10 Crazy Days

Note: I started this blog a few days ago, but because of the craziness of life with two kids, it didn't get finished until today. So pretend you are reading this last Tuesday, which is when it should have been posted.

Well, we are here.

"Here" being Western Pennsylvania. East Brady, to be exact, will be our home until we can get our feet underneath us. We are living at Lindon's parents' house while they are out of town.

It boggles my mind to think about how much has happened in the past 10 days. Packing, doctor appointments, time with dear friends, and illness (yes, illness) sucked up every second of our time.

In vaguely chronological order, here are some of the highs and lows of the past 10 days:

 - We had a very special farewell dinner with some of our dearest St. Louis friends. Charlie and Lindon were classmates, and we both started our families around the same time. Now we have four boys between us. After an amazing meal, we sat around the table for hours and just shared some of our favorite memories. From "I remember the first time we met..." to "Remember that day when my dog died..." to "How many home improvement projects did we work on together," it was a wonderful time of reminiscing and celebrating how much life we had experienced together.

 - Megan attended her last Bible study with a group of women who have been her closest friends and best support network during our time in St. Louis. The groups decided to forgo the typical time of listening to a sermon and just sat around and talked. Had Shields not been fussy the entire time, it would have been a precious meeting. Crabby child notwithstanding, it was wonderful to have one more evening with these special friends.

 - While Megan was at her last Bible study, Lindon spent quality time with two of his closest St. Louis friends. Naturally, their get together involved packing, but he was thankful to have one last evening with them, even if it involved putting junk in boxes.

 - Megan and Shields had their final post-natal appointments. We have often thanked the Lord for the amazing medical care we have received in St. Louis, and it was hard to bid farewell to these fabulous doctors. Megan's obstetrician has navigated us through two pregnancies with competence and kindness, and we have appreciated not only his expertise, but his Christian understanding of his work. Our St. Louis pediatrician was a smart-Alec doctor who seemed quite pleased when we discovered how much he likes to joke around. We will miss his practice and his sense of humor.

 - Of course, since packing and caring for two children left us lots of free time, Levi decided to add some spice to our life by getting sick. He caught a brief stomach virus that had been circulating throughout the city, and while it did not last long, we certainly did not enjoy having it visit our house. And when it hit Megan Friday morning (yes, the morning we were leaving), we were especially displeased. Mercifully, it was a very, very brief virus, and Megan still got underway Friday afternoon.

 - After we packed the furniture and boxes on Wednesday, we realized how many things still needed to be packed. At this point panic set in. We had envisioned Thursday as our cleanup and say goodbye day, but it turned in to our frenzied packing-all-of-our-junk day. Once again our faithful friends came to the rescue and helped us finish all the packing Thursday evening. We were touched by their kindness, generosity, and love for us. The evening ended with them praying with and for us before saying goodbye, a memory we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

 - As mentioned before, Friday began with Megan getting sick, and because of this, our departure from St. Louis did not go as planned. We had hoped to have a moment to pray and savor one last look at the precious house that had been our home for over five years. Instead, Lindon jammed the last of our belongings into the car and the truck while Levi whined and Megan, well, let's just say she didn't help. Still, Lindon, Levi, and Nash set off in the 26-foot Penske truck and made the 12-hour trek in one day. Due to snow and stops for the kiddo, it took them longer than 12 hours, but they made it safely. Megan and Shields made it to Indianapolis late that night and finished the drive on Saturday.

 - Sunday was the first time we attended the church we expect to be our new church home. Gateway Community Church proved to be a warm, welcoming group. Megan met two other mothers who delivered boys the same week Shields was born, and she left church with contact information for three different women who wanted to get together once life settled down. We spent the afternoon with family and enjoyed a chance for someone else to watch the kids. It was also nice to bid farewell to loved ones without wondering when we might see them again. 

These are just some snapshots of what we have experienced in less than two weeks. We continue to process everything, and that includes a bit of sadness in addition to hopefulness. We still have a lot of adjusting to do, but we are doing a little better each day. If Shields would sleep for seven or eight straight hours, we would be even better still. But God is our Sustainer still, even when change, uncertainty, and exhaustion threaten to throw us off balance.