Summer's End...

I jogged to the backyard to get this image before the sun slipped over the horizon...

Then I turned around and directly behind me saw this:

Listening to speeches tonight on the radio of the convention and hearing all the personal heritage stories made me reflect on mine... a few more pics from my way back to the house after watching the sunset.  Loving the colors and textures...

The newsletter has been sent off to the printers (whew!) -- it will be back next week!  This weekend we will enjoy some local Labor Day weekend festivals in Manito and Delavan, then the next weekend we'll be visiting Dillon Mennonite to share about our future in Albania!  Exciting days!

Study Break

This week we've been working hard on updating our mailing list, crafting a newsletter, poring over a new home school curriculum and mapping out the year in general.  So after supper tonight we took a short bike ride to breathe some fresh air.  On the way out the door I grabbed my camera to give you a few snap shots of of our home here in the midwest, including the view from my front porch. 

We'll be sending off the letter to the editors tomorrow, then it will be off to the printers!  If you want to be sure to get a copy in your mailbox (including our snazzy new prayer card for your refrigerator!), be sure to let us know by commenting or signing up in the box in the right hand margin of the blog!

Workin' At the Car Wash...

Our first week in Illinois is behind us!  The last of the boxes on the main floor are gone, now just to tackle mine and Nathan's closet and a few items in the office and we should be officially 'settled in'.  

This week Nathan worked with our friend, Jim, to get the RV ready to go for our first big homeland ministry assignment trip in October.  Since the photos below were taken, they added a hitch and a large metal storage box to hold necessities like a small generator, propane tank, extension cords, etc. 

The kids have been chomping at the bit for their first chance to ride in their 'house on wheels' and so to assuage those feelings a tiny bit we decided to give her a wash as a family activity.  In doing so, I think we came up with 'her' name ('Winnie' was 'too obvious' a name, in Nathan's opinion).  Nathan started thinking of Albanian names and landed on one that we think is quite fitting:  Vera.  Vera is actually short for "Pranvera" which in Albanian means 'spring.'  While our 1985 Minnie Winnebago is far from the spring season of her life, she indicates a new season for our family. 

We may take Vera on an overnight camping trip soon to find out what we need to know about further outfitting her for a month of life on the road with her.  In the mean time, enjoy some pics from Tuesday night!

On a more serious note, if you have a heart for orphans, would you join me in praying for Haiti for the next three weeks?  While I've never personally visited, Nathan and several of my friends have. The orphan crisis in Haiti is severe (records on kids are virtually non-existent, corruption is rampant -- you get the picture). They have re-opened their adoption processing office for a brief month to process files for families who have been already been matched with waiting children before the office closes again to start the process of Hague Compliance.  While at the Created for Care retreat last March, I had an assigned seat during meal time next to a woman named Dena.  She and her family have been pursuing the adoption of a little boy named Dmitry for a LONG time.  The next twenty days or crucial or it could be TWO YEARS before he can come home.  Read her post here:  http://cupcakesbeansandrice.blogspot.com/2012/08/tick-tock-tick-tock.html .

Rewind: the last week in Wilmore

I found some photos from our last week in Wilmore that I just had to share!  First up:  service project at the center by the Asbury Women's soccer team!  They were such a huge help, painting two back doors, power washing the deck, and emptying the trash room of some loose bricks (in two hours they hauled nearly the entire pile up to the street -- and those disappeared before daybreak the next day)!

Ellie and Reni wanted to join in, so I gave them some brushes and buckets of 'paint' (water) :-)

Our last Sunday in Kentucky we had supper with our friends, the Rozsas.  Like us, they are starting out this fall on raising funds to serve as missionaries (to Hungary)!  Nathan and I met Viktor at English camp in Hungary in 2001 where Viktor worked as a translator.  He later came to the States for undergraduate work and later on to get an Masters of Divinity -- in between which he married our WGM colleague (former volunteer coordinator), Kristen!  They have two daughters, Emily and Gabby.  Emily and Reni share the very same birthday!  How cool is that?

