More Philly Adventures

It has been since I was a little girl that I lived in a house with a wood-burning fireplace. It is mesmerizing for the boys and such a cozy way to spend the cold evenings. So far, it has even replaced the TV in its entertainment value! We love making smores over the open fire. The boys prefer to do so in their superman jammies, as you can see.

I especially appreciate the fact that burning a fire prevents stink bugs from living in our fireplace, emerging into our house, and chasing Andrew and I around the living room! As a person who is terrified of bugs, I am privileged to be learning so many new extermination techniques. This one is really friendly to the icky bugs. They just see it as an invitation to find a new home. FYI... Their name is a big hint as to the consequence of squashing them. As I have learned, if you do squash a stink bug, it not only creates a foul stench, but the pheromones attract more stink bugs. I am always glad to pass along such potentially helpful information in our blog as the situation permits:)

I think I mentioned before that Micah works in a mall that has a train for the kids to ride. For the bargain price of $3 a kiddo ($5 for two), they can circle the mall in this really cool train that has no need of tracks. There are a couple of times I have been concerned it was going to cause a kiosk casualty, but most people do not seem to mind moving out of the way for the fun-mobile. Micah and I cased the train as best we could, trying not to look like over-protective parents but truly wanting to make sure the boys didn't try to recreate an action scene they had stored away for such a time as this. We never know what they are thinking:)

Today, we visited Tenth Presbyterian Church in downtown Philly. This was so memorable for Micah and me. When we were first married, we used to listen to this church's radio broadcast. Then, the pastor was James Montgomery Boice. After serving this church diligently for many years, he went to be with the Lord in 2000. We were encouraged to hear preaching from the current Senior Pastor, Philip Ryken. He preached from 1 Corinthians 13:5. It was a practical, gospel driven sermon that was true to God's word. He called the congregation to think towards loving unselfishly, putting others before ourselves, as we have been so loved by Christ. The children in the service were equally admonished to do the same in their respective relationships with parents, friends, and siblings. I would have never imagined years ago being on the other side of the radio, sitting in this church with Micah and two boys at my side all being encouraged together. What a blessing to be with God's people in the heart of this city hearing such true, clear truths.

One thing that is different about going to a large church in the middle of a really large city is the parking situation. We had to park several blocks away, but this provided us the opportunity to see firsthand the function of city life.

Andrew was intrigued about living in the middle of such a compact place. Micah and I decided that living on a street like this could be a possibility. I am not so sure we could handle one of those basement, off the street apartments with one-foot windows...

I have no idea why this water is green. I just thought it was cool! It's my favorite color, you know:)

The murals are beautiful adorning the old, brick buildings.

Thanks for sharing our Philly adventure with us! I am sure there is more to come...

Farm Park

One place we recently ran across is Norristown Farm Park. It is a colonial era farm right in the middle of the suburbs. All these pictures are from our time walking along the park trails:

Micah gives the boys a tutorial on how corn grows.

Andrew on the tracks.

A Pine Tree with another tree growing up its side... beautiful!

We see a lot of landmarks dating back pretty far around here. The year 1919 is carved into a small train bridge.

Along the trail... something must have been really interesting to my right.

New Church Experience

On Sunday, we visited a church whose senior pastor is a Southern Grad. I was introduced to his wife through a mutual friend of mine from my working days on campus. It is such a blessing to know so many people who know so many people all over the country; especially when you just don't know where you are going to end up next! Anyway, the church happens to meet in a movie theater. I really didn't think that much about the location. I have long been accustomed to churches meeting in all different kinds of buildings; homes (basements in other countries where Christianity is not allowed), abandoned factories and industrial buildings, etc. So why not a movie theater? What Micah and I forgot to do was prepare the boys for where we would meet with God's people to worship. The minute we pulled in to the parking lot and they realized where we were, shouts of excitement exploded from both boys, "We're going to see Chance of Meatballs!!!" If you are unaware, they were referring to the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. This is a flick they have wanted to see for a while now. Immediately, Micah and I extinguished their hopes and instead, focused on how fun and different it would be to have church in a movie theater. They were confused for a while, but handled it well. As we walked in the door and the smell of buttered popcorn and visions of cartoons to come consumed our senses, we again tried to refocus their attention on the task at hand. The really good news came when we realized they served coffee and doughnuts to those in attendance. Doughnuts can pacify little boys in a pinch when the prospect of candy is all around.

