one week

we've been in louisville for a week. it feels like 2 months. i think the reality is setting in for all of us. isaiah has started to comment about it. with papa and gg here he was distracted. he didn't think anything of us being here. but they've been gone for a few days and reality is here. alaythia is oblivious and there have been many times in the past few weeks i have seen the sweetness of her age and the oblivion that surrounds her. time change has been the hardest thing for her...showing itself in crankiness.

yesterday when we came inside from playing with neighbor kids isaiah was taking off his shoes and said, 'i miss living with grandpa and grandma. i wish we could still live with them.' he asks me lots of questions about why we don't and if we ever will again. i can imagine it must feel a little like loosing a parent, because he can't remember life without living with them. later in the bath he said, 'i think growing up in kentucky will be great!' balance. nice.

really i couldn't have asked for a better week. great neighbors, moderate weather, unpacked house... but next week begins why we are here. matt starts school on tuesday, and he starts with a bang. his first day in one of his classes starts with a test of romans...translate and know grammar for the entire book. yeah, and it's 40% of his grade.

i'll admit that i'm nervous. when your husband is going to school, it's hard. and i can't imagine the multiplication when it's for the highest degree you can get. papa and gg will be back in california, matt will be in school and life as we'll know it will begin.

if you feel so inclined to pray for us i'd appreciate it.

and while you're there, (and forgive the vagueness, that's how it has to be) would you mind lifting up a little friend of ours this weekend. he's got a big task in front of him, far beyond his years. he'll have to be brave, and he'll need you to pray for his protection. it's kind of a weird request, but it's heavy on my heart and i felt led to ask for prayer for him through the blog.

the run down

mark and linda left today to do a little sight seeing of their own. they'll be back in a few days. i told isaiah that he should 'run down' when they left. the tradition is not ours, it's really the martin's. when we would say goodbye all 4 of the girls would 'run down' to the end of their driveway and wave goodbye. it never failed, they did it each time. so today i thought we would start the tradition ourselves. i told isaiah to run down the end of the sidewalk - and complex to wave goodbye. he wasn't sure of his boundary so i told him i'd go down there for this first time so he'd know.

he raced papa and gg the entire way, but as i got down there i met up with some neighbors who had just gotten back from a walk. it was a convergence of all of us at the same time, unplanned. God is good. one family moved in 2 days ago and they have a 2 year old boy. one got here in june they have two girls, our kid's ages exactly. one family has been here a year and has a 6 month old. one with a 6 and 4 year old (4 year old boy) and another who has a little boy who is alaythia's age. the kids immediately started playing...riding bikes, playing ball, trading tricycles. and what was left for us mom's to do? sit and talk.

we stayed down there until lunch time. my heart was full as it was just what we had hoped for. i know that i'm no where near the end or even beginning of my transition journey, but i can't help but be overwhelmed with how gracious and kind God has been to us. in little details, not just the big things. i feel like He's got me so tenderly in his palm, protecting gently, guiding slowly and showing love.

there are still a lot of tears at the loss. such a huge loss. but there are also moments of hope and grace. i can say honestly that i'm thankful for it all.

first days in kentucky

i feel like i've been gone from washington for a long time. it has only been 4 days...crazy thought. we have loved having papa and gg here. they have been such a tremendous help and support to us. many times i have burst in to tears (i'm emotional okay!) because i've been so overwhelmed with all they are doing for us. without both our parents generosity in our lives matt and i would not be where we are today. we are blessed.

so i'm going to be cheesy and put pictures of the house. but it's safe to say now everyone who reads this is no where near me...so i feel a little justified. so best to let the pictures do the talking right? a little taste of our new life here.

welcome to our house. with some potted plants it will look a bit more inviting...but we love the brick of our building.
this is looking out our front door. isaiah and alaythia spend most their day here playing in the dirt. the neighbors have started coming over since we have a plethora of toys.
the only casualty in the move was the table. each leg split 3 times. the only person in the world that could have fixed it was mark...and he did. the black tape came off and it's good as new. thanks dad for all your detailed hard work!isaiah was so eager to help, even offering to pour our cereal for us the first morning. here he's helping matt put together a cabinet.
so as you walk in our front door, this is what you see to on the left. the painting was matt's grandfather's and hung in his home for years. matt picked it out years ago and we just this summer finally got to take it home with us. we love it!
here's our living room...we just got the rug today that has the brown, green and blue in it that we were going for. we're so excited about this new addition! the dining room table is just to the right of this.here is the kids room as you walk in the door. we love that the drums are in the walk in closet...(isaiah's studio we're calling it) so that we have lots of room to play.

this is the view of their room from the other side.

believe it or not...this is our backyard. i couldn't even get the top of the rock wall, but it's lined with trees and gets greener the higher you get. can you believe it??!! it's so beautiful! this is mark, matt and isaiah playing soccer.and one day we went driving around the campus of southern...this is just one of the buildings on this huge campus. but they all look like this.

a slice of our life here in kentucky.....

we're here

and we just got internet today. so here i am. we've been frantically unpacking and trying to get as much done as we can before papa and gg leave...our help!

it was a beautiful day today. not humid, not super hot, perfect. although i'm not spending to much time outside, the kids practically live outside.

the apartment is fantastic...we have seen how the Lord has blessed us in numerous ways already. there is so many thoughts to type out, and i will do it. but not tonight. too tired.

for now, know we are good and that God did come before us...and keep checking back for updates!

new layout

yes, the new layout is for a new start. and yes, that's our city. the one we will soon call home.

moving musings

matt and mark made it to utah last night. they will be in wyoming within the hour and will end the day in nebraska.

while i don't envy the fact that they have to drive for 4 days, i do wish i could see the country. getting my mind around just how far we are going.

i find myself looking at my kids faces more. kissing them and holding them tight. everywhere i look it's people i have to say goodbye to. but not them. i can look at their faces and know that those 2 faces will stay with me.

as hard as it is to say good bye i can feel myself getting excited about living in kentucky, which is a good thing. i've been so paralyzed by the dread that lays in front of me with having to say good bye, i haven't been able to see past that. but slowly, and as the day nears, the excitement grows.

someone said to me a couple days go how amazing it was that i was giving up everything to go and pursue matt's dream. it took me by surprise. because honestly, i don't see it as matt's dream, i see it as our dream. i thank the Lord for his faithfulness to us in making our dreams the same. if matt wasn't going to get his PhD, i would be devastated. and as i said to my family the other night, though it is one of the hardest things i'll ever have to do to say good bye to them, i don't go kicking and screaming. i go happily. and though i realize we're taking the kids far away from all of their family, i believe that it's worth it for them to know that daddy is our leader, our head and where he goes, we go to.

the move is on

so matt and his dad drove away this morning with a 24 foot budget truck, pulling the car on a trailor.

the kids and i are left in 'our home' sleeping in borrowed pak n plays and aero beds until wednesday. with enough clothes to put in our suitcases to take on the plane. somehow i suddenly feel like in a guest in my parents home...

we started the good byes and i'm already cried out. i know it can never happen, but i wonder if i would ever run out of tears. it's been a long couple months of crying....

cool moments though in the midst of it. i'm thankful for the moments.