The night before we left, we had supper with the Gouge family.  They've only been in Wilmore two years, but we feel like we've known them much, much longer.  Technically, we have known 'of' them prior to their moving to Wilmore, but the past two years they have come as a family very faithfully to our Global Cafe` fellowship on Sunday evenings!  EVERY time we would drive down Lexington Avenue, the kids would see their white picket fence and and yell, "There's Shannon and Reed's house!"

You can see why the kids enjoy being with these kids!

 Root beer floats for dessert!

So, so grateful for these sweet memories and even sweeter friendships to remember our last days in Wilmore!

We've moved!

Whew!  We have been in our ‘new house’ for three days now and while it feels like we have a long ways to go in unpacking and settling in, we really have come a long way!

On Wednesday we scurried around to get the final things packed away in our van, using every available square inch of possible storage (including stuffing the kayaks we were hauling on the roof).  We had final hugs and goodbyes with Jonathan and Faith (our dear friends and the new directors of the student center), with Nathan praying for them as we huddled at the top of the driveway.  Jonathan took a quick snapshot of our family in front of the center and we drove away.  It’s difficult to describe the feelings I was processing as we drove out of town.  While I briefly entertained memories of leaving Wilmore as a college graduate 15 years ago, I couldn’t get past anything other than an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for the years He gave us in Wilmore since returning in 1998. 

We didn’t get too far down the road before stopping for lunch in Louisville with my former college roommate, Lindsay, and her mother, Sandra.  It was a nice diversion to break up the trip a bit!  In spite of living relatively close by, we haven’t gotten together as much as we’d like (though we give each other a pass for things like parenthood (me) and med school/residency (her) and so on…).

Before sunset Wednesday evening we were pulling into the driveway of my grandfather’s family farm and walking into the house we will call home for the next several months.  Mom and Dad had supper ready and waiting for us.  What a blessing to arrive to home-cooked food and made-up beds!  Since then, we have been unpacking boxes and setting up home.  In some ways I feel a bit like the college freshmen who moved into campus dorms at Asbury … except with just a bit more stuff.

Believe it or not, but this is after three days of working... [sigh]

Today we transferred registration for our van, got new driver’s licenses, and picked up plates for the Mini Winnie (Winnebago) all before enjoying breakfast with Grandpa Van and Marilyn (gotta hit the DMV as soon as it opens on Saturday morning)!  Oh the joys of re-locating!

We are grateful for the help of my (Cydil’s) parents who have entertained the kids, moved boxes, ran extension cords, disinfected cabinets, and on and on.  While we have been busy working, Ellie and Reni are thoroughly enjoying life in the country.  While it’s only a brief season, it’s a blessing for me to see them experience a slice of what life was like for me as a child (and it’s only just begun)!

One of the challenges to where we live is a lack of convenient internet connection.  While we have data plans on our phones (for now) which allow us to send (albeit brief) and receive e-mails and post the occasional tweet, posting here to the blog is going to require a bit more intention.  I don’t necessarily think it’s all bad – I’m sure in some ways my productivity will increase! 

Reni is enjoying a more accessible 'playground' thanks to intermediate steps that our friend Jim added on Reni's behalf

 

To those of you remembering our family in prayer during this transition – thank you!  God’s provision is evident at every turn and right now my grateful list would start with a comfortable familiar home, happy kids who are loving life in the country, family we can “drop in” on (for the first time in our married lives), and friends (who we already miss very much!) who have gone above and beyond to show us love. Thank you! -- Cydil

Tomatoes and Eggs

As I mentioned in my last post, we've been soaking up moments with friends!  Last week we popped over for a quick visit with the Kinnells before naptime.  Amy proudly considers herself an urban homesteader.  I helped her chop some of the fruits of her labor (which would eventually be turned into homemade jarred salsa - yum!) while the kids played.  Before leaving, we stepped outside to pay a visit to Amy's other 'girls', her hens.  Ellie was a huge fan and Reni even warmed up a bit.  He was most excited though at the prospect of taking home some eggs for breakfast!  Enjoy some images from the afternoon...



3 Sleeps...til Goodbye

In the past 24 hours, the mood in our family has grown a bit more melancholy, though the Olympics has been a sweet distraction from impending changes. After tonight, we are down to a mere three more sleeps before we no longer call Kentucky home.  Last night as Ellie lay in bed in the dark she asked, "Do you think we can have more than four more sleeps here?"

