Joy in Suffering…What about Blessing?

We know the verse. James 1:2. Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Many people post similar things on Facebook or the many blogs out there. God works through our weakness. We should take comfort in the fact that God is working to make us better in our trials. I’ve even heard some go so far as to say that if we’re not experiencing trials, we must not be impacting the kingdom of God at a level where the devil is concerned about attacking us. Frightening. On a number of levels, that one.

I’m writing this out with 9 fingers. I slammed my right index finger in the car door a couple of weeks ago. (The same evening we said goodbye to our friends the Turners. I hold them somewhat responsible even though they weren’t there.) It hurt. Really bad. Turns out I broke the tip of the bone…which sounds ominous but really means nothing except that it still hurts. They don’t put you in a cast for a broken finger tip bone, apparently. The 9 finger thing tells you how heavily this subject is weighing on my heart right now. And it’s one of those blog posts that I know how it begins, but I don’t yet know how it ends. Let’s find out together, shall we?

We’ve been in the beautiful state of Colorado for 8 months now, and we’ve been in our own home for 3. We’ve been done with our major projects on our home for about 6 weeks. Life is really just now returning to normal. And it’s good. It’s so good. The weather here is ridiculously amazing. We have an amazing deck, and a porch swing (where I sit as I type this). Our kids are all healthy and happy. James and I both have jobs we love (most of the time). We’re working on paying off student loans, but we lack for nothing. Seriously, perhaps my biggest trial right now is my silly finger or maybe my ongoing annoyance with my weight or maybe that I can’t take a bath in my own home and I really like baths. It seems unfair, right?

Exactly.

And I’m grateful. Super grateful. I tell God all the time. I’m grateful for the big and little things. Tonight Nathan cuddled with me before I put him to bed for a good 10 minutes. I soaked up every second, willing myself to burn it into my brain forever. And I posted recently here that these blessings I’ve been given (the people in my life, I mean) aren’t mine and aren’t guaranteed. I have a friend who recently lost her husband. She’s my age with a 4 year old. She seems to get this concept. Granted, I’m not in her inmost thoughts, but from my viewpoint, she’s handling it with such grace. She seems to be allowing herself to feel the sad moments, but I haven’t heard her question God or say anything about it not being fair. This is a lesson God has been teaching me.

But why? Does this mean someone in my life won’t be there as long as I’d hope? And I don’t say that in a pessimistic or morbid way. I really am curious.

I know the trials will come. They always do. We’ve been called to plant a church. That will come with inevitable trials, no doubt. But am I crazy to almost feel like I’m waiting for the shoe to drop? I’m not walking around waiting for lightning to strike. I promise. But, does my lack of trials mean I’m not doing enough for the kingdom? Does it mean I’m not enough of a threat to Satan for him to worry with me? I reject those notions, although the insecure part of me questions it from time to time. I think the more reasonable explanation is that God is giving us a time of peace. For a reason. Because the trials are coming. The planner in me would like to know WHEN they’re coming, but that’s not for me to know.

There have been people in my life through the years that have seemed to have a picture perfect life. They seemed to have it all, and everything seemed to be perfect. Of course it wasn’t. We’re all sinners saved by grace. I cringe at the possibility that someone could think that of me (and even writing that sounds borderline arrogant…please know I don’t mean it that way). There are more imperfections in me than I can count, but I also get how blessed I am. Crazy blessed. I’m so grateful, and I’ll choose to rest in this time – however long it lasts – and keep pursuing my Savior and try to be ready to take joy in my future sufferings. I certainly take joy in the blessings….but then again. That’s the easy part.

P.S. If there are typos in the above, blame it on my injured finger.

Joy in the Waiting

Have you ever felt to much anticipation over things coming up in your life that you find yourself wanting to speed God up? I’m sure we all have… I’m there.

