Monday, May 23, 2011

We're moving...twice!

A couple months ago, we were looking forward to a very peaceful summer. It had been a very busy and exhausting school year (adding a surprise baby one week before school starts really turns your world upside down!) and we were really looking forward to a break. We were picturing a summer of relaxing and recuperating a bit from our busy year. I was envisioning lazy days by the pool, lots of down time and just enjoying the days at home with the kids. Plans have changed A LOT over the the last couple months, and while we're really excited and thankful for these changes, my vision of a relaxing summer has quickly faded away.

It all started Easter weekend. Our neighborhood had a couple new homes being built, and I jokingly said to Luke that Saturday night, "We should see if the builder would want to swap us homes." (We had been thinking about moving but didn't really want to go through all the hassle of listing and showing our home.) I'll never forget the expression on Luke's face when he said, "Yeah, we should!" I thought he was joking. But he wasn't, and the next night (Easter Sunday) he left the realtor a voice mail. Monday night we looked at the house, and on Wednesday night we signed the papers. In less than five days we had bought a house! A week ago moving was nowhere on the horizon and now we had to be out of our home in a month. But we were so excited because we loved the home and really saw God's hand in providing it for us at such a great deal.

Our summer was starting to look a little bit busier, but I was excited to be in the new home by the end of May and then have the summer to get settled. I still thought we would have a pretty laid-back summer, even though we would be settling into a new home. (Moving is a lot easier when you are just moving around the corner.)

Things got really interesting two days later. On Friday, Luke left for the Men's Retreat and I took the boys to my parent's house. Naomi and I went shopping and while I was in the Target fitting room I got a phone call from Luke. He informed me that his boss just called him and offered him a two-year expat assignment in Krakow, Poland! This was completely unexpected, but after much discussion and prayer we both felt like it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

So here's our new summer plans:

A few weeks ago we moved from this house......



down the street to this house........



and then in September we move here.........


So do you think we're going to get that nice, relaxing summer we had been dreaming of? Obviously not, but we're trusting God that this is what is best for our family. So far He has blown us away with His provisions, and we know that He will continue to guide us through this wild two-year adventure we are about to begin. I hope to get this blog rolling again, and post lots from our experiences in Europe.

(And in case you're wondering, we will be leasing our new home while we're in Poland.)

Luke and I will be traveling to Poland sometime in July to find a home there. Our tenth anniversary is in August, so we're counting this as our anniversary getaway as well. We weren't planning on Europe for our anniversary trip, but we're not going to complain!

It all sounds crazy, and I can't believe how quickly all of this has happened, but we know God's plan is perfect. If I wasn't trusting in a Sovereign God, I would probably be a basket case right now!

Szczęść Boże!

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Big Race

Most little girls play with dolls and have tea parties. But when you have three older brothers, you learn how to race a backhoe.