As a parent, it's hard to see your children go through a difficult change and transition.  Especially when they had no 'say' in their lives being uprooted (again).  While we firmly believe that God is leading our family on to a different place, the interim is still yucky.  Saying 'goodbye' is especially hard for Ellie, though we're trying to assuage it by taking lots of photos and talking about it frequently.  To Reni, 'goodbye' means that some of his toys got sold, and those that remained were boxed up and hauled away, along with his bed. He has been extremely clingy and borderline panicky if one of the fours of us is not around.

Ellie pigging out on marshmellows at the Irelands

Reni and Ellie with Joy and John at their home

But even in this interim stage, God has been good and faithful. We are grateful for a full summer to stretch out our goodbyes (first to our students, then to our church and friends).  Had we been required to leave in May, no doubt our hearts would be grieving rushed goodbyes in the midst of frantic packing. Instead, we've had the luxury of dinners with friends and a bit more time to appreciate this corner of the world that is special to us. (Tonight we took the kids around town and photographed them at places that have been a part of our day-to-day).

with the Easley girls... (who are WAY cool now that Ellie knows they have a HERMIT CRAB!)

We are also grateful for this past month since moving out of our apartment.  We are in a guestroom in the student center and it's been great.  The kids have been able to see the apartment empty out and change with new paint and carpet, yet still play in their same yard, within the same four walls they've known as their only home (albeit a non-traditional one).  Finally, we are grateful for the gift of our next 'transition' home (my grandparents farm house) which is a place that is familiar to both kids and which holds all kinds of new and exciting things like a swing set and barn cats, for example.

So as we prepare for our last Sunday in our home church tomorrow (of fourteen years, to the month), we may be a little sad, but in our hearts we are thankful for the good, like the blessings of friendship with brothers and sisters in Christ, good instruction from the Word, and meaningful worship that drew us in God's presence.  Many have asked if we are 'ready' to leave, and while we will always be sad to leave Kentucky, I think now we can say 'yes.'  I think we are all ready for life to have a bit more structure, to turn the reins of the center over to Jonathan and Faith and to jump into preparation for Albania with all our focus and attention.

Tonight a bit of levity came in the form of an "Ellie quote."  Visiting with some company in the student center parking lot, Ellie felt it necessary to tell our guests about her brother Reni.  "He has 'prophetic' legs!" she said, then looked quite bewildered when we all burst out laughing.  I shared the quote on Facebook and received this comment from our friend, Julie:  "maybe he does have prophetic legs, ready to carry the Good News to the world... :)"  May that be true!

 Thank you for your prayers for our family.  I'm afraid it sounds 'trite', but we have definitely felt them during this time. How wonderful that we can lean on you and and our heavenly Father who goes before us...

[editor's note:  the photo uploader tool is giving me fits.  Check back Sunday night when I'll try again!]

Audio Interview

A little of our story was featured on the Missions Central blog. There is a 3 minute audio clip where Nathan describes Albania and what we will be doing there.

http://missionscentral.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/597/

Reni Got "Inked"

Monday night was our monthly adoptive families fellowship and it's always a highlight to spend time with these friends!  The adults meet upstairs and the kids play downstairs.  I'm guessing that the quiet, 'good' little boy didn't attract the sitter's attention. When it was all over we quickly discovered that Reni had somehow, somewhere, found a marker and thought his body would make an acceptable canvas for lack of paper.  You can hear his description of what he drew in the video below:

Digging Out: July 4th

July was so crazy with packing up, relocating, and traveling out of town nearly 2 weeks of the month.  A few folders of images never were shared here.   We love our little town of Wilmore and not the least of the many bonuses about living where we did was having front row seats to the start of the 4th of July parade route .... where you can catch mega amounts of loot, as our kids quickly discovered, while we frantically kept pulling them back off the street.  We were joined that morning by our friend Meredith who helped us bubble wrap a ridiculous amount of framed wall art we had somehow collected.

Reni figured out quite quickly that the more you waved at people, the more candy was thrown at you.

We went back to packing boxes after the parade concluded, then took another break after supper to tailgate and watch the fireworks at RJ's...

Of course, fireworks are a fun time to play with one's camera.  In between shushing my shrieking children.  They had a blast.