"You can't imagine the freedom you find...."

"...from the things you leave behind." This little chorus of a Michael Card song has been going through my mind today. Our home in Largo, FL is no longer ours and we are so grateful! I am posting a picture of the kids who have made the house so full of memories. They all learned to walk and talk here and many other firsts that I won't mention. This is one of the "first day of school pictures" taken last year. Thank you all for your prayers and help! We are very grateful for Justin Gerber for assisting in all of this. I don't know how we could have done this without his help. We really have appreciated his professionalism as well as his friendship. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQY2auav8Qw

Clifton Mill....

You know how it is some times when you expect something to not be very interesting and it turns out to be very inspirational? Well, that is the type of week it has been for me. I am still in orientation and am scheduled for OR week. I much prefer to keep my patients OUT of the OR so this has never been a huge love of mine professionally. I have to say that I was challenged this week and got to experience things I haven't before in nursing. It has been a neat time.

Our closing for our FL home is scheduled for tomorrow at 2. We all feel like we will believe it when we see it but it is hopeful for the moment.

The older kids had basketball camp this week. They really have enjoyed learning new skills and meeting some new friends. The camp was held at the church we have been visiting in our new town.

I hope your week has been as inspirational.

Little Flyers

Susan and I took the kids to the Air Force Museum this past week. I hope you all get a chance to see it when you come and visit! It is a neat place to spend an afternoon.

ROCK CLIMBING

The kids have found a new sport thanks to their Aunt Susan. While Wesley is too young to use Cedarville's climbing wall, Susan and Kristianna have been going twice a week. We found that there is a wall in the mall, however, that Wesley is allowed to try.

We are impressed with Kristianna for overcoming her fear of heights!

Go, Susan!

Foundation and Fun

Progress is being made to our home site. Honestly, it is hard to imagine that this little rectangle could be large enough! When you are surrounded with acres of weeds it seems smaller then on paper. It is exciting to see new things when you arrive.

We decided to check out a canoe launching site about 1 mile away on the Little Miami River. We ended spending 2 hours there. This picture was taken just before Wesley fell off the tree and into the river! He was a good sport about it. It was a beautiful place even without a canoe. Wish you all could see it in real life!

Breaking Ground!

Kris drove by the property today and found men hard at work. Apparently today was the ground breaking day. We were pleasantly surprised! It is amazing how a little concrete can make a project seem real. Smudge came out today to inspect the land. It was his first visit and I think he approved. More work is scheduled for tomorrow and Kris is busy reading and planning the next steps. I had a day off today. We spent a lot of the time walking despite the 90 degree weather. Hope you all are staying cool!

A quick update.

Life feels more real this week in Ohio. The pace at work has increased and Kris is busy trying to get all of the paperwork for the garage done so we will be ready to build very soon. Our kids seem to be realizing that this isn't a long vacation and are finding some fun spots to call their favorites. On Sunday we attended the funeral of Kris's Uncle Jeff. It was an unexpected event and a sad time. During the funeral I was impressed with a familiar passage often read at such times...."There is a time to be born and a time to die....a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them" (Ecclesiastes 3:1,5) I feel as though this week we have begun to gather rather then to scatter. We have appreciated the prayers you have said for our family at this time of transition. We are so thankful for a God who made the move with us and remains at work in our lives.

Picking Strawberries....

We spent this afternoon introducing the kids to the sweet side of country life...picking strawberries. It was a lot of fun and very yummy! Kristianna and Wesley said that the berries were much sweeter and juicier then at Publix. We got a little carried away with our picking and now I am off to figure out what to do with so many berries! Wish I could share some with you all....