Our New House

Some pictures of our new house - we are thankful that the Lord has provided abundantly more than we could ask or imagine.

- NOTE - we have only been in the house for one week. Thus, it is still a work in progress. We wanted to share it with you none-the-less.

Here is a picture of Move-In day. We had about 10 - 15 folks from the church help us unpack the truck. It went so quickly! Thank You West End!



Here is a picture of our Family Room.



This is the Kitchen and eating area. We have a dining room too that we'll use when people come over - we'll get to use my grandparents dining room table and chairs.



Here is a picture of part of our bedroom - we decided to have our desk in there too.



Owen's room.



The Living Room.



Owen admiring his new back yard.



Matt enjoying his first time grilling burgers on our new grill.



Matt's first day of work.



Overall we are doing well - there are certainly sad moments. It's hard to move, but the Lord has faithfully met us in the midst of us. We covet your prayers as we continue to settle in here and learn what life in the ministry and in Richmond will look like. Thanks!

To the Beach!

After we drove to Richmond and closed on our house we went to the beach for 2 days with part of Matt's family. It was a good break from all of the good byes and the packing. Owen enjoyed the beach too - it took him a while to adjust to the sand, but after a bit he was grabbing handfuls to put in his truck. We didn't go in the water, but there was a pool, so that was fun! Thanks Noelle, Scott, Patricia, Grams and Grampop for a great break at the beach!

This is Owen after he's warmed up enough to sit on the sand. So sweet.



Owen, Ashley (L) and Madison (R) enjoyed sitting in this little pool right near the ocean. Sometimes a wave would bring water up to them and the adults would make more sound than the kids. It was quite a site I'm sure! 7 grown adults surrounding these 3 kiddos. What fun!

Final Good Byes

We have arrived in Richmond, and are finally able to post some pictures!

Here are a few from our final times in Charlotte. It was so hard to leave these people we love so dearly, but we trust the Lord to meet us in that and to provide all that we need here in Richmond.

Matt had wanted to have an "Apple Pie and Ice Cream" night for the longest time, so we decided to do that our last Saturday in Charlotte. We wanted to introduce our friends to the wonderful treat of a Costco apple pie and ice cream. It was also a good excuse to hang out!



On truck packing day we had about 9 guys helping out - they packed the truck in about 90 minutes. We ordered some pizza and invited spouses and kids of the truck packers to join us. It was great to have them all in our home one last time. We had many good byes all in a row. It was tough. Our final good bye was to the Hunt's - which I think was fitting since they were some of our first friends here! We are blessed to know all of you and look forward to keeping in touch and coming to visit!

Fun Times

The Lord has continued to bless us with some great times with the people we love in Charlotte. Here is a sampling. (NOTE: This will most likely be our last post in a little while since we move Wednesday, go to the beach for 2 days, and then move into our house. We'll post pictures as soon as we can!)

The McCann's came over last weekend and we ate dinner after the kids went to sleep. It was a great time of chatting and just enjoying time together. Here are Owen and Lucy before bed time.




After the guys took their last final, a group of us went to the pool to celebrate. Here are the ladies and babies.



This past Thursday I got to go out for dessert with Mary, Lindsey and Melissa. We enjoyed chatting and hanging out AND eating delicious desserts. I'm going to miss you ladies!



Celia Kulp had her first dance recital yesterday. It was so sweet! Owen and I went and enjoyed watching Celia dance. Here is a picture after the dance of Mary and her girls (Celia and Bennett), me and Owen and Melissa and Sam).



At one point during the recital both Owen and Bennett were restless. We spent some time walking (with my help) and crawling around outside with Bennett. Here is a picture of Bennett giving Owen and hug. So sweet!

Calzone

Owen enjoyed his first calzone recently - he loved it!

A picture of our family of calzones.



Owen's face after eating his calzone!

Anniversary Trip to Charleston

After graduation weekend, Matt and I went to Charleston, SC to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (May 11). My parents stayed in Charlotte with Owen - they had a great time. We had a great time too! We were glad to spend some time just the two of us, but were equally glad to return home to our boy.

Here is a picture of us on a carriage tour of Charleston. We learned a lot of neat things and saw a lot of the city.



Here is a picture of one of the churches in Charleston - there are a ton! You will notice on the right of our picture the profile of Winston - our horse. He did a great job.



At night we ate dinner at a place called Poogans Porch and then walked around near the water. We finished the night off with some yummy Ben and Jerry's! The next morning we ate breakfast at our Inn on the 4th floor terrace and then went for a run near the water. We spent part of the afternoon at the beach and then headed home. This is us at the Water Front Park at night.

RTS Graduation, May 26th

Sorry for the great delay in getting this post up! With our move date 3 days away, I've been busy packing and Matt has been busy studying for his ordination exams. So, here are the much anticipated pictures from graduation.

It was a great weekend - my parents came down, and almost all of Matt's family (we missed you Anna!). It was fun to have them in town to celebrate with us and to visit Owen of course. The graduation ceremony was a great time of worshiping the Lord and hearing a great charge from a professor. It was a blessing to see where the Lord has taken us the last three years as a family, and for Matt as the graduate.

Here is Matt walking up the aisle after receiving his diploma. Can you tell he's excited?!



Matt Owen and I after the ceremony. Owen went to nap at the Kulps shortly after this picture was taken.



Here are all of our family members that came for the weekend. What a group, huh?!



Mike and Melissa Kruger have been a big part of our last three years. Mike is a professor at RTS and also a pastor at our church. Mike mentored Matt for the last three years and has taught him so much about the ministry and the Word! Melissa met with myself and a few other seminary wives and taught us so much about being the wife of a pastor! We will miss them a lot!



