound like God is a vending machine and if we deposit the correct behavior and the correct prayer, He will deliver whatever we ask, because that definitely isn't the case. However, the Bible portrays God as our Father and He promises to meet our needs just like an earthly father would for his children. I know that it brings Lowell and I joy to be able to meet the needs and desires of our children and how much more so does it bring God joy to have a relationship with us, and to be able to have us trust Him to meet our needs. I'm sure He loves surprising us by showing up in our lives in both big and little ways. And I certainly love seeing His hand move... It is humbling to see the Creator of Heaven and Earth take interest in my life. How lucky we are to be so loved. :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter

Sunday was a very good day. Easter is so very special because it is the day that we set aside to remember how Jesus overcame death. We spent the morning at our church - the last time we'll be able to do that before we move.. And the afternoon was spent with Grandma Hippo. Today's sermon wasn't the typical "He is Risen" message but instead focused on the new life we've been given through a relationship with Jesus. Pastor George talked about how Jesus' sacrifice allows us to be new creations and to have a restored relationship with the Father. At the beginning of the sermon, there was a very powerful presentation. Members of our church came out, one at a time, holding large signs. On one side of the sign was who they were, on the flip side was who God has made them.. For example, one sign said "Addicted" and the flip side said "Addicted to Christ". Another was "Lonely, Angry Desert Soldier" and the flip said “Found peace in Christ“. Another sign that was very touching to me said “Walked away” and the other side was “Running to Jesus”. There were about 25 of these signs and it ended with the whole group of them standing up in the front of the church holding up their signs of who God made them… I was crying and everyone stood up. The awesome thing is that I knew quite a few of the people who held up signs and each of them told the truth. What the sign said really was their story. I loved how the people in our church feel comfortable enough to stand up there and be honest. And give God the glory for the amazing things He’s done in their lives. God is all about chances… My pastor always says that Christianity isn’t a religion about rules, its about relationship; the relationship we have with Christ.
After church was the egg hunt and the kids had a really good time. Then it was off to lunch with Gramma Hippo. She seemed melancholy today – well, lonely actually. I’m sorry that we’re leaving her but she was very supportive about us moving. She has always been supportive and I wish I could’ve been closer to her growing up. The kids really like her too. The plan is for me to be organized enough to have them write letters to their grandma’s once a week or so, so that they can stay in touch. I also plan on taking advantage of the webcam whenever possible.
Well, we’re getting down to the wire. I have my house buried in boxes.. We have the housewares pile of boxes, the kids pile of boxes, the thrift store pile, and the two biggest piles so far, the books and my scrapbooking stuff… I love my hobbies, but man there is a lot of stuff that goes along with them!! I’ve also got a system of stickers; blue, yellow and red to distinguish what is staying, going, and what I’d like to go if there’s room… Anyway, that’s about all from here for now… God bless!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A Woman's Work

This has been a very exciting and yet scary time for us. We're getting closer to the moving day... And the kids are starting to feel anxious about it. We sat down together last night and made a countdown calendar. I think it made moving more real for Nathan especially... He got a little emotional and was concerned about missing his friends. It made things a little more real for me, too... We have 22 days. 22 days. 22 DAYS!!! (That doesn't include Easter day because we're not going to be home and it also doesn't include Saturday the 18th because that's a party day.) Speaking of party, we're going to have a big birthday party for both Nathan and Chloe and also a sort of going away party on the 18th. I'm excited about being able to get everyone together one last time before we go. I'm hoping it will be a well attended event... And won't involve too many tears.
School is going well. I'm really liking my classes and I'm doing well in them. I am staying on time with my assignments and I'm not feeling overwhelmed. Yet. :) I'm also doing a lot of packing. It still seems like moving is so far away that I'm hesitant to pack the things that we use frequently like the kids movies and toys... But soon those things are going to have to start going away.
Susanna, the lady I work for, is sad about us leaving. I'm hoping that I have a replacement for myself by the time I leave. She is making a lot of progress and I don't want to interrupt that. I'm taking the kids down to her house on Friday and we're going to color eggs for Easter. She enjoys spending time with the kids and I'm glad that we've been able to work together for these past months.
We got some more information about Lowell's job. They have decided to eliminate his position for the time being, so they won't be re-hiring him. (Also, they can't really re-hire him without opening themselves up for a lawsuit for unlawful firing.) Oh, they also fired his boss. At least Lowell won't have to worry about people calling there for a reference and hearing lots of incorrect, slanderous things about him. And it will be a better working condition for whoever works there next. Now if we can only get an unemployment check...
Today I'm off to town to get parts for our car trailer. Lowell is going through the cars and getting them ready to make the trek to Phoenix and then he's going to tackle the garage. I don't envy him this task because, if you've never seen our garage.. Well, just imagine a huge building stuffed with stuff. Stuffed. And not organized at all. Lucky Lowell. :)
My daddy has offered to help us move. I'm sure we'll need him to help load boxes and furniture but I'm also hoping to ask him to drive for us. I think we're going to take a little U-Haul in addition to the truck and trailor and I'm hoping that he'll drive it. For one thing, I really want him to see where we're going so that he can be more convinced to move down there with us, but for another thing - I don't want to drive it! :) We'll see how it goes... I'm sure God has it all worked out. Well, back to homework and cleaning... A woman's work is never done. :)

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Here We Come!

We have had more exciting changes in the past week... I called Grand Canyon to enroll in classes for my Masters program and discovered that they are offering an incentive program for those who begin classes in the summer instead of the fall. I was offered a scholarship and the opportunity to "double up" on classes in order to finish my degree sooner. The biggest issue with this decision is that 'summer' to Canyon means May 5th. So, instead of moving around the middle of June, we're now looking at the end of April. That significantly upped our time frame and has freaked us both out a little. :) We can't help but admit, however, that it seems like God is orchestrating this move and is definitely showing us His time table. That was what we were praying for, after all! :) There have been other signs of God working in our lives too.. The bubble of protection that He put on our car has still survived :) and we were very blessed on Monday... Chloe ended up needing to go to the hospital (she has croup) and we were hesitant because of Lowell not having a job... We lost our insurance when he lost his job. Nevertheless, we went. And then, Wednesday, I got a letter in the mail from the insurance company letting us know that our coverage ended on Tuesday. :) Yet another example of when God takes care of us!
So the plan now, is that the kids will be on an independent study contract for the last three weeks of school while we are IN ARIZONA.... Exciting, isn't it? :) Arizona, here we come!