Transitions & New Adventures

What a whirlwind.  So much has happened in our lives in two months it's hard to capture all of it in one blog post.  The long and short of it is this:

• We sold our house in Madison.
• We decided to move back to the Quad Cities, Michael's hometown.
• I resigned from my position at Edgewood.
• Michael is taking on a new position in Young Life.
• This past week, with the help of many hands, none of which were Michaels (because he is doing his residency for his doctorate in D.C. right now) we packed up the house and delivered our 'stuff' to the Quad Cities where we have temporary housing.  I can't even begin to thank all those who pitched in...humbling for sure.

The difficult part about summarizing these events is that it doesn't begin to unpack the Holy Spirit in all of this, or how we have felt TOTALLY led by God to do what we are doing...that is another story and can be found in a different blog post :) 

And this week I walked through 724 Ethan Terrace for the last time.  One time when I drove away, at night, I saw Jacksons John Deere bike had been left out on the front lawn...and I looked up at the house.  It was such an image of our five years there.  There have been so many wonderful memories in that place, in that space.  Our first years of marriage, many gatherings, late night conversations with friends, bringing home two children, laughter and tears.  And yet I know that it is just a house.  It simply provided a space for those precious moments.

I know we will be settled into another home soon and we will build new memories.  I know that the Lord has incredible things for us.  But I also know that 724 Ethan Terrace will always hold a special place in my heart as the house that helped build us as a family.  It was the place that was the start of the Havercamps as a little community.  

The friendships of Madison will be hard to replace, but the future has great things in store.  And we know enough to understand that friendships don't really end- they just start to look a little different.  The lives that have impacted us while in Madison are people we will hold very dearly, pray for often and hope to keep in touch with.  All of these people have shaped us and our family.  We couldn't be who we are if it wasn't for the people the around us.  

In all of this, as challenging as it has been, I have had TOTAL PEACE with my decision to spend these precious years with the kiddos at home and I can't even believe it.  I feel freedom to know I can choose them first, before other responsibilities...and the irony of that is that I loved my job at Edgewood...I just don't think I knew how much I wanted to be with them.  

The past couple of weeks I've actually had time to sit with the kids outside and I've spent more time with them playing on the floor, getting down to their level.  This afternoon, as we ate lunch, we danced and sang to Chicken Fried.   I was really struck by these lyrics.  We are downsizing.  We aren't going to have a big house or a lot of extra income.  We've made choices that mean we will live on one salary.  And we feel really good about it...I've come to realize that 724 Ethan Terrace was just a house...we can make anywhere our home.  It's who is inside that matters...and the moments we have together that remain in our memories...not the colors of the walls, or the layout of the rooms, or the decorations found in various corners.  It's the smiling faces of my little ones as they see their mama dancing around the room like an idiot...

"It's funny how it's the little things in life..

that mean the most

not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes.

There's no dollar sign on a peace of mind...

This I've come to know..."  

So I pray we may always remember the memories and moments we had inside this home that revolved around relationships, and not be attached to the physical house itself...and I pray that we continue to go forward focusing on the little things in life...that for sure mean the most.