New Routines
by amyToday was our third Monday in Tennessee. The first was Nathan’s first day of work and the day our stuff arrived. The second was last week when I finally posted photos of our home with stuff in it. And now, here we are, entering into another week. A few more boxes have been unpacked and more piles are getting organized. Tomorrow, if I’m lucky, we’ll get out pictures hung on the walls.
Yesterday was a busy day. We had church in the morning (we visited another church that is very close to our home), Nathan ran some errands with the big kids, I tried out a new recipe for supper and then we had our first Financial Peace University class that evening.
I knew that the house would be in disarray from all the craziness. So, this morning, I let the kids watch one cartoon while I got ready for the morning and then all 4 of us cleaned together. They were pretty agreeable and it worked really well. I didn’t feel pulled between taking care of the house and taking care of them because it was all happening at the same time. We cleaned the main living area downstairs and then we did the two kids bedrooms and the 3 bathrooms and and the upstairs hallway. It was a great way to start our day.
Later in the morning, we went out to take Max for a walk. It was a beautiful day. 60 degrees! I’m still adjusting to the crazy Tennessee weather. Last night/early this morning there was another tornado warning. We ended up only getting heavy rain here, thankfully. It has solidified my resolve to get a weather radio though.
I hope our family and friends up north are staying warm and safe.
Fear
by amy29 (CL)Are not two sparrows sold for a [bd]cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (CM)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (CN)you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)
Yesterday, I started to feel fearful about our move. It really hit me that this was a huge thing and all the things that I ever felt insecure about before still are with me. Moving only magnified them. I told Nathan and I mentioned it to some friends in email and asked for prayer and I spent time praying about it this morning.
I felt less anxious and more peaceful. I had some important administrative household/budget things to work out today and they worked out well. Some things that were weighing on me came together. I feel grateful.
Moving has put us in a position to see God’s hand at work taking care of us. Nathan and I realized a few days ago that we had made this “jump” knowing that we would need to rely on the Lord’s help to navigate this transition, but that we had somehow lost sight of making prayer a priority. So, Nathan said, “We should pray. Right now.” It made me feel loved. My husband taking the initiative to talk to our heavenly Father about our family and how we need him and want to learn to love Him better- that’s good stuff.
Tonight, I’m carving out time to think and read. Before I sign off though, I thought I would share a few photos of our house with furniture in it. We still have piles of things that we need to figure out where to put. This is how things look right now. I really wanted to pretty it up before taking photos, but I don’t know how long it will be before everything is in it’s place.
Sunday In Franklin
by amyWe visited our first church in Franklin today. It had been recommended by some people that Nathan works with and a lady that I met at the park yesterday! 
It was a big church. We dropped Ethan off on the main level, and then we had to go upstairs to drop of Isaac in the toddler/preschool area. Audrey chose to stay with us! The sermon was good and the music was awesome. What else could we expect from the Nashville area, right? I noticed that the main worship leader was being led in at the end of the service by one of the other members of the band. That’s when I noticed that she had a white cane. When the pastor mentioned her first name, I leaned over to Nathan and said, “I think that’s Ginny Owens.”
We checked the church website when we got home. Yep. She is one of their “artists in residence”. If you don’t recognize her name, you probably have heard her sing this song:
Ethan had such a great time that he is ready to commit to that church, but I think we need to visit at least one more.
This afternoon we did a little more unpacking, I took a run, took Max for a walk and we all went to the library and Nathan and I got library cards and Nathan took a late afternoon nap. Tomorrow is MLK day and the local kids don’t have school so one of the Lampo wives and her kids are coming over.
We’ve been here for a week!
New Things
by amyA few days ago, I decided that I should become a coffee drinker. With so much “new” in our lives right now, I thought it would be a good time to add this adult-like habit to my life. Now, when I say “coffee”, I’m using the term loosely. It’s decaf and there is a lot of flavored creamer added.
Tomorrow we will check out a new church. I’m not sure how many different churches we will visit. I would really like to get settled quickly so that the kids can make friends and we can feel more connected to our community. I’m hoping to find something in Franklin. That really shouldn’t be too difficult with the number of churches around!
Nathan and Ethan are out getting a “new to us” washer and dryer. We found a deal on craigslist. Yeah!
I went to a new grocery store today: Publix. I was going to go to Aldi, but I did not have any cash and I didn’t remember my debit card PIN. Maybe next week.