We’re in a period of waiting – hopefully the end of such period that we’ve been in for some time. As my previous posts have suggested, God is doing some amazing things in the Wiebes’ lives. It’s humbling and exciting. James is only 2 weeks into his new job, Ellie is now attending the elementary school nearest my aunt and uncle’s house and just started there yesterday. We’re getting to know our new pastor and his wife and believe God orchestrated the relationship in such an amazing way. I’m sort of itching to get to know her even better, and James seems to feel the same. We’re getting to know our new church family, and there’s so much fun in that, too. We’re a family of 5 living in a home with my aunt and uncle and their family law practice (complete with multiple employees who are here throughout the week). We’re completely grateful, but being in transition this long is of course not easy. I attended my first “Over the Coffee Cup” Bible Study last night and greatly enjoyed the time in the word with other women.

There’s a large part of me that wants to move things ahead.

• I’m ready to get past the “get to know you” phase and be in deep relationship with our Pastor and his wife as well as the church family.
• I want to jump feet first into helping in ministry. I feel God asking me to wait, so I’ll obey, but I want to HELP!
• And yes, of course we want our house sold and to start dreaming about where our family will move. I’d even like God to just go ahead and give me a specific date on this one. So far, he’s not biting.

But that’s just it, right? There are lessons in the waiting. Important ones that I don’t want to miss. I know what some of them are now, so I’m doing my best to try and get them learned! And some I don’t know but I want to learn those, too. I remind myself that a few months of this life will be looked back upon and considered a blip.

I also know that God is working it all for good. Some may wonder why God would ask us to move to Denver and then not sell our house. Believe me – I’ve had times where I’ve wondered, too. But I can tell you what I THINK the answer could be. There were some terrible comparables for our house in the late fall. They were preventing us from getting a fair price on our home. I think in our desperation, James and I were tempted to accept way less than what our house was really worth. (When will we learn, right?!) Due to some various issues, we’ve chosen to change realtors. First of all, our new realtors are Christians and have already prayed over our listing with us on the phone. We’re optimistic about their ability to sell our house and are excited they’ll get the commission. They’ve also shown us that there are much better comparables that have come through in the last month or so. This will allow for us to get a better price on the home, and we’re expecting the house to appraise for a more fair price as well. In addition to that, I think God is also working out the timing so that the home he wants us to purchase is available at the right price at the right time when we’re able to make an offer. I’ll finish that part of the story once it has happened, but I truly believe that’s the case.

My Bible study last night was on choosing holy living over our own happiness. I equate this to wanting God’s will above my own. It’s a hard place to get to, but it’s so freeing once you’re there. I don’t claim to have permanently learned the lesson, mind you. I think it’s one you must learn over and over again – every time your desire creeps up to high in the priority list. But I’ve learned it a couple of times recently and am committed to keep myself in that place.

For a practical example, there’s a house in the mountains that my flesh wants to fall in love with and cling to. I WANT to go to any lengths to make it ours. But I won’t. In fact, I refuse. By God’s grace, I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t want to be ANY where that he doesn’t want me to be. Ever. Do I hope that he is planning this home for us? I do. I really do. But it’s one of those situations where many doors would have to open. It’s not even on the market right now! And God will either open them, or he won’t. And if he doesn’t, I may be sad for a day or two, but I would never force a door open that he hadn’t opened. I’ll trust him as this isn’t just our home. It will be the starting point for a church he’s allowing us to lead in a few years. How could we want to buy a home anywhere than exactly where he leads. There will be people nearby affected significantly by something as insignificant as our home purchase. It’s mind boggling, really.

So, today’s lesson he’s trying to teach me? Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the wait. Be grateful for it. And I am. We’re way less busy than usual, because we don’t know many people here. I have time to write this blog, for example. And I played Uno with my four year old this morning. And we’ve been skiing twice and are going for the following 4 Saturdays (for some consistent lessons for the girls). James 1:2 says to “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” Our trials are minor right now. In fact, I’m not even sure you can really call them trials. But the principle is the same. I’ve challenged myself to get to the point where I WANT the kinds of trials that develop perseverance. Is that crazy? Perhaps. But if they produce good in us, even if painful – wouldn’t we want to go through the pain for the end result? I hope so.

