Writing with Spaghetti!

Today we used a fun, edible, sticky item to work on spelling words and the letter/number of the week...SPAGHETTI!!

I got the idea at this website:
http://creeksidelearning.com/2012/11/06/writing-with-spaghetti/

Here are some pictures:

First days in Carlisle

Here are some things from our first 8 days in Carlisle. We didn't get a picture of the moving helpers on either end, but they worked real hard getting the truck packed in Richmond and then unloading at our apartment and storage unit here in Carlisle! Thank you! This is the front door of our apartment in Carlisle. The wreath was a gift from my friend Jennifer, it's perfect since winter has already come! Matt and the boys put lights up on the tree outside. Didn't think we'd jump from "fall" in Richmond to winter in PA, but we did! Glad we got some new winter coats!!

Owen was given a gumball by Mr. Pete at the pizza store Saturday night - it was his first time chewing gum. He loved it! You could tell he felt very grown up!

Pennsylvania welcomed us!

The playground in the apartment complex we are living in for the next 5-6 months while our house is being built. So thankful for this!

My first "bagel time" in Carlisle! Glad they make bagels and coffee here :)More glad that God is here - the simple truth that we teach our kids "Where is God?" "Everywhere!" is actually quite profound!! Thankful it's true.

These are the mountains we will be able to see from our front door when our house is ready! So thankful for a beautiful part of the country to live in!

We survived our first day back at school - even had some Owen and Lucy reading time! Hoping for God to meet us in this as well and get us back into the swing of things real quick!

Final days in Richmond

I just wanted to catalog some of the final things we did in Richmond. I wish I had taken a picture of every thing and ever person those final weeks...God provided us with lots of play times with friends, visits to parks, lunches and dinners out with people we love...this is a good sampling! (Unfortunately I can't get these in order...oh well!) Our final night at El Paso - our date night and family night spot for 5 1/2 years. YUM!

This is the session and some friends praying for us at a very dear good-bye party at church our final day in Richmond.

Final UR football game...and they were playing the Dukes!

One final trip to see Mr. Andy at the fire house!

Raking helpers! They worked so hard raking and playing with our kids so I could pack and then they even brought us Chick Fil A!! We love you guys!

We went to say Thank You and Good Bye to our pediatrician, Dr. Scott, and his staff! They took such good care of our kiddos since Owen was 1 year old! Thank You West End Pediatrics!!

Kitchen packing party!! These ladies worked SO hard - we did rest a little to eat some ice cream and pray - getting our kitchen packed up for us. Did you know how much stuff you can pack into one kitchen?! Amazing! Thanks ladies for your friendship and help!

We made it!

We have been in Carlisle, PA for 8 days now! It is so crazy to think that all of our fixing of the house, packing, saying goodbyes and moving are all in the past! We have been doing really well overall...the kids are each acting out in more extreme ways, we are a little more irritable with each other or finding it hard to figure out what to do at a given time, which reminds us that we are all in transition! We are asking God to meet us each in the specific ways we need, and to provide all that we need! We have been welcomed with eagerness here which is exciting! We attended worship on Thanksgiving Eve and this past Sunday and I was able to attend the ladies Christmas dessert and white elephant gift exchange which were all great. It is neat to start to get to know the people and town that God has called us to!

Saturday night we had a fun "get to know Carlisle" night that Matt planned for us. They were offering FREE horse drawn carriage rides downtown, followed by the lighting of the Christmas tree in the town square. Then we were going to try a new pizza place...very important to find our new go-to pizza place!

Well, it was EXTREMELY windy and VERY cold, but we went for it anyway...some of us having a pity party about the cold even though I grew up in the North! It was a blast! The carriage ride was real sweet and then we were so cold we watched the tree lighting from the car and warmed up with some pizza at George's. We came to find out that George was a Christian and now his son runs the shop and he is also a believer. We chatted with him for a while and it was neat to hear some of his story. And the pizza was great! Thankful for some new memories in our new town!

One week to go!

This blog update has been brewing for a long time! If word has not reached you yet, we are getting ready to move to Carlisle, PA in ONE WEEK! Things are pretty hectic here. As a simple snapshot of that, today during "rest" time, Matt was on the phone learning about various types of health insurance, I was cleaning up school from today, getting school ready for tomorrow, reading my Bible for a moment and packing some boxes, two men were working on our house to fix some things found in the inspection, a termite inspector was walking around, Owen was writing a story on the computer, Baxter was talking to the termite inspector :) and playing with his Rescue Heros and Lucy was sleeping through it all! This whole job search/house preparing/moving process has been one that the Lord has used in MIGHTY ways to grow us and change us as well as open our eyes to who HE is and what HE is doing. There were lots of times that fear and anxiety and panic attacks and head aches were so intense for me as we waited and wondered and processed through many applications and a few interviews. But through it all, we see God's hand very clearly at work! He sustained our marriage. He opened a door very clearly for Matt to receive a call at a PCA church in Carlisle, PA where he can use the gifts and passions that God has given him in new ways and serve and love the people of CRPC. He sold our house in ONE day! He led us to a great apartment to rent while a house is built in a new development 3 minutes from the church. He provided the boys with instant friends in one of the families at the church. Etc. Etc. Etc. We are sad to leave Richmond, that is for sure! This is the town where we have learned the first lessons of what life as a ministry family is life. Matt has done his first weddings, baptisms, and funerals. We have laughed with and cried with people. We explored countless parks and fun kids activities with sweet friends. We have brought two of our three babies home to this house from the hospital (the third baby was only 1 when we moved here!!). We weathered bedrest here and were cared for so well by our doctor and hospital and church and family. We started our homeschooling adventure. It's been a big 5 1/2 years! We are sad to go! And yet, we are so thrilled at God's providence and so eager to see what He has for us in this next step of the journey. Would you pray with and for us? We have a buys final 7 days in Richmond and would love your prayers for health, patience, grace and strength! Pray for our kids as they process leaving and say good bye and for us too! We look forward to sharing more of this journey with you as we go! But for now, to God be the glory, great things he has done!