This is a picture of us and the Hunts and McCanns. Matt has been in class with Jake (Hunt) and Sean (McCann) for all three years. They along with their wives and children are some of our best friends here. We can't imagine our seminary years with out them.



Matt and I at the RTS sign.



Here are some of the guys and their babies - all of which have been born while we were at RTS! Sean and Lucy, Jake and Sam, Tyler and Maggie and Matt and Owen.



In the afternoon, we had a cookout for some graduates and their families at a park in Charlotte. It was a great time. I forgot my camera, but got this picture from Lindsey. It's of myself, Carrie and Linley.



Back at the house we enjoyed some good cousin time! This is Owen with Madison (of Ashley and Madison - Matt's sister's twin girls). we get to see them at the beach for a few days this week! We are excited about that.

Graduation and Charleston

Matt graduated from RTS on Saturday, May 26th! It was a great day and a great weekend with friends and family. Then on Monday - Tuesday, Matt and I got to go to Charleston, SC to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Owen stayed at home with Gramma and Grampa. Everyone had a good time.

We'll post pictures soon!!

Mothers Day!

We enjoyed a great day on Sunday for Mother's Day. We didn't get to spend it with our mother's, but Matt and Owen did a great job of loving me and honoring the Lord's work in and through me. We went to church, ate leftovers from our anniversary date Friday at PF Changs, took a nap, went for a long walk and had a great dinner. Thanks you two!


Here is a picture of Owen and I in our PINK for mother's day!



This is my dinner that Matt made! Our new tradition is to have breakfast for dinner on Mothers Day - made by the Matt and Owen - since Matt will always work on Sunday mornings for church, we figured we'd do breakfast at night! It's my favorite too! This year we had pecan waffles and cantelope and coffee. YUM YUM!

Last Days

Our time in Charlotte is sadly coming to a close. The close is being marked by many events. Here are a few pictures we wanted to share.

On May 5th, there was a Senior Banquet for RTS. It was held at Maggiano's where we enjoyed delicious food, some funny awards created by Jake and Matt, and some great memories from the Seniors of the importance of their time at RTS. Here are Ted, Matt, Jake, Tyler and Sean.



Matt and I at the Banquet - Owen was sound asleep at the Kulp's. Thank You Kulps!



For the last two and a half years, Matt has attended intern lunch once a month. This is a time that two of our pastors (Mike and Tom) have led for the interns at our church. They meet over Mellow Mushroom pizza and prepare for ministry. This has been a very important time for Matt! This as the last one! Matt, Josh, Mike, Tyler, Tom, Dave, Nat (Jake was absent - he and Melissa was in the hospital awaiting the birth of Sam!)



RTS had a picnic lunch on the last day of classes. Here is a shot of the kiddos hanging out! Lucy, Mia, Celia, Bennett, and Owen! We'll miss these kids! And their parents!

Hello Again!

We have not been up to date at all with posting things in the last month. Sorry! We are doing great - just busy. Matt has 2 more weeks of seminary so he's finishing up his work and preparing for his ordination exams. Owen and I have been surviving some of his teething and a bout of "Hand Foot Mouth Disease." We are on the other end of it, so it's much better!

Owen loves trucks, balls, dogs and books right now. Whenever we are in the car and he sees a truck or bus (which is all the time, apparently Charlotte is the truck capital of the world) he points and says "Duagh" which means Truck. So fun. When an airplane flies over, he looks up and points. He can say Shoe. He likes to take shoes and put them on our feet. Yesterday when I was getting ready he brought me a flip flop for one foot and a Croc for the other foot. Very helpful and purpposeful!

Here are some pictures of our last month.

This is his shaggy hair before his most recent hair cut.



Crawling position. We're still not walking, but cruising everywhere. Soon!




This is what Owen looks like with a 102.8 fever.



Owen is really learning how to build with these blocks! It's very fun to watch his mind work and build.



Owen and I got hair cuts on the same day.



Here is Owen "cruising" along the couch.



Owen likes to pretend to talk on the phone. Usually it's one of his four grandparents calling if it's not daddy :)

Truck and Ball

Does it get better than this for a little boy? Owen was playing with his dump truck. The dump truck was driving around the toy chest (vroom vroom) carrying 3 balls (bah). What a boy!

Reading

Well, we all know that Owen loves reading. If you can recall pictures in the past of Owen sitting in a pile of books reading to his hearts content. Well, the other day, he ventured up to the 2nd shelf of the book case. He was very sweetly holding and thumbing through a book by Rev. Charles Stanley. He's ready for some books with no pictures.

Swim Lessons

Owen has been taking swim lessons for the past few months. We have only been able to go to a few of the lessons because of our trips to Richmond for interviews and house searches, but we had a lot of fun on the few that we went to. He even went under water and didn't cry! This past Saturday was the last class. Matt was able to join us and take some pictures and a video!

Owen and Mommy enjoying the pool.



Here we are practicing "jumping" into the water. You have them sit or stand on the edge of the pool. Sing "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a big fall. 1, 2, 3." Then you jump them into the water. And you sing "All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't get Humpty together again" as you swim them back to the wall and get them out of the water to try again.

Here we are before the jump.



Jumping.


Practicing the back float - Owen just chills out!



This is to help them to get used to being on their tummy in the water. While we were doing this and another game, Owen would smile, look around at the other kids/parents, and clap his hands under the water. So sweet!



We'll post a video when we can figure that out :)