She’s Not Mine

I didn’t want to write this blog. I still don’t. But it started writing itself in my head, and those of you who blog know that there’s almost no stopping it once that starts. I haven’t posted a single thing about the tragedy in Connecticut on Facebook. I haven’t watched a single news story on it. (And I admit – I’m kind of proud of myself for that since by all accounts the media is not doing well with the topic.) Almost everything I know about it is from word of mouth or things my friends have posted on Facebook. I’ll even admit that I haven’t shed a tear. Not for lack of care – not even close. But I’ve sort of shielded myself and “cared from afar”. Selfish? Maybe.

I felt like so many others have said things far better than I can. Case in point… My friend Jen wrote a lovely blog that shares her thoughts so eloquently here. I don’t want to compete with her words or anyone else’s. Part of me hopes no one reads this and it’s just my way of getting this out of my head so I can move on with my day. But there’s the other part that will share it in hopes it helps someone out there, too.

“My” six year old is upstairs in bed coughing next to “my” four year old. “My” one year old is in the next room with my husband. Ellie (the 6 year old) is recovering from a virus. Her fever broke yesterday, which is good news, but her cough is relentless. We all lost at least an hour of sleep over it last night – probably far more for her. As I lay there last night begging God to give her some relief and allow her to sleep, I found myself grateful. Grateful that I could hear her in there and, while struggling, know that she was fine in the grand scheme.

We’ve been home schooling this semester, but we’re sending Ellie back to public school in January. We live in Littleton, Colorado now. You could practically throw a rock from her school to Columbine High School. It’s impossible to remain unaffected by that. Will it be tough to send her to school on January 7th? Without a doubt.

Here’s what I’m reminded of, though. We call our families “ours”. It’s not even totally untrue. The family I have on earth is the one that has been given to me. So…they’re mine. But then again, they’re not. They’re not mine in any sense that I can control. They’re gifts. Each and every one of them from my extended family to these precious 4 people I live with. I’m not promised another day with any of them. It’s not something I even deserve. Such a tough truth to swallow.

Even when Ellie, Emma or Nathan are in my care, I’m still not in control. Something unimaginable could happen to any of them at any time – a thought I refuse to dwell on lest I crumble into a heap of despair. But this is what trust is all about. They belong 100% to my God and Father. And I trust him. Completely. That’s not to say I trust him to keep them with me well into my old age, although this is absolutely my hope. I trust him to take care of me and them in his way which is not always clear to me.

Some question how God could “let” something like the tragedy in Connecticut happen. When he chose to give us the will to choose him – such a gift, by the way – he also knew that in that gift of choice, we’d bring poor consequences upon ourselves. If God stepped in and stopped every evil act, would we really still have free will? I think not…

I posted on a similar theme about a year ago and will end with this: I will use my gift of free will to choose to cherish every moment I have with “my” family. I vow not to question God and his sovereignty in the midst of tragedy – mine or someone else’s. I vow to grieve and mourn the tragedy and not remain unaffected. And I vow to raise my children and influence my part of the world for good and the truth that comes from Christ in hopes of doing my part to minimize the horrible choices that lead to the evil in this world.

They’re not mine. They’re his. And I’m grateful for that, too.

Christmas Letter 2012

The Wiebes find themselves living back in beautiful Denver, CO as 2012 comes to an end. We are as surprised as anyone about this development, but God’s direction has been clear and abundantly confirmed. Amy’s earlier blog post has all the details about how it happened, but the mile-high version (pun intended), is that God has called us to move here to continue the pastoral work He has been leading me into for the last several years. We wrapped up our loose ends in Dallas in late October, and drove our two Uhaul vans to Denver with the three kids taking turns in each truck. God has made His sense of humor clear though in this transition. The church we are leaving behind in Texas is The Ranch Community church, and  I will begin a 2-4 year position here in Denver starting in January at The Church at the Ranch in Highlands Ranch, CO. I will be training during this time to plant a church somewhere in the area. It is not what I expected, but God rarely checks with us to see if our plans line up with His. Yet, I could not be more excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. What has also been incredible to watch is how God has graced our entire family during this transition.