We got the boys into their respective "theaters" with children their ages and Micah and I joined the service. It is always an encouragement to see where God has sent and how He is is using those trained in ministry. I met face to face gals I had only talked to through mutual friends and made those connections as well. Always a plus when you are alone in a new place.

After the service, the race to transform the space back into a place to see movies began. As we exited, we noticed the first glimpses of electronic signs above the doors to each theater lighting up with the names of the movies playing that afternoon. One mom walking beside me told her husband, "I'll go get Johnny. He's in Zombieland~". You can imagine my surprise. I had heard of churches giving names to kids classes to differentiate them, but this was a new take on what may be appropriate! Sure enough, above the door to Theater 2 where Elijah was learning about Jesus with other 3-year-olds, Zombieland was playing just 40 minutes later. Andrew was on his way to viewing Hangover had we stayed around longer.

We were thankful for the experience and thankful the boys were given an example of how the church is the church regardless of where it meets. Andrew was able to clearly articulate the lesson he had learned in his class (no references to drinking at all:)). We look forward to visiting a couple other churches over the next weeks and then settle in to one for our stint here in PA. There are of course churches around here with significant historic significance Micah is interested in checking out.

Last Days in Louisville, First Days in Philly

We have been so fortunate to have some dear friends in Louisville. I wanted to share this particular picture of us with the Copeland family. We had many dinners with them in their home and in ours during the course of the last 8+ years. Another family we have enjoyed getting to know is the Wolter family. They have a blog as well and put a great picture on it of all our kids together as well as a sweet goodbye message. You can see that here.


Now for pictures of the move:

Elijah evaluating my work after cleaning our old apartment.

You have to look closely, but you can definitely see our big boy Andrew riding in the co-pilot seat, helping Daddy navigate the big truck.

The boys in the van with all our clothes piled in the back.

The boys in the the lobby of our hotel/home for a week.

Supper at TGI Fridays.

Our first ride through downtown Philly. This is the Ben Franklin bridge... I am pretty sure. It is beautiful at night!

Last Thursday, we moved in to our new place here in PA. Two days later, I had all the boxes unpacked and out of the house. After eating out for almost a week, I was eager to get back to cooking meals. Needless to say, we are settled in.

One of the boys' favorite features of their new rooms is that they have really large alarm clocks beside their beds. They have a lot of buttons and the large numbers make them really cool, according to Andrew.

Sometimes they like to set them just for fun. Reminiscent of our first night in PA, we have had more middle-of-the-night drills. Now instead of fire drills, we have drills to see how fast we can identify which room the noise is coming from and how fast we can find the "off" button in the dark. Micah has, on occasion, failed the drill and hit the "snooze" button instead and had to face the 5 minute, re-drill consequences~

They also love the fact that we receive our mail through a slot in the door. When it is mail time, I now am alerted by both boys screaming and laughing at the envelopes, advertisements, postcards, etc. falling into the foyer. It teaches me to find joy in our journey to have kiddos that enjoy the simple things in life!

What's Going On?

After dividing all our stuff into "Store" and "Move", loading a POD and a moving truck (with the help of great friends), cleaning for the last time our Louisville home for the past year and a half, and driving for many hours through Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and the length of Pennsylvania, we are finally in Philadelphia! We are not quite in our "home" yet, but we are all safe and well taken care of. Moving is difficult. The physical work is exhausting and decision making can be daunting. Our first night in Philly was definitely proof that this is all true. When we realized that moving in to our apartment was not going to happen, we found a nearby hotel. Micah and I both were overwhelmed by all the obstacles in front of us and we wanted nothing more than a good night's rest. Our eyes were tired from driving in the rain for the better part of a whole day and I was keenly aware that I needed time to regroup. For all of us, sleep came very quickly and easily after melting into clean, crisp bed linens.

