Taking risks and learning to love adventure!

Yesterday we woke up and rushed around town to drop off Amelia and Azariah before meeting up with the cousins for a day on the open water. In the south school starts a month earlier than what we're accustomed to so we wanted the kids to have a last hoorah before they have to hit the books. After dropping off the littler ones we headed north (25 whole minutes) to set off on an adventure. 

4 adults, 6 kids and the endless possibilities of a pontoon boat. Growing up in Michigan we have the best memories of the water. We've been privileged to explore on the big lake, the bay and all of the smaller inland lakes and tubing is one of our favorite water sports. As we set off through the no wake zone the kids buzzed around the boat with excitement, eagerly anticipating the adventure. We continued out of the no wake zone and into the gorgeous turquoise water of Lake Lanier. 

Once we'd tested the speed of the pontoon we took volunteers for the first tuber. I loved seeing Alyvia's hand shoot up like a rocket as she exclaimed she would love to try it out. It amazes me how fearless the heart of a child is from the beginning. She had never been tubing and yet she was willing, even excited, to put her little life in a tube and hang by a rope off into the deep lake water. Her wish came true and she led the team with the first ride. 

Her smile, before and after her first tubing experience, exclaimed her delight in the opportunity to explore out on her own. You could sense the feeling of accomplishment she had and I knew she learned a valuable lesson. She learned that she has what it takes to take chances and to move regardless of risk. As her dad I hope that we can continue to reaffirm this and that she will press into experiences and relationships that have an element of risk. I also hope that she will learn that in those times she doesn't have to rely on her own strength to get through. I hope she finds that there is someone that would love to step in and walk alongside her on the journey. 

We continued on our wild adventure with tubing and finding our own private island for lunch and exploration. All the kids launched themselves into the deep blue water and swam into the shore to experience what was waiting for them there. They laughed and splashed and dunked. It reminded me of the many fond memories I have with my cousins on the water. All around the Detroit metro area swimming, in what as an adult may be suspect water, with my family. Also tubing around the lake in East Waterboro and hoping not to get duck rash with my Maine family. I can still remember so many of the ridiculous things we did and the special memories we made together. I love that my kids are getting the opportunity to make their own special memories with their cousins. Through exploration in the wild I believe they are learning critical life lessons. They are learning how big creation is and with that how incredibly diverse. They are also learning that they've been invited to explore and that they don't have to fear. Some of the most important learnings have been how to build meaningful relationships, how to resolve conflict, and how to put others desires ahead of their own. 

It was a great day to be on the lake. In every direction it appeared as if the lake was only ours (one of the serious benefits to going on a Monday) and the weather couldn't have been better. Yesterday at the lake was like a gift to me. A little gem I found that I hope to treasure into the future. It was life giving and also sun burn giving. We had a blast!

32 days 16 hours and 14 minutes...

It's official! We've been settled (settling) into our new home for over a month! In some respects it seems like we just arrived (Does unpacking ever end?) and others like we've been here for years. I suppose the latter is the benefit of having lived here once before. It amazes me how the brain stores and recalls information (like the precise location of my favorite bagel place EVERY Sunday) and how quickly it can readjust to surroundings. 

Whenever we first move into a new place, which has happened eleven times since we were married, there are the awkward moments of not being able to locate the appropriate switch to turn on/off lights, continually pulling out the wrong drawer for a spoon, and stubbing your toe on some piece of furniture. Yet here I am just over a month in and I can turn the lights off, I found a spoon (very important since ice cream consumption is serious in the south) and I haven't stubbed my toe in weeks. It feels like familiarity and to me that feels like home. 

Although there have been so many transitions; from biking to work to walking five feet, from the mid 60's to the mid 90's, from constant noise to constant animal noises, and shrimp n grits (go to Milton House). It's been renewing to see God show up in the midst of the chaos and reaffirm us. It hasn't been easy to let go of some of our favorite pieces of city life but we've been reminded of a longer term vision and the place this chapter holds in the grand scheme. A routine is forming. 

One of my favorite times of the day is the early morning as I sneak out onto the deck and watch the sherbet sun peek through the forest behind the house. The birds chirping constantly and the crisp morning air before the heat takes off. It has been the perfect place to find my footing before the day is underway and prepare for the journey ahead. 

Inside Jokes

Last night I asked Alyvia if she wanted to go for a special time away with me and she immediately exclaimed "Yes"! When I told her I wanted to take her for a sunset hike up Sawnee Mountain she then said "Oh, actually I'm going to stay with mom". I'd be lying if I said I completely understood as I really wanted to take her.  With mild disappointment I started to tuck in the rest of the gang one by one. For some of the kids, one in particular, it was a serious fight to keep them in their room and the tantrum was memorable...

After I got them all to sleep I came back downstairs and Alyvia said "Dad, I'm ready to go. Meet me upstairs". A bit frazzled from the bedtime havoc I slowly processed her change of heart, grabbed my belongings and jumped in the car. By this point it was 8:11pm and I knew the sun was due to set at 8:46pm so we raced in our giant rental car to the base of the Sawnee Mountain Preserve. 

Once we arrived we filled our water bottle with haste and set off toward the top. We were moving at a pretty incredible pace for an eight year old, even passing a few couples along the way. When we rounded the last switchback about 600 feet from the cliff I heard someone yelling it's about to set and I glanced at my phone to check the time. It was 8:45pm and I yelled "Alyvia, run we're going to miss it"! We took off and sprinted the last six hundred feet to catch one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen. The sun was ruby red against a pink and purple sky and it was quickly slipping over the top of the blue ridge mountains in the background. Within seconds of being at the top it vanished beneath the horizon. We panted at the top and enjoyed the splendor of the painting (I did most of the panting). We had the best conversation about the painter and his undeniable faithfulness to provide day in and day out. We were truly amazed by the variations in the sky and we climbed and descended alongside the steep mountain drop off to catch different vantage points. Alyvia was so mesmerized she wanted to see as much as possible and every direction. 

She was also incredibly fearless walking toward the edge on the boulders and scaling down rock walls to get a different view. I was proud of her sense of adventure but also incredibly nervous as she scooted out to the edge to let her feet dangle whenever possible. At one point she said "Dad, you're kind of acting like a scaredy cat. I'm not going to fall or anything". I smiled back at her and told her I trust her but also insisted that she hold my hand...

I realized the immense value of our time together and how much I would treasure this memory. Once it was almost completely dark and there was only one small group left at the top we decided to start the decent. We wandered the trails playing different games and laughing uