Counting Our Blessings: Part Two

As promised, here is the continuation of my previous post...

District Representative Visit
As you can imagine, our last week in Crawfordsville was already a little bit busy...and then it got a little busier with a scheduled visit from our District Representatives. It was a good busy, though! We have so enjoyed getting to know David and Joann, and this visit was made a little sweeter in knowing that we would be staying in their district and will (God willing) have many more years of working together.
Since our house was a disaster from packing, Allen and Diane offered to let the DR's sleep at their house (only a couple minutes from ours) both nights. We decided to take them to Shades State Park on Saturday (5/23) for a picnic so we wouldn't have to work around the mess, and it was a nice way to wear the kids out to take good naps. ;)

Shades State Park

Me, Joann, David, Chris

Shades State Park

Chris showing off his rock-skipping skillz

Dinner that evening with our mentors, Allen and Diane, and our District Reps, David and Joann

After dinner we enjoyed our first game of bocce ball at Allen and Diane's. 

Playnig bocce ball

<3 Family <3
My mom, stepdad, and foster sister came and stayed with us for a couple of days to help us pack and clean before our move. We were SO thankful for their help (anyone who has ever tried moving with a busy toddler, needy baby, or both will certainly understand that!). My mom's school finished earlier than normal this year, and she decided to accompany us on our move to Iowa, staying with us for a couple weeks to help us get settled. She came on May 22 and will be leaving tomorrow (June 7). I can't express how thankful I am for the time we've gotten to spend with her or the immense help she has been in helping us move, start unpacking/organizing, and watch the kids. Her help has been invaluable, and I always enjoy her company. It's going to be hard to let her leave!!

Sisters Forever <3
Rachel returned from her semester in Ireland on Saturday, May 23. I'm so glad we got to spend some time with her before she left, but so sad it wasn't more as we originally thought it would be! Josiah missed her more than anything while she was gone (especially since the previous semester she had been able to come to our house almost every weekend and come to church with us); he tried to call or text her almost daily from my cell phone (fortunately, Siri cannot understand Toddler-speak). We are hoping, though, that she'll be able to spend a week otr so in Iowa with us this summer!

Commissioning Service at Liberty Chapel
Sunday (5/24) was our commissioning service/sendoff at Liberty Chapel. Chris preached about three tools God uses in preparing us (His Body) for service (you can listen here); Allen spoke to us some in front of the church and the church and elders prayed for us; and then we celebrated together with a delicious fish fry/carry-in lunch.
It was such a special time and I was thankful to share it with so many people we love: friends and "family" at Liberty Chapel; Allen and Diane who have been our close mentors for the past year; David and Joann who serve in the integral role of supporting and helping Village Missionaries; my mom, stepdad, foster sister, and sister Rachel and her boyfriend David; and special surprise visitors, Chris' maternal grandparents - David and Donna Soliday, who have had a huge influence in our lives by their wisdom and examples.

Loading the Moving Truck
May 25th: We were so, so blessed during this move to have so many people from Liberty Chapel offer to come help us pack and load the moving truck! We felt so loved by them and so appreciated their help. We couldn't have done it otherwise!

Taking a break

Even Josiah helped load the truck! 

Josiah with Kylie and Marisa - two sweet girls who were SO helpful to us this past year as they babysat Josiah during our Thursday night Bible study. They have loved on and spoiled our kids so much - we miss them already!

Wrapping It Up: Last Goodbyes (Or Rather, 'See-You-Later's)

Josiah and his friend Toby

Josiah saying goodbye to one of his favorite people ever: Pastor Sparks

Moving Day: 27 May, 2015
We had beautiful weather for our move to Iowa. I had sent Chris on ahead with the moving truck early in the morning in case  he had to drive extra slowly or in case the truck broke down or had a flat tire like had happened during our move to Crawfordsville... But this time, he experienced no major mishaps. I drove our van and my mom drove our new-to-us SUV.

On the road again....

Iowa Sunset

Chris arrived in Volga mid-afternoon, but since my mom and I had the kids (kids = more stops and longer stops), we didn't arrive until around 10:00 that night. I narrowly escaped hitting a deer (thank God I didn't!), and we made it safe and sound - if exhausted - to Volga.

This about sums it up.

 I am excited to write and share more about our new home in the coming days/weeks, but it's been another busy day here and is turning out to be another late night. Thanks for your love, prayers, and support... We appreciate you all!