The kids have had a very busy year with all that has happened. Ellie played another season of soccer in the spring and scored several goals this year. With the trips back and forth to Denver in July and again in August and then permanently in late October,  the girls spent the summer swimming, driving, hiking, and generally enjoying the outdoors. Because we knew that we would be moving to Denver in August, we started Ellie in an online home-school that we teach to her at home. She has been doing great with it, but with both of us working full-time jobs, she will return to public school in January.  Emma was very sad to leave her fantastic preschool in Texas, but has quickly adapted to her new preschool here and is being her usual social, hilarious self. Both girls will be taking more ski lessons this winter and are really looking forward to that. They have also been waiting for some big snow to fall here since I promised to use my expertise from a childhood in upstate New York to help them build a snow-fort. Nathan turned 1 in mid-October, and continues to amaze us. His sisters smother (sometimes literally) him with affection, and he loves to roughhouse. He’s been teasing us for months, but it seems that he’ll be a slow walker, as his sisters were. He has been a total champ in the chaos of our move, and we thank God for his sweet disposition. 

There were definitely some other noteworthy events this year as well. Back in February, we drove with some great friends, the Hubers, to Red River, NM to do some skiing. The weather and conditions were perfect. We all had a great time tearing up the slopes during the day, and relaxing sore muscles at night in the cabin we rented together. 

In May, Amy and Nathan were blessed to join a number of  other family members at her cousin Lee’s graduation from West Point Military Academy. It was a weekend to remember. West Point is one of the most beautiful places in the country. Lee upped the ante by getting married to his wonderful wife Kim in July at a beautiful ranch up in the mountains west of Denver which we were blessed to attend as a family. 

As I wrap up this letter, I cannot help but to share with you how remarkably grateful and mystified we are by God’s goodness, faithfulness, and the depth of complexity by which God works out his plans in our lives. We had absolutely no plan to move to another state, but in hindsight, God has been training us to trust him completely for a long time. To trust that He knows what He is doing, and that he will both provide for us and use us as He sees fit, is the reason we are here now. It is also the reason that we will be blessed to work with a great church here, and eventually plant a church ourselves. The blunt truth is that we are imperfect people in the supremely capable hands of a God who has a plan to redeem humanity one heart at a time. As the popular saying goes, “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips those He calls”. We’ve been blessed over the past 6 years to work alongside an incredible group of people who love God with their whole selves, and we have watched God shape those people and we’ve felt him shaping us. What we are certain of as we walk through this huge transition is that we will continue to be refined and that God will continue to use us and bless us and stretch us in ways that glorify Him. And at the end of the day, that is the purpose of our existence. The cool part is that we get to be part of a plan that stretches back before time began, and forward into and endless eternity with a God who loved us enough to send his only Son to earth to reconcile a lost world to Himself. This Christmas, know that God loves you, and be blessed in the knowledge that he will use you remarkably as you place yourself in His supremely capable hands. We wish you the merriest of Christmases!    James, Amy, Ellie, Emma, and Nathan Wiebe. 

How God Moved the Wiebes to Denver

I've been debating on when to write this post. It seems like the story isn't over yet. But it may never really be over. So, we'll just call this part 1 and continue from here as we go.

My last post was about our trip to Denver and New Mexico. I posted about the happenings of that trip but saved most of the important stuff for this post. 

James has been on staff at our Texas church (both under the name Four Corners and The Ranch) for 6 years. There have been financial struggles at the church really that entire time, but we thought the sale of the Four Corners building and our move to the leased space at the Ranch would resolve all of that. We learned shortly before our July 4th trip that it wasn't the case. I'll spare you some of the details as they're really to personal to publicize, but the events of the late spring and early summer had us seeking God intently for direction. We very much love the people in this church and honestly had no desire to make a change. James and I spent our time in New Mexico in July listening for what God wanted us to do. By the end of that trip, we were certain our time at The Ranch would be short. This was a sad realization but also a very clear one. 