I don't remember falling asleep. What I do remember is having the thought, "Great day in the morning! What is that sound! It is really loud! Maybe it will stop soon... Oh... It's the fire alarm!!!" Boy was it effective! It was the equivalent of a blow horn in every one of the five floors of guest rooms. The next thing I know, Micah is jumping up, grabbing stuff- including the children, and trying to get to the door of our room to see what is going on. I started looking for shoes, then my purse, etc. but realized I was having great difficulty seeing anything. Was it because of smoke inhalation? Was I losing consciousness? No! I didn't have on my glasses!!! Another important thing to grab. Micah had stuck his head out into the hall to see what was going on. He did see and smell smoke so we were assured this was not some sort of crazy, middle of the night drill. Usually, you don't get to know your neighbors in a hotel, but in this situation, we got to know our neighbors extremely well. There is instant bonding when you see how people look in the wee hours of the morning! As you can imagine, we were all trying to avoid looking surprised at the chosen attire of some less-dressed guests as we all scurried toward the outside exits. There were police men and firemen arriving complete with sirens and flashing lights. Then, we heard someone announce the reason for all the commotion. Someone had set fire to a hot pocket in the lobby microwave. Needless to say, we were all relieved to go back to bed unharmed. Micah and I looked at each other and for the first time since we left Louisville, laughed out loud at our circumstances:)

We still have a few details to work out in the moving in department. The boys keep asking, "Where is our home?" I keep reminding them that our home is where we are all together. At this minute, we are all together at a hotel. Hopefully soon they will have access to all their toys and things and that might help their feelings about the situation:) It has been a while since I was in a totally new place. One of my first objectives was finding a nearbyTarget and I am happy to say that one is right around the corner! Micah started working this morning. The Chick-fil-a he will be managing is in a mall with a train for kids to ride so the boys think Daddy's new work is pretty cool already. I will try to keep you all up to date on our adventures here in Philly. Thanks for your prayers!

Moving to Philadelphia

We found out Wednesday that Micah will have an interim position with Chick-fil-a in northern Philadelphia, PA. We anticipate being there for around 6 months. This time in our lives- waiting and wondering where we were going to end up- has been trying and exciting. We are thrilled at the opportunity and eager to see what the other end of the road the Lord has paved for us holds. We will be traveling next weekend. Please pray for us all. Andrew is sad to be leaving his friends and familiar places and things. We all are for that matter. Any new place to him sounds strange if it's not "Louisville" or "Carolina". Elijah is just excited about a new adventure but a little uncertain all his toys being put into boxes will actually make it to the right destination. I need prayer as I sort through what to store and what to pack in the coming week. Micah is the cool, calm one in the family through all of the chaos. He is so thankful for this opportunity. I know that God has used all his experience to bring him to this point of managing a store on his own. Please pray for him; for perseverance, wisdom, and strength.

On Wednesday nights at LaGrange Baptist Church, we just started a new ministry to families called Seeds. The past couple of weeks, we have talked about wisdom. I was particularly drawn to the book of Proverbs where wisdom and foolishness is contrasted so clearly. The night Micah received the phone call about our move, I came upon this familiar passage:

The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the spirit.

Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:1-3

Our family testifies that these words are true as we have been tested and led down unfamiliar paths the past few years. The story of our journey is mysterious to us, but the Author is good, trustworthy, and our only hope.

Farm Fun

One of our new friends is "Miss Mandy" as the boys call her. She had a fabulous idea to go pick apples at Huber Farms today. The weather couldn't have been better for tractor rides and eating freshly-picked apples under the shade of a tree. The boys helped her pick about 22 pounds of apples as well as apples for themselves. By the middle of the picking experience, they knew well how to choose the best apples.
Andrew ran through the vineyard and Elijah studied the grapes.
Is that a watermelon and a green pepper? No! Of course not! It is Andrew and Elijah!
A kind woman shared a whole bag of bread with the boys to feed the coy and catfish and the ducks in this pond. Elijah told Andrew this sign says "Don't Go ANY Closer or You May Fall in the Water!!!".

Tonight, in the spirit of Wendell Berry, we used the apples we picked ourselves to make an apple crisp. The boys were so excited to eat what they had a hand in bringing to the table. Maybe next time we will pick lots and lots of vegetables:)

Help Our Unbelief!

One of my favorite quotes in the gospels comes from John 9. A father desperate for help for his son comes to Jesus. Jesus, knowing he can help says to the man, "All things are possible for one who believes". The man's response to Jesus resonates with me because of its honesty and spiritual self-awareness. He immediately cries out, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

This statement sums up this time in our lives. Last Sunday Micah and I put our children in a car (with Nana, of course) headed to NC and we traveled on a plane the next day to CA. Have you ever looked at those two states on the map? I had before, but never had they seemed so far from each other than on this day. Through my tears, I confessed: Lord, I believe You are the Sustainer of all our lives and will take care of my little ones; help my unbelief!

As we traveled by plane through Dallas to Orange County, CA: Lord, we are 35,000 feet up in the air over a part of Utah that looks like it couldn't possibly have a runway! I know you created gravity and this beautiful sky we now hang in inside a heavy hunk of metal and know if the pilots are well rested today; help my unbelief!

