Written on January 9th
Dear Friends,
We have now spent 18 days in Wisconsin….the first 12 at Daniel’s parents house in McFarland, WI and the last 6 in a temporary house here in Kaukauna, WI (5 miles east of Appleton and one of the Fox Cities). It took me the last 6 days to learn how to pronounce the city, “Ka- kon-na”…. J. The house belongs to a gracious family who is letting us stay in their vacant home here in Kaukauna until we can find a house we want to buy in Appleton or until this place sells. It has been on the market for 3 years with no bites, we thought another 3 to 6 months was a sure thing….hehehe…right! We have had two showings in the first 3 days we were here!!! That brought my unpacking to a screeching halt, let me tell you! We haven’t heard anything yet, but we do know we have been guaranteed at least another month here before we have to leave if it sells. I would say I have unpacked about 65 percent of our stuff. As the British say, “oe!” There is a house we are very interested in and will be starting the process this week of putting down an offer on it. Both Daniel and myself are a little wary about finding “that perfect house” after only 6 days of really looking, but we know what we like and we are quick decision makers even without the sudden fire under our butts to find a place. I have had my eye on this house since last summer. It is super cute and full of character! I would take character and uniqueness over big any day. Now I am not saying this house isn’t beautiful because it is! There are 4 bedrooms, a study, a functional basement, big yard, newly redone kitchen, a new roof and it’s in a great neighborhood. I have taken many deep breaths and given this possibility to God as I think about it over and over. Our realtor made a comment about how surprised he was that it is still available. I wanted to smile and say, “Well, God was saving it for us, of course!” Now, it might not work out and if that is the case I will have a good cry and move on. If God can change my heart towards church planting (and to do it in a state where I want to go bed wearing a sweater every night because I am so darn cold) then he can give us a wonderful house.
Now to switch gears on you (Sigh)….I have gotten many questions as to how I am doing with all the changes. I must now confess . . . it is hard. Change like this always strips me and leaves me feel so alone and out of place… (well, I am literally “out of place”, but you know what I mean). I have been on auto pilot because there was too much to do, too much to pack and too many details to figure out for me to realize all the change around me. Now that the dust has settled and we are unpacked…well sort-of, its finally hit that we are in a new place, left our friends in Colorado and are starting a new church. Being pregnant hasn’t helped matters. All this doesn’t surprise me when I think about what the last few months have been like. I had two sweet women at Jacob’s Well (church we are attending in Green Bay until we are up and running) today affirm my feelings. They too had a hard time moving here. They encouraged me to give myself grace and time to grieve. I want to, but I see Daniel all happy and excited to be here and I want that too! Ahh, to be a man where hormones don’t run your day to day life!
The girls are doing well. Ellie is like her daddy and seems totally fine and excited about the prospect of finding lots of frogs and toads this coming summer. Morgan is more like me and has been more emotional (if you can imagine that) and missing Aunt Jenna very much. Caroline….well, as long as she has music to dance to and someone to watch her while she dances life is good. Ellie starts at her new school tomorrow and is really excited so keep her transition in your prayers.
Thank you for your prayers and for the way you all love our family. Even in the midst of all this change and uncertainty I know God has called us here and that is a BIG comfort! Oh, I do need to say that God has gently reminded me He is still here even while I wrote this. A sweet friend from Appleton just called me to encourage me during this hard time. Thank you, Lord!
