Got your attention with that title? I have been struggling with what to post about - there has been so much going on in the lives of the Writebol family over the course of the last month and a half!
May 8th marked my last day of work at Rincon Valley Christian School - still a surreal thought in my mind. It was an odd feeling leaving work that day knowing that my new job was going to be what I had prayed and prayed for - to be a stay at home mom! (That will be another post in and of itself - my transition to the new job!) We spent the next several days boxing a house, spending as much time as possible with what I call our "family friends" in Santa Rosa and getting our last "fixes" on our favorite spots in Sonoma County to eat :) It is funny because in some ways it seems so long ago and in some ways it feels like yesterday!
On May 12 we did something that was much more difficult that I could have imagined it would be - we said, "See you later" to those family friends in Santa Rosa and headed to our new home in Wichita, KS. This was something God had been doing in our hearts for several years and again, a whole other story in and of itself. While we were thankful that God was moving us closer to family (and he did - put us right in the middle of everyone!), saying goodbye to people who mean the world to you and have become family was a difficult task. Let's just say I created my own trail of tears from Santa Rosa to Wichita. I think the desert even got wet as we traveled.
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| So they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly - oh I mean Wichita! |
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| Our family in California! We love them all! |
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| More California Family! Miss you! |
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| Such good friends - thankful that friendships can last no matter where you are! |
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More California Family! Can't wait to see them again soon!
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Our kids did amazing on the three day drive. They had their moments - as any child would - it was just a bummer to be trapped in the car with them and no escape when the did - LOL! Each day was about 11 hours in the car. We saw many fun sights, created fun memories and spent Mother's Day at the Grand Canyon (which is amazing!). On the way to Kansas we spent two nights in Santa Fe with my Aunt Linda and her husband Andy. Super fun times there - my brother was there too so we got to visit with him as well! Finally on Tuesday, May 15 we made it to Kansas! Let's just say we saw lots of grain elevators and the bigger the grain elevator, the more of a hope that the town coming up had a restroom :)
We closed on our house on May 16 and our belongings arrived safe and sound on May 21st. My parents had come the Saturday before and helped us get the house painted inside (pictures to come soon). Now that our belongings were here, we were officially moved in to our new home in Wichita. I was completely overwhelmed with boxes and felt slightly paralyzed. Little did I know that a week and two days later, I would enter into an edition of Extreme Home Make-over, only the whole town wasn't showing up and neither was Ty Pennington.
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| Our New Home in Wichita - but soon it won't look like this! Extreme Home Make-Over in process! |
On Wednesday, May 30 we were home, getting ready to go to community group and around 4:30 p.m. we experienced a hail storm like no hail storm I have ever experienced and I grew up in the midwest! It hailed for a very long time - it just kept going and going! The kids thought it was pretty cool and loved standing on the porch watching the large balls of ice hitting everything! Honestly at this point it is important to note that I was worried, I knew it was doing major damage to our van and probably our roof. But what can you do at that point - just trust that the Lord who holds all things together (including hail) would take care of us. Ethan was walking around the house saying, "Oh hail, oh hail." Little did we know that God was going to use the hail storm as an act of grace in our lives. This story will be continued - - - - - - - - but to let you know, we are getting a new roof, gutters, and siding - - - I really am on Extreme Home Make-over and can't wait to post before and after pictures. God is showing me EVERYDAY he does hold all things together and his plans are for our good and His glory. He can use even what we think is horrible to demonstrate his love and grace. We just need to have eyes fixed on him. That is what he is teaching me these days. More to come soon :)
