A Report and Relationships

I am not sure in the history of moving that picking up one home and relocating it to another has ever been as quickly executed as this past Friday.  Amazing!  The community of friends and family that helped was just incredible and we are so thankful.  As I sit here, with the exception of Micah's library, there is not one more box to be opened.  There are even pictures and curtains on the walls!

Speaking of community, it is such a blessing to be near our church family.  It will be good for us to have closer proximity to our fellow sojourners that naturally create opportunities for us to love them as they have certainly demonstrated love for us.  It is no wonder that God created community among believers.  One thing I realize more readily is the way I desire to be seen~ known yet not defined by my faults and found in the benefits of the gospel~ and see others the same.  There is no better place to practice that in a big group of broken people called together by a loving Savior.  On a practical note, the boys love the house!  We have learned (many times by force:)) contentment in whatever place God has provided us in the past to live but this is quite nice for little boys who can play outside as they please.  More dirt is a good thing:)     

We are so thankful for this place to settle in and spend this next season together.  I feel like an eager spectator watching my children grow.  Elijah is going to be 6 in a few weeks and reminds me every day that there is always something more to learn.  His birthday wish list grows more everyday and ranges from Legos to a Sleep Number Bed.  He wants an American Ninja Warrior party with a real obstacle course...  I am still working on that one.  Andrew is such a conscientious big brother and told me the other day that he "just loves all the babies", mentioning them all by name.  He is learning patience with his most immediate little brother who is still his best friend.  I love Andrew's frankness.  He reminds me to call things as they are seeking truth in an attitude of love.  Isaac laughed for the first time two days ago and Eliana (Miss 10 pounds!) rolled from her back to her stomach the day before.  Isabella is working on sitting alone.  She and Eliana look more and more alike every day.   

    
Micah is six weeks out from his back surgery. He is fully recovered and is happy to be in a more functional state these days.  I have been taking a turn at writing a Bible study for my future sister-in-law.  My baby brother is getting married!  And he and his fiance have asked Micah to perform their ceremony.  They will be visiting in a couple of weeks and we will begin some pre-wedding conversations.  You can pray for me.  The institution of marriage post-fall shows the most beautiful picture of the gospel.  Quoting from Dan Allender and Tremper Longman in their book Intimate Allies, "Marriage is a paradigm of God's pursuit, passion, and purpose in creating and redeeming His people."  I tend to depreciate it in daily life with my husband and am appreciating light once again in the scriptures.  Where I have an opportunity to encourage a gal to love her husband and in turn, know more of her Savior, I want to take it~ but with the hope that God will ultimately be the Teacher and Jesus the One she and my brother cling to in their relationship.

So we come as we are and you as you are to this odd cyber-community.  And even here, love is real.