This is my only picture from the trip. I snapped it out the airplane window and then, my camera batteries gave out. Curiously, I had just replaced them. When we returned home and I added new ones, found closeups of my bedroom furniture at the end of the memory card... I think our little Elijah the photographer was the battery-using culprit!

Our time in California was productive. There are some exciting opportunities there! I also got to see my sister Amy and the place she now calls home. As we left our whirlwind of a trip I prayed: God, You have brought us here and provided for us through Chick-fil-a. We know You go before us and have all wisdom and insight into the questions that loom over us; help our unbelief!

And as we continue to move daily through uncertainties waiting on God's will for our lives: Lord, we know the plans You have for us are good and You are doing 1,000 things right now we cannot see; help our unbelief!

We are so thankful for family and friends who are enduring the craziness that is our life right now. Please pray for us- specifically that we will have wisdom in making decisions, for Chick-fil-a as they give us opportunities- or not, and that the boys transition to where ever we end up will be easy for them. We will continue to keep you updated!

A Change of Mini Van Music

One of my favorite memories of my childhood home was listening to my dad's records; the real ones. I distinctly remember sitting at the dining room table at Christmastime listening to Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas" on vinyl. When I moved out of my parent's house, I purchased one of my dad's band's Compact Disks. I will never forget popping it into my Toyta Tercel player. Singing along to "Cool Change" by The Little River Band was nostalgic, but still not as good as hearing it on vinyl!

During our packing, packing, and still more packing, I stuck all our CD's into one of those books with sleeves and stored the cases. We took the book down to the van and broke out some of our teen years' favorites for the boys to listen to. We sampled a few oldies like the Third Day peach CD, Michael W Smith's "Missing Person", the Newsboys "Shine"... I could go on and on.

Last night after church, the boys were still feeling restless in the car on the way home from church. Andrew was singing in falsetto something about pancakes- I think. Having a slight headache from the sound of his precious voice bouncing all over the inside of the car, I suggested we turn on some music we could all enjoy peacefully together. I looked through our selection, Best of Bach... Nichole Nordeman... Bela Fleck... Seeds Worship... Nickel Creek... Ahhhh... The choice was obvious. Five Iron Frenzy Proof that the Youth Are Revolting. I chose it for a couple of reasons. One- I thought the boys would enjoy hearing the wind instruments and two- I could tell the the story of how mommy and daddy were at this concert when they were first married and "sang backup" with hundreds of other people on the CD (It's true! Our names are listed with the others on the CD insert!!!). My super hip stage name as printed is "Tiffany Childs" and my husbands is "Micha":)

From the first sound of Reese Roper opening the concert with a high F, 16 beat shout "To Hell with the Devil!!!!!!!" to song number 6 "Receive Him" (literally the whole song with a few drum rolls at the beginning), the boys laughed and danced as hard as two boys can strapped in to a Mazda MPV. I can say it provided a joyous ride home and needless to say, my headache subsided. Next time I have a migraine, it is loud falsetto singing and a ska beat for me. I wonder what the boys memories of "Daddy and Mommy's music" will be?

For those of you that were hoping for an update on our family and our move, we are waiting. Micah puts it well: we are not anxious, just restless. Waiting is hard and the boxes in our house are looming. Things do feel a little upside down--- Ok a lot upside down. Please continue to pray for us- that God would continue to make our path straight. We don't want it to be just any place, but His place for us. Pray that we don't miss opportunities today while we look ahead to the future.

Providence

At the beginning of the week, we thought we might be moving across the country. This made for the most exciting, stressful time Micah and I have probably ever experienced together. As you can imagine for the 14 hours we thought we were moving, we were moving! Then, we found out it was a "moving your family across the country" false alarm. In wrestling with the emotions and trials of this situation, I am thankful that after a day or so, I have been brought back around to what I know to be true. It is amazing and gracious of God to even give me direction in sorting out what I feel from what I know.

I have been reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love and read this paragraph last night after asking God all day all the whys of the situation:

Can you worship a God who isn't obligated to explain His actions to you? Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?

Now for those of you who know me, I like straightforwardness, simplicity, and clarity. I don't know if I could have had a more blunt response to all my questions. Of course Chan's thoughts are no different than God's response to Job. They were exactly what I needed to hear.

