Bulk Mail Update

Here's the email update I sent out yesterday:

We're down to our last week here in Pennsylvania. Last night we had Jake's bon voyage party - young boys sure have a lot of energy! They had a really good time, but the goodbyes were very tough. Many tears were shed as he said goodbye to his best friend after the sleepover last night. Alinea's party is Thursday night. Her best friend will be spending the night and I'm sure they will both savour those last bits of time together. Watching Ali & Jake learning about love and separation is difficult, but we know it's part of maturing and growing up. It's just not very easy.

The moving truck is booked and we've been packing and packing. Keith calls it 'feeding the cardboard monster'. To that end we have planned Friday, December 30th for PACKING PARTY 2005 - all locals are invited to come finish up the dregs of the boxes and relocating furniture to make the big move on Wednesday easier. So if you're local you're invited! Oram's donuts for breakfast, pizza for lunch and a huge pot of chili for supper. Please drop by and say 'bye'.

Strong backs are also needed for Wednesday, January 4th. We saved $200 by bumping back to Wednesday - so even though it's a weekday we're hoping some are able to lend us a hand (and a back) and get us packed up and ready to move out ASAP on Wednesday. We're hitting the road and praying to get as far as Wilkes Barre, PA that night.

The next day we're heading up, hopefully, to Portland, Maine, sleep that night and end in St. Stephen on Friday as soon as possible. Praying for a smooth, painless border crossing and lots of volunteers on the Canada side. We spoke with them today and they are as excited as we are to get landed and tucked in.

To save another chunk of change (almost $1000) we opted for a Penske Truck instead of a U-Haul. The U-Haul horror stories and the extra cost had us choose the long route instead of the shorter cheaper route. We will have to return the Penske truck to Portland, Maine and get dad to the airport for Sunday. It's an extra 12 hours of driving - but we've got more time than $$ and we can sleep afterward. The kids start school on Monday morning, bright and early.

I know, it's sounds exhausting doesn't it? That's why we need you to pray please - no snow, healthy, strong constitutions and backs, strong hearts, kind boarder guards and no crazies on the road (including us,others and wayward moose!)

ONE WEEK!

We have one week left here in Pennsylvania - hard to believe it is so close to launching into our new lives. Very exciting. We had Jacob's bon voyage party last night and have Alinea's tomorrow. A dozen boys in a house can cause a lot of chaos, but we had a ball. His best friend Corbin spent the night last night and I'm sure goodbye in a couple of hours is going to be pretty painful. My heart breaks for him.

I don't think he's really conceived it yet, so maybe that bubble of being a 7 3/4 year old boy will protect him. Alinea on the other hand is old enough, and female enough to know what's going on. She's trying to be brave, although it's not necessary - I know her goodbyes to Megan on Friday are going to be really rough.

We have one last celebration on New Year's with friends from the old church and then there will be random goodbyes over the following days. Such mixed emotions, both of anticipation and loss, excitement and anxiety. Feeling each of the emotions as they come is key. Helping the kids through this is the most important.

Again, we covet your prayers. Thanks for thinking of us!

Merry Christmas!

Our 'Next' Home

I'm trying this morning to get my mind around what's really happening in our lives. It hardly seems real. I thought maybe poking around the real estate website of the house we will be moving into would make it more real.

It's a big, beautiful home- 3 bathrooms - I have NO idea how we'll heat it - but god has provided this temporary stop on the Turner path for us to rent as we seek to place more permanent roots down in St. Stephen.

This house is being purchased by one of the incoming professors to the university. It was one of the ways we felt god confirmed our choice to move there. About 20 minutes after we 'decided' that Tuesday morning back in early November that we were really moving this man from Houston, Texas called and asked if we were the people seeking a temporary rental in St. Stephan, New Brunswick.

How god triangulates things like this is one of the great mysteries of the kingdom. They would be purchasing a home in January, but weren't able to move until June. With a greatly reduced (god bless them) rent we are able to have a soft place to land and re-establish our commanding credit (these cross border moves really need to stop) So we don't need the 35% downpayment instead of the normal 5% required of residents.

An even more interesting tie-in to this story is that he and his wife were integral in the beginnings of Trinity Episcopal Seminary just down the road from us. It is a small, small world sometimes.

So, in less than 2 weeks we will be calling this beautiful edifice our home. The kids are excited to see that driveway - bikes, skates and skateboards! yipee! The sidewalks here on college hill are so horrible that they've barely had a chance to learn all of those wonderful things. I'm sure some street hockey might be introduced into the mix soon too.

Well, things are moving along smoothly. It's a lot of work, but we've been purging through so much stuff that what we take with us will only be the things we LOVE.

We got a phone call this week from a friend who remembered me talking about my great hate of my furniture last spring. She told me that she was redecorating and that her sofa and love seat were ours if we wanted them. So I have the first set of matching (beautiful) furniture I've ever owned. Thank you Mary!

We've got the tree up and most of the shopping done, the kids are through school (and I am DONE with homeschooling FOREVER!!) YIPEE!! I sure loved having Ali and Jake around, but being the sole responsibility for everything they need to know was far too much responsibility for me - they need to learn from people who have it far more together than me! Ha!

The moving van is booked for January 4th and we're saving TONS by leaving on the Wednesday. It will be a tight squeeze to get everything moved in and the van returned and the kids to school on the 9th, but that deadline is what it needs to be. Hopefully God knew that the weather would be better during those days instead of earlier... we pray!

We're trying to put together a 'bon voyage' party for the kids before we go. Unfortunately each of the kids best friends have different travel plans for the week after Christmas - so we're having to plan b it and don't know exactly what that means yet. Getting this taken care of will be a huge load of my plate. I want to keep this promise and keep it well - maybe now that school is done we can work it out.

Hope all is going well for your holiday plans! Leave us a comment and let us know you're visiting!

Give the gift of freedom this Christmas

Now this is what Christmas is all about!

He came to set the captives free!

Please consider giving the gift of freedom this Christmas!

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