About 3 years ago, God spoke clearly to James that he was being called to be a lead pastor. This is something James never expected, but he was obedient and has been mentoring under our pastor ever since to learn how to write and deliver sermons, etc. So, of course knowing we needed to leave our church also meant a job change for James. We were not naive to the fact that God could call us anywhere. There are a lot of churches in Dallas, and God is certainly able to open up a position there for James. We knew he may or may not choose to do that, so we worked at opening up our hearts to whatever God had. 

I'll admit...I love Texas. I mean, I really really love Texas. I wanted to raise my kids in Texas and live there forever. When we first started discussing that a move was a possibility, I was dead set against it. But, as he does so well, God changed my heart rather abruptly. We left Denver in July thinking, "Okay, we have to leave the Ranch soon, and God may ask us to move. If he does, Denver wouldn't be so bad." That was exactly where we were at. 

When we got home, we really didn't share these thoughts with others at first. We were just praying and continuing to seek direction. What was amazing, though, is that God used our friends and acquaintances to insert references to Denver into countless conversations we had during the few weeks after our return. And these people weren't just referring to our trip there. They'd mention Denver in what seemed to be completely random ways. None of them knew we were even thinking about moving at that point. By the end, it almost felt like God was yelling "You're supposed to go to DENVER!"

So, I remember one conversation we had in our closet in late July. I asked James how sure he was that we were going to Denver. He was at 70% at that point. We continued to get confirmation that we needed to go. We went on a previously planned beach trip with our friends, the Turners, and spent more time in prayer. James had a dream that resulted in us knowing this would be a leap of faith. God was asking us to go to Denver before there would be clarity on James' job. Do you think we were acting crazy? I thought so. I wasn't comfortable with going before the job, either, but God changed my heart again really quickly. 

Gratefully, I had the whole month of August off of work as I still had a month of leave left. The first week was our beach trip. The second week, we started getting the house staged to put it on the market. We got it ready and on the market by the end of the second week in August. We decided James would go up to Denver the second half of August to job hunt. Since I was off, we decided to go as a family. 

My aunt and uncle live in Littleton, a southwest suburb of Denver. They were kind enough to let us stay with them in August and also offered to let us stay in their basement for a while when we moved. James got two separate job leads during that time, so it was a fruitful trip. Also during that trip, I got confirmation that my employer was going to let me work remotely from Denver 3 weeks out of 4 at my same job. That was a huge blessing and another door opened. 

At the beginning of August when we realized we'd be moving soon, we struggled with what to do with Ellie's schooling. We learned that there's a public online school in Colorado called COVA that we started Ellie in. It's basically homeschooling with teacher support. It's been fun so far, but we're thinking that once James starts his job, we'll put her back in public. The flexibility in location has been exactly what we needed during this season, and she's doing great with it. 

We originally thought we'd make the move in early October. My aunt and uncle started finishing out their basement in August. We realized that it wouldn't be finished until late October or November, so we decided to set our move date for 10/28. 

We got a contract on our house in late September and set the close date for the Friday before we left. We were super excited, but sadly it fell through the Monday before we left. We were disappointed, but we know God has it under control. In fact, God has already shown us a potential reason why, so we're trusting. 

After also being hit with the stomach virus the week before our move, a bunch of our sweet friends came to say goodbye and help us load the Uhauls on the 27th. We filled one 26ft. truck and then had to get another 20ft. truck which we also filled. We got a car transport and loaded the Maxima on it. We finished loading and cleaning by 8pm and went ahead and got on the road to get started. We made it to Wichita Falls. Nathan's car seat was in the middle seat in my truck, and the girls took turns in the passenger seat of both trucks. We were a sight, but the trip went well. The kids did fabulous. We made it to Denver by 10pm on the 28th. 

We've been getting settled in. James had his interview with one church on Thursday night. It's for a mentorship position where he would ultimately plant and lead a church in 2-4 years. The interview went really well, and we should hear back in a few weeks. If he gets it, he would start in early January. The basement is still in progress, so we're staying upstairs right now. James and Bill have been taking the girls on lots of hikes, and we also already found a preschool for Emma that we really like. We'll start looking for a house sometime after James starts his job and our house sells. UPDATE: James got the job! He's working out details this week and should start at the first of the year!!

