Catching up...

I've tried to take some notes the past few weeks as things have been moving to fast to blog along with them! Here are some thoughts...

Well, we made it. Our household goods are packed and gone. The car is shipped. The quarters are cleaned. The dog and cat are safely stowed in the cargo hold. And the little boy and I are in the air. 

The last three weeks were some of the most exhausting, physically and emotionally, that I've ever experienced. There were some days I didn't think I could do it anymore. But, always, every time, someone would text or message me, letting me know they were praying for me. Or the seemingly insurmountable obstacle suddenly had a silver lining. I think it's going to take a long time for me to process all the events of this summer. But I know that throughout it all the Lord was with me. So many Bible verses and hymns grew precious to me this summer and became what I could cling to as everything around me moved. Literally.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me

Let me hide myself in Thee

We were talking the other day and realized that every member of the gbattery has a different address than they started the summer with! 

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, 

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou has been, Thou forever wilt be. 

Just this morning I read Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord He is God:

It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 

And into His courts with praise:

Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. 

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting;

And His truth endureth to all generations. 

Morning by morning, new mercies I see....

This is home

I have found it pretty impossible to even think about the Chronicles of Narnia, let alone read them or watch the movies, as of late. I've grown almost as attached to the Pevensie children as I am to my own and them growing up one by one just makes my mama heart ache. Then there are the songs from the soundtracks......

"I've got my memories

Always inside of me

But I can't go back

Back to how it was...."

Or 

"I'll come back when you call me

No need to say good bye...." 

Oh my heart.

This is a pretty great group of guys.

Nick's at his new home-for-now. And although those accommodations are NOT what I would consider adequate he is happy and settled and loving it. 

We loved spending the rest of the weekend with him, getting to know his friends, meet some of the professors and staff at the school, enjoy the FANTASTIC dining facility (Joshua want to go to school at Maranatha just so he can eat there every day!), and getting to know Nick's new home.

Playing "carpet ball"

Alumni football game with a train rolling by in the background 

And then it was time to say good-bye. 

We had a sweet time of prayer together in the hotel room. And a lot of tears. What a joy and a privilege it has been to parent that young man and be with him through his illness. To see God work in such mighty ways in his life and to get to send him off to serve the Lord as he knows he was called to do. My heart aches to have him with us again, worries about his health, misses his sweet smile and jokes, but is comforted knowing that, just as Hannah gave her son Samuel to serve God and was blessed for it, God sees and knows my feelings. I trust in Him, the Author and Perfector of our faith.

And then there was one.

Just keep swimming

Believe it or not, we've been so busy around here the past few days we haven't had a lot of time to be too sad! Less than a week til we get packed out and 2 1/2 weeks til we fly away across the ocean on a new adventure! 

But back to the story. 

We finally made it! It took two long days and what seemed like a full week in Chicago traffic, but we made it! 

We got there in the evening so we took a quick little your around campus before heading to the hotel. We had a couple extra days before orientation started so we got to really look around then. The campus is gorgeous. Small, which is nice, and so pretty. 

The front of "Old Main"

Back of "Old Main"

School library

Close up of library

Outside of dining facility with gym in the background

Soccer fields with dorms in the distance

We also got to check out Watertown a bit. What a charming piece of middle America! 

(Pretty sure that was painted just for us!)

Found a great coffee spot!

And a fun antique store...

Met up with old (for Nick) and new (for me) friends! 

And before I knew it he was getting ready to go off on his own adventure.

A new way of thinking...

Today I went to buy groceries, and for the first time in several years, did not HAVE to make sure I had enough high protein foods, enough high sodium foods, enough dense calories, enough Gatorade to keep the boy healthy. I did not GET to buy them, I mean. I was a little embarrassed to tear up in the frozen foods section. Funny how those little things, things that are as much a part of my everyday taskings as moving wet laundry into the dryer and turning back the covers before climbing into bed, leave such a big void behind when I don't need to do them anymore. 

For several years now, my subconscious has been filled with constant meter-reading of how he's feeling. Did he look tired when he got home from work? I wonder if he ate breakfast. 

Has he had enough to drink today? It looks like his head might be bothering him. Why was he so dizzy yesterday? I wonder if those chewy candies might cause his jaw problems....

It's exhausting, mentally and emotionally. But it's also been necessary. Necessary for me to reassure myself that he is doing well, that he can manage himself, that the doctors were right when they said he'd be ok. And seeing him every day, even on not-so-good days, gave me a peace. Could I always fix him? No, but I could see him and touch him and make him rest or eat or take medicine.....

It's hard to explain what him leaving feels like. I've been through this twice before. I've known the pain of children growing up and on, and the joy of seeing them flourish on their own. But it's different this time. I think because my JOB for the last 4 1/2 years, besides teaching them, was to take care of him. Find out what was wrong and then find out how to make it better. And now what? I still have the little boy home, and I am, oh, so thankful for that. But my big mission is complete. My job is terminated. I feel like I should go to my recruiter and ask to reclassify since my current MOS no longer needs my skills.

---------------------------------------------

We made a little pit stop on our way to Wisconsin last week. You may know that we are, ahem, BIG fans of the Andy Griffith Show. Our dog is named after Barney's girlfriend! Well, we could pass up the chance to stop by Andy Griffith's hometown of Mt Airy, which was what Mayberry was based on. It was a quick stop, but worth it! 

Why, it's the Darlins! I wonder where Charlene is....

We had a great time looking around, then we piled back in the car, shouted, 

"You ain't seen the last of Ernest T Bass!" and we got back on the road...

It was a long drive.

But at the end of the day we got to see our favorite Ohio grandparents,

which made the long drive worth it.

The Lord provides

I was trying to think of a clever title for this series of posts. Most things seemed either too trite or too melancholy. I may feel a bit melancholy, certainly not trite, but in either case one thing is true. The Lord hath provided abundantly and in ways we could never have imagined. I am going to write about the last couple of weeks over two or three posts so I can keep my thoughts from getting all jumbled. I know you'll give me some grace as I process this big, emotional event. Thankfully tear drops don't show on computer screens. ;)

4 years ago, when we were in the middle of doctor visit after doctor visit and test after test, I didn't dare think this far in the future. I was so deeply mired in the business of caring for the boy that there was no time or energy left to look ahead. But God did. He already knew where we would be and where He would send the boy and how those events would shape the young man He was even then molding. 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

Fast forward to now. That sickly boy whose frail body couldn't even bear sitting upright for an entire church service, is off to Bible college to become a missionary and take that message of HOPE to the world. God's plans were even bigger than our hopes. 

Here's a little peek of our last week together at home...

We had a mother-son breakfast date one morning...

And a FaceTime call with Danna..

He got a kit to un-fog the headlights on the Jeep

Look at the difference! 

Packing his room was a daunting task. Piles to take to school, piles to send to Germany, piles to put in storage....just piles everywhere.

The brothers bonded.

Surprise! Somebody caught a hop back in time to see him off to school and hear him speak at church.

And his pals at church all gathered for a picture..

Or two.

There were some last late night brother chats while I poured over old photos:

And then it was time to pack the car and hit the road.

My phone's camera roll will never be the same..