WayfaringStrangers

It is July and hot and the cicadas are singing their shrill tune. When I walk outside in the mornings to tend to the animals, the air feels like a warm bath. Any breeze is welcome. I pick an armful of black-eyed susans and hundreds of wild blackberries, and find bit of time in the day to make jam or freeze the bounty. We have been in a very difficult season in our home this year. 'Hardest we can think of,' we say. Looking back, there have been other trials, yes. Moves, exhaustion during new babies and toddler years, aching loneliness, extremely tight budgets. I always thought purchasing a home and moving while 9 months pregnant would take the cake. But this, this uncertainty, gnaws at us. Job loss has the underlying anxiety that makes us emotionally and physically exhausted. We know, we know , God loves us and is in control. And so what will be will be best, right? Even if... we have to move. Or sell the house. Or work 4 part-time crappy jobs to keep the house. What is He doing...

Wow, it's November?! October was, in my opinion, the fastest  month this year! It flew by, full of pumpkins and ducklings (the boys, for Halloween), changing leaves and orange candles, apple crisp and yummy soups. I just love fall. And fall isn't over yet! Anyway, my new job is keeping us really busy. It's been an adjustment. I'm home all day with the boys, and we usually do something in the morning: park, playdate, library, Bible study, etc. Then it's naptime and before I know it, I'm getting them into the van to meet up with Behn. Behn and I switch cars and he takes the kids while I go to work. I'll admit, it's tiring, to both Behn and I. Trying to plan and execute dinners when I'm not even home is especially hard- but Behn is doing a great job wgetting the kids fed, bathed, and ready for bed. This is the season we are in right now, and I'm grateful for work after looking for 5 months. It's also nice to be using my ABA skills again, and w...

What a long, long summer of job hunting it has been for me. Lots of praying, web-browsing, answering job postings, a few interviews, more praying...and I finally seem to have a real job! Lord willing, in a few weeks, I'll be working as an ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) Tutor through a health insurance company. I'll be working with kids with Autism again! I had a few job leads this summer. First, someone contacted me about tutoring her son for the summer. He has some special needs and we have had a lot of fun working on his reading and typing. I really enjoy his family and have even babysat once. It's been a good little job and I hope to continue, but it's not enough hours for what we need me to be doing. Then, I briefly started babysitting a boy (also with some special needs). This ended up being a lot more work than I had thought, having him here at my house with my kids too. Plus, I was under the impression that the family needed childcare several days a week and i...

Motherhood has been time-consuming lately, with the transitions and a very busy toddler and still-new baby. Most days I'm also quite tired, due to an infant up 2 times a night, with a side of Graham also waking up many nights. Behn started his new job last Monday and I'm happy to report he seems to be enjoying it. The first few days were very overwhelming for him, but he was really upbeat when he came home from work yesterday. We're getting settled into our new community. I've joined the church choir, we had new friends over for lunch on Sunday, and in 2 weeks we will join Grace and Peace Presbyterian and have Patrick baptized. I do very much miss my Lexington friends, but I am grateful that at least we are not lonely here because we do have family to fellowship with. Last Saturday my mom and I checked out an adoption fair at another local church. I picked up a stack of resources and papers from some local agencies. We are excited about the prospect of beginning our a...

...that Behn got a new job  and we are moving!! This job came after a lot of waiting (not often patiently on my part), praying, pleading, wondering, job-applying, and trusting God. And He opened this door in His perfect timing (seriously, in the nick of time; we are supposed to be out of our house by Nov 1st). The job is with Recorded Books, a private book recording and ebook company, so actually he'll be in an office setting, not in a library anymore. He is excited! I am so proud of him. So, where? We'll be in southern Maryland. We'll live with my parents for a few months until we find a good place to move our little family. I am thrilled to be close to family again. I like adventure and change. But it is very bittersweet to leave this beautiful place that's been our home for 3 years. We have an amazing and treasured church family here. We love the mountains and this quaint, small, historic town. I have awesome friends who make my days brighter. So there is a l...

Variety is the spice of life, right? Here's a variety of goings-on: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graham is doing a very  cute new thing where he wants to pick out a toy to sleep with before bed or nap. Of course, he always has to have his blanket; and now he wants a cup of water. In addition, right as I'm putting him in bed, he looks around the room and picks out something else. The thing is, it's always something different. One night it's my car keys, the next naptime, it's a ball, then a truck, then a book. Last night it was a duck. A duck that he's had forever and always ignored and was suddenly very important. He fell asleep with it and this morning when Behn got him up, Graham proudly marched up to me, smiling, and holding his duck and saying, 'duck!' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Knowing you could go into labor anyt...

The blog's been quiet...but not because there's nothing going on, but because there's stuff going on that we don't feel ready to post about yet. One of those big items is Behn's job search. Behn has a job here in Virginia, and for that we are so grateful. Lots of people don't have jobs in this economy. But the job doesn't really provide enough for our family. This past year has been a test of faith; faith that at time has faltered and sometimes been strong. In it all, God has been working. We absolutely know that the Spirit's work does not depend on the measure of our faith- thank God for that! And this year has been a time to see God provide for our needs when we didn't know how He would. Character-building, witness-building, and humbling. Behn will be done his Master's degree this summer and has been looking for new work in which he can utilize that degree and have more income. Last week, he had a in-person interview in Maryland, in the same ...