I'm so excited to see what God has for us here. It's going to be life changing. I feel like we're at that point in our life where you look back from here and the past 6-8 years have been preparing us for this. And we'll look back to this moment and know that this is when everything changed. What an amazing place to be! We welcome your prayers as we continue this journey. Stay tuned for part 2!
 

4th of July 2012…A Road Trip, a Wedding, and an Older Kid-Free Vacation!

As I mentioned in the earlier WestPoint post, my cousin Lee got engaged and set his wedding date for 7/7/12. Easy to remember, as it’s also my Dad’s birthday. So, the Wiebehaus loaded up in the car and departed at 6am on 7/3 for the 13 hour trip to Denver. The kids, yet again, did GREAT in the car. Nathan didn’t fuss except for about 5 minutes the whole way there. It was kind of amazing. My aunt and uncle again rented a pool house to allow us to all stay together, which was SO nice. There was one crew at the Littleton house (my aunt and uncle’s house) and then we and another crew stayed at the Ohio house (the street, not the state) near Cherry Creek. This house was POSH. I’m not kidding. We shared the upstairs with my eldest (he’s way older than me) cousin Joe and his wife, my parents, and Ashley (Blair’s girlfriend who was our roomie in Red Hook). We were blessed to be given the master suite since we had the kids. The suite included a sitting room with balcony and wet bar, an ENORMOUS closet (this is where Nathan slept in his pack-n-play), an amazing master bath complete with steam shower and jetted tub with a light that changed colors, and of course a beautiful bedroom with windows all around.

View from our bedroom:

Our bedroom:

The sitting room:

The kitchen (and the old cousin I was talking about):

We basically spent a very lovely 4th of July just hanging out by the pool all day. It was so nice…

Thursday was another pool day, and we spent Friday doing pedicures and then heading out to the rehearsal dinner. The kids went with us, and the girls were cared for by a sitter my aunt had hired. How nice is THAT? Nathan hung with us and was seriously an angel baby – staying up until after 10. The rehearsal dinner was great. It was up in the mountains a bit, and the food was so good. It was kind of in a big barn, and a thunderstorm rolled through in the middle. It was actually really neat and just added to the experience. Here’s a photo of Ashley, my cousin Bonnie and Nathan at the dinner:

The wedding itself on Saturday was also in a barn a bit further into the mountains. For some reason, our sweet baby was MISERABLE the whole way there and through the wedding. He clearly wasn’t feeling good since this is super out of character for him. We get to the wedding, and he’s still screaming…super. My dad offers to take him for a walk. This is a few minutes before the wedding, so I just think he’s going to go to the back for a minute and bring him back to me before it starts. He doesn’t, and I keep looking for them, but the wedding has started, so I’m stuck. It was a beautiful wedding with super cute bridesmaid dresses (short pink chiffon with brown cowboy boots). Here’s a photo I took with my phone that I thought turned out pretty great for a phone pic:

Turns out Dad had taken Nathan to the car and missed the whole wedding! What a great Crouchburger!! I felt really bad, but then again. As long as Dad gets cake at a wedding, he’s happy. Keep in mind that the wedding was on his birthday… Here’s a photo of him and James a little bit later at the reception:

And here’s a sweet photo of the female Wiebes:

The sweet bride Kim and Nathan:

The whole fam:

Here’s a bad mom story for you. Nathan was WIPED, and there were some bedrooms upstairs. I put him to bed in his stroller thinking he can’t get out of it. (I know, I know…) I laid it down flat and it seemed like he’d gone to sleep. James checked on him at one point and he was fine. Then Ashley went to check on him later. He was on the floor playing with a garbage bag. (I KNOW, I KNOW!) Who knows what happened when he actually hit the floor from the stroller. Won’t be doing that again. Lesson learned. :)

We checked out of the Ohio house the next morning and went to Bill and Pen’s for a brunch before driving down to Angel Fire with Nathan. I’ll tell part of the story of this trip in another post, but suffice it to say here that we had such a nice time just the three of us.