More Farewells
by amyWe said more “goodbyes” today.
To Vivian, my mother’s dearest friend who has become a good friend to me. When we hugged and said, “goodbye”, she said, “I don’t know much, but I do know that your mom would be very proud of you.”
She prayed a blessing over us. There were tears!
To my dear friend, Marie and two of her children, Ezekiel (Ethan’s best friend) and Zemirah. We were able to set up a time for them to meet us at Crown today. Ethan was sad as we pulled out of the parking lot. We are going to miss these friends.
To friends at Crown. They had a cake and a special time set aside this afternoon for folks to come and say their farewells. Nathan was given a very nice clock with a special thank you engraved on it. He is also being given his fancy computer keyboard to take with him when he leaves It was so sweet to see the friends that we have made through the years and even those staff members that have loved on our children who will miss them dearly. We have some very dear friends that we are leaving behind.
I’m thankful the the bits of sadness that we’re experiencing. It’s a reminder of the blessing that God has poured on us during this stage of our life. Counting the time when Nathan was a student, he has been at Crown for 15 years.
We also said, “goodbye” to Ethan’s 3rd baby tooth tonight! Finally!!! It has been hanging on by a thread forever and he has refused to let us touch it I need to put in a call to the tooth fairy!
A New Year
by amy2012.
I’ve already mis-wrote the year on a check
We had a great time with family this last weekend. Celebrating Christmas, seeing family that we don’t often see, our nephew’s dedication and the news of a new baby arriving this spring to Nathan’s brother and his wife. It was a really great time with everyone.
When our time was over, I drove the van and the kids to Cottage Grove and Nathan drove the car back to Winsted to finish house projects and complete his last week of work at Crown.
I’m taking a little break to do a post while my brother and my sister in law take over on kid duty for a bit.
We still are needing prayers for healing for the kids. Audrey seems to be alright. Isaac is finishing up antibiotics for a double ear infection and rattly cough. That seems to be clearing a little. He has replaced that malady with pink eye ( diagnosed by a doctor today) and his nose has started bleeding. On three separate times his nose has started bleeding today. Ethan was looking rough last night and this morning so, I had him looked at today at a local clinic. He has an ear infection.
It would be nice if the pink eye wouldn’t spread to the other kids. Please?
We are so thankful for the help that we’ve had from family throughout this transition time.
Broken Record
by amyStop me if you’ve heard this one before:
The day began with a puking child (it seems this is day 12 of this sickness for us).
We sorted and packed.
It’s beyond crazy that we’ve been dealing with puking every other day for almost two weeks. It doesn’t seem possible. We’re praying for healing and taking it a day at a time. Today Audrey was the one who started the day puking. She seemed to feel okay for the rest of the day though. She did have a nice long nap. Isaac, on the other hand, was coughing and sort of miserable for a lot of the day. It would be so nice if everyone would be restored to full health.
Nathan spent the day in the garage. He was sorting everything into piles of things to give away, throw away or keep. We have a ton of stuff that if going to the dump. I kept busy packing up the breakable stuff in the kitchen. It doesn’t seem like it should take that long to pack, but it keeps going and going. Tomorrow, at some point, we’re going to pull out all the things that still need to be packed.
Because the kids weren’t feeling great, we stayed home instead of going to church for the Christmas Eve service. I still made our traditional wild rice soup, the kids got to open one present (their new Christmas pj’s) and we watched A Muppet Christmas Carol. I loved snuggling with the kids in their cute jammies. We still all fit on the couch together. That wont last long as they get bigger.
The kids are snug in their beds. We need to get the stockings and presents ready for the morning. I’m very sleepy from all the work we did today! Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!
Before I zone out in front of the TV
by amyToday, we are thankful for:
Nathan’s report from the inspector that we will not have to redo the entire garage ceiling. He will have to hang sheet rock, but that’s that as bad as what it could have been.
We have hired a reasonably priced handyman to do our ceilings (re – do the popcorn stuff) and lay carpet.
Tim volunteered to help Nathan next week.
Nathan finished hanging the trim and is currently prepping our closet for primer.
I packed a ton of boxes (all of these were done in the last two days). As you can see, we’ve been consuming a lot of alcohol!
The car and van both has recent oil changes and tires checked!
Everyone was healthy today.
Thank you for praying for us and supporting us. It is appreciated!
