Changes Abound!

Whew... my head is spinning! In the span of a short time we are experiencing some major LIFE changes! Change #1: Matthew and Maddie's time in TaiDo Karate, which has been a BIG - AMAZING - 4 night a week - GOOSE BUMP producing adventure for the past three years of our life, has come to a close, at least for a season. There are so many reasons, any ONE of which wouldn't bring us to the decision to leave it behind but when all happening at the same time make it a no-brainer. Bittersweet, no doubt, but the right thing to do. I feel a sense of peace about it, but at the same time there's a void within. These sensai's were absolutely incredible with BOTH of my children, and karate has been life changing for both of them. Plus, it was predictable, we were known and expected... and now we're just GONE. Weird. The impact on us will NEVER be gone, that much I know. Both kids reached the decision on their own, and both have mixed feelings of sadness, relief and the like. The evenings at HOME together with NOWHERE to go will be an incredible gift... at least for a season. It's over due. After wrestling with the decision for a week, we finally talked to the sensais and our closest karate friends. What a relief! The sensais were incredibly gracious and welcomed us back anytime. Maddie even went on Saturday to watch one of her best friends take her brown belt test - at her own request!! I had talked to the sensais the day before, but Maddie wasn't there, so on Saturday she was able to say thank you and good bye... apparently they had a very sweet exchange. :-) Change #2: We're changing churches. Another staple in our life for the past 7 years! CCB has been amazing... Matthew and Maddie were both baptized there this past Easter, and yet we feel led to move on. We want to find a place to worship and belong IN our community, where the kids will have more options AND friends at church that they can see other places or even more often at church. At this point, this decision is not just about Jeff and me, it's about finding a place for our kids to grow, be discipled and be a part of, more than just on Sundays. We have visited and found a church that I feel like God is leading us to, Perimeter Church. We are very excited, but this also is bittersweet. We are leaving a church community that is small, intimate, has loved us and our kids... and has incredible teaching, music and PEOPLE. I was so very nervous about telling my NOGs, a group of precious women that I've grown with and shared life with for the past 4 years, but they were so supportive of us finding the place we can plug in. Amazing women, and another relief. Change #3: From what we can tell right now, this will be Matthew's last year at Lionheart. We talked with them at the end of last year and confirmed this year, and (relief AGAIN), they too were very supportive. It has been THE MOST AMAZING PLACE, for both of us, but the time has come to move on. He will go to college, and we just think there HAS to be something between Lionheart and college. Lionheart has prepared him for this, and we will be forever grateful. He would not be where he is without all of the people at that school who have loved him, invested in him, challenged him and appreciated him for the unique and amazing boy God created him to be. As exciting as it is to find what's next, it's almost unbearable to think about leaving this place of safety and acceptance and familiarity. Yet I truly feel like God is calling us down this road. I wouldn't trade one day he's had at Lionheart - there's absolutely NO DOUBT that God brought us to this place (if only I could share all the God moments and miracles that brought this to be and made it possible, but that's for another blog entry). It's those miracles, though, that make it possible to walk on... because God has been so faithful every step of the way, I have no doubt that He will continue to be. Even though He's taking this CHANGE RESISTANT girl and running her through the ringer... taking so much of my safety, predictability and familiarity away, He's already blessing us SO much through it all. As it should be, I guess. We wouldn't want to get TOO comfortable, right? I think the school change is the hardest... it's been so nice to KNOW we were where we're supposed to be (because there was REALLY no doubt), and now we have start that season of discovery and uncertainty again. HOWEVER, today we visited two schools, and one of them made me feel the way I did when we found Lionheart for Matthew... like he just HAS to be there! It feels just as perfect for him NOW as Lionheart did THEN. Now the fun begins... the waiting to see what doors God will open. Really I think that's the hard part for me know... not as much the change (dare I say that) as the WAITING. ;-) Actually, this is all as it should be for sure - normally Jeff and I would be moving by now and forcing all of these uprooting changes on ourselves!! Would you believe we've been in this house and in these current jobs (both of us) longer than any ever before in our marriage?! I've always used the house we were in to narrow down an event/happening to within a year and a half (that was about the longevity), but we've been in this house since 2007! Jeff is in his 6th year at Wesleyan I think and my 4th year at Lionheart. We were at CCB for 7 years! This may not sound like much, but for us those numbers are staggering! ***Aside: two great kid stories 1. I woke up Tuesday morning to find Maddie already in the kitchen (she and usually meet in the family room at 6:15 to do our devotion time (separately but together)) - she was MAKING MY LUNCH! She cut a tomato for a caprese salad but then couldn't find the cheese, so she resorted to a turkey sandwich and pretzels with tomato on the side and a crystal light packet for my water. OH MY GOODNESS!!! She got up at 5:53 and came upstairs to do that! I've never had a lunch that tasted better. 2. Tonight at Maddie's softball practice, Matthew and I were chatting with some friends when they suddenly realized they hadn't seen their 5 year old son in the last good while. The dad goes of looking and Matthew went with him. Finally the mom spotted the boy across the field at a playground. As Matthew and I left, he said he was really beginning to get worried for the boy, especially when he spotted his baseball bat lying on the ground. Then at dinner when we shared our hi's and lo's from the day, THAT was low!!! I am so blessed by the hearts of my children. They truly are fearfully and wonderfully made - now if just don't mess them up! ;-)