Our little fair maiden.

Bug hunting.

Emma loves milk.

This one is kind of blurry, but here is his "touch-down" look.

 

 

William on the bench in our "backyard" at the hotel.

We've done it. We have invaded the north.

We arrived in Illinois yesterday, did some house hunting, had a wonderful evening with the E. family from our church, watched an Andy Griffith episode, and went to bed. It still doesn't feel like we're moving. I guess since we travel so much, it has the feeling of another trip. I suppose it will hit us sometime soon. The area around here is just gorgeous. Little hills, (they are little hills, aren't they?) massive trees as far as the eye can see, clear skies, and cool weather...

At the E.'s house, we were discussing whether or not we had to get a Yankee license plate, or were there other options. We were told we could get custom plates, which was very agreeable to us. As we were driving home (or back to the hotel) Mr E. said, "If it is any comfort to you, just remember that Illinois used to be apart of Virginia." ;-)

As I sit here and look around our living room, many memories come and flood my mind. I remember when we first moved in, the first night I slept in my room, every party we have had, the many people from the states and across the globe staying in our home. So much has happened in the short time that we have lived here, and so much is about to change.

We are very excited to be moving to a new area, a more cooler and beautiful place in this country. We are ecstatic to be welcomed into a new family where my Dad will be leading a growing church. We are thrilled to be some of the few people to venture up to the great west (not north, remember? ;-)) and bring some southern flavor to our area. We cannot wait for the snow, fresh corn, the hills, the wide sky and no city sounds or lights. So many new things, changes and experiences.

Yet, while we are excited about this change, there is also a touch of sadness in our going away. We will be leaving our church family here. Our relatives are here, the community that we have worked with and ministered to will not be moving with us. The home we built - the people we love. And yes, the restaurants. :)

This Thursday, we will be moving out of the place we have called "home" for eight years. While the brick structure may stay, the memories will go and stay with us forever. We will still be a family, we will still be together, and we will continue to fulfill God's call for our lives and remember that He is the one who holds us together, who He leads and directs us, and His plan for our lives is flawless.

The Sun doth rise and set each day;
The Moon hath many a face.
The Flowers bloom, seed, wither and fade,
And another one takes it's place.

The Tide flows in and than flows out,
Leaving treasures as it goes;
And taking what once clothed the beach,
To places it does not know.

New Life is given as each day passes,
Another life that once was is now gone,
Leaving a colorful history behind them,
And a legacy that will carry on.

Seasons come and seasons go,
The months pass quickly by,
Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall,
They fly before our eyes.

Seasons in life are sure to change,
Some happy and others not,
And yet we must always thank our God,
For each and every change He brought.

I promised a post to let y'all know of the change in our lives. Southerners to the core, our family will be answering a call from the great mid-west (they refuse to let us call it the north. ;-)). While up in IL a few weeks ago, we spent time with a wonderful congregation. My Dad received a call from them asking him to fill the role of pastor of their fellowship. After much prayer and seeking God's guidance, our family has felt the hand of God upon us, blessing this change.

We put our house on market late last week, and after four very short days, our house sold today. We will be moving out by the end of the month to start a new season of our lives among some new wonderful friends. Please keep our family in your prayers as deal with the stress of being moved out in twenty days. :) For those of you who have seen our home can imagine the amount of boxes and bubble wrap we will need. The Serven Clan had a contest to see how many boxes it took them to pack their books, and we thought about doing the same thing. So far, we have 30 boxes of JUST books packed, but that is only the schoolroom and my mom's room. :) I'll try to keep an accurate count.

As of last night, Christa and Daniel are officially engaged, which adds another dimension of excitement to our lives. Please keep them in prayer as they seek God's will for their lives and make decisions regarding their future.

We will sorely miss all y'all here in Texas. But remember, IL has much cooler weather, four seasons, and it snows! So, feel free to visit us any time! I'll try to keep y'all posted as things move along, but I won't promise anything.

Okay, so I have been procrastinating about posting on my blog. It has been rather difficult to find time to post an update on our doings as we have had so much going on the past few weeks. I can't think of anything to write about since most of the things going on here are way too complex and detailed to put in a blog post at this point, so that is all I am going say. There...I posted...

p.s. ~ Details on the detailed and complex topic coming up next. Check back Monday for more information.