We were down there until Wednesday morning, and it was so relaxing. On Tuesday, we went over to Red River and went up the chair lift and hung out on the mountain for a while. Here’s our photo from the top:

Me and Nathan on the chair lift:

Then on Wednesday, we drove 6 hours up to Idaho Springs to go to a great little hot springs resort we know. We did a quick unload and then got BACK in the car to do the 2 hour drive up Mt. Evans to over 14k feet. It’s the highest paved road in North America. Here’s Nathan at the end of that trip. He did SO great:

Our time at Idaho Springs was also fabulous. We swam in the warm mineral pool which Nathan loved, each got massages, went down in their cave baths, and had some great food.

We went back to Denver Friday afternoon and spent some time with Aunt Pen and Uncle Bill before heading home first thing on Saturday. We didn’t get home until midnight, so it was a long day. Again, the kids did great, and we were able to unwind a bit on Sunday before hitting up a new work week. It was a great trip to say the least.

Nathan and Amy go to WestPoint!

We already had a lot going on this summer including my cousin Lee’s wedding in Denver (more on that later), so we couldn’t figure out how we could make his graduation from WestPoint, too. Finally, we decided to use some points we had forgotten about to fly just me and Nathan up to New York for the festivities. James couldn’t go due to some other commitments, so he and the girls stayed behind.

I was a little nervous about travelling by myself with Nathan, but he did awesome. My parents picked us up, and we went back to the hotel to settle in. We shared the hotel room on the WestPoint property with my parents. (This was a whole adventure in itself. I love them, but they crack me up with their quirks. Mom brings her own reading light that clips onto her bed, and Dad doesn’t go anywhere without his manicure kit.)

Friday morning was the cadet parade. It’s basically where the seniors “pass the torch” to the junior class. It was really cool to watch all the pageantry.

 

The graduation itself was also great. Joe Biden was the speaker. It was a neat event for sure. The only drawback, really, was that it was HOT. There was a lot of walking, a lot of baby on me, and a lot of sweat. A LOT. But, thank goodness for showers and washing machines. All of that was handled in short order.

Here’s Nathan sleeping on me at graduation. Sweet love.

On Sunday, we moved from WestPoint to a house up in Red Hook that my aunt and uncle had rented for the family. Nathan and I shared a lofted room there with my other cousin Blair’s girlfriend Ashley. Nathan won her over quickly, so we were good buds. Here’s a photo of Nathan swinging in the yard at that house:

 

Here’s a photo of my dad and aunt being….well, themselves.

Here’s my super cute Memorial Day baby. (That’s Ashley in the background checking her armpit – actually she’s just braiding her hair – and Kim, the fiance of Lee who graduated is actually holding Nathan.)

Me and Nathan in the pool:

Here he is sleeping in the cute little crib they had there:

Here’s the view from the back deck – lovely!

We made homemade ice cream. Nathan was the cutest ingredient:

And these are his sweet feet on the airplane on the way home. He did great, and it was such a great trip. Congratulations, Lee!

1st Annual Rib Throwdown

Ahhh…look what can come from a simple Facebook post. James put a comment about making some ribs one day, and our friend Rene’ commented that her husband Bruno could beat him any day (basically). Thus began the first annual Rib Throwdown. We invited some of our mutual church friends over to be the judges, and it was a super fun event. The kids played in the pool, the adults chatted outside by the grill, and good food was had by all. The voting commenced, and I think you can see who the winner was:

Thanks to Stephen for the fun shirts that say “Winner” and “Loser” on them!

6 years, 4 years and 6 months Photo Shoot

Leah took our photos for our milestones noted above, and as usual I was thrilled with the results. Enjoy!

 

 

  

I’ve Been a Bad Blogger

It’s true. Life has been even more nuts than usual, so… I’m working on getting caught up! Yea! Stay tuned for lots of fun posts in the coming days – QUICK! Before I go back to work!