God even gave me an answer to my "what to do next" question by reminding me of my own words to a friend last week. She was dealing with a very difficult situation and I encouraged her to think and meditate on how big and good God is. It is always easier to give the advice instead of receive it. When it is my turn to live what I know, will I be faithful or will I be all talk? In His providential care, God had given me means to deal with my current situation. I am sure that in the future, when the whys and hows are answered, God's foreseeing care and guidance will be obvious to us.

Things have calmed down and those initial urgent feelings have subsided. Micah and I feel like we have a better plan to deal with the future. Furthermore, we had a great week in Richmond, KY. Micah went there to help with a CFA that had just recently opened. I left my entire wardrobe in Louisville, so I spent a lot of time at a new shopping center being creative with clearance clothing!

Here the boys are sitting on their favorite thing at the shopping center; the fountain! I was sure one of them was going to fall in, but they were careful~

Here are the boys in the hotel after on our last night in Richmond resting peacefully:

Photography by Elijah

For a few months, Elijah has been "borrowing" our camera and taking pictures. I found about 50 extra pictures on our memory card recently! So to encourage his photographic bursts of creativity, we got him his own camera for his 3rd birthday. His memory card and camera memory are completely full already (with around 400 pictures!!!). Here are some of our favorites from his first collection with his titles:

Legos

Feet

Drums at Mimi's House

Elijah

I am sure there will be a second collection soon!

Traveling

Micah left on July 12th. Andrew, Elijah, my parents and I also left that day for NC. Thankfully, my mom and dad had come up to KY to help with all the packing. Since then, The boys and I have visited Wilkesboro, Statesville, Mooresville, Stony Point, Blowing Rock, Boone, and Jefferson, NC, as well as Greer, SC and Atlanta, GA (and many south Atlanta vicinities). Micah has been camped out in Atlanta of course. We will head back home Friday until we know where we will go from there. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our travels:

Micah and me right before he went through security at the airport.

The boys at "Sharks on the Parkway" (as we call it:)) headed for outer space!

Uncle Matt camping out with the boys in the backyard.

Helping Chelsea clean out the pool where she is a lifeguard.

Sir Andrew conquering the swing set.

The boys posing with "Bessie"--- who loves attention!

At the New River after inter tubing about a mile.

Visiting with Uncle Matt and Aunt Stacie- excited about having a new cousin!

In 5 p.m. Atlanta traffic~ We made it through!

In Olympic Park in Downtown Atlanta...

At the Georgia Aquarium...

I just really liked the jellyfish~

Micah pointing out the huge fish and whale sharks...

Mommy trying to get a picture with the boys before they tried to climb up the rocks...

The look on Elijah's face is hilarious!!!

One of the many Chick-fil-a billboards in Atlanta and one of my favorites.

In the Chick-fil-a museum at the Dwarf House Diner replica.

Outside CFA Corporate Office.

The Long Goodbye

The last couple of weeks have been strange. First, as I mentioned before, Micah was accepted into the Interim Operator Program with Chick-fil-a. He is at training in Atlanta right now. It is very exciting and humbling to have been given this opportunity. He is being treated very well and enjoying meeting so many people within the company. After this training at the end of July, we hope he will be assigned to go to an Interim Position at a store. This would be anywhere. Before we all left Louisville for these three weeks away, we started preparing to go. We don't know how soon he will know where he will be relocated, so this has made us both consider seriously the way we speak to friends when we see them.

We moved to Louisville 8 years ago. There are many friends, especially those we met at SBTS, that have already moved on. There are also many friends from Bagdad (KY) to Shepherdsville we have been trying to see, maybe for the last time or at least the last time for a long time. For all our friends who are believers, Micah even began using the phrase, "If not before, we'll see you on the other side!" I have thought about this at length as you can imagine. What a hope we have in eternity to spend with those who love Jesus! This isn't a profound conclusion- as I have believed this for a long time. But the reality of it in our present situation is sobering and comforting. I have been convicted of all the times I take for granted either time I have or will have in the company of friends and family alike. I was especially convicted when I watched my husband go through security at the airport before boarding a plane for Atlanta. We are all in the hands of our Creator as we walk on earth and look beyond. Goodbyes are difficult and sad but ultimately, they are only temporal.

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

One day in the fullness of time, we will know the reason for every part of our journey including our time with each of you! To our dear Louisville friends, if we don't see you again, we pray we see you on the other side. For friends all over the US, we may be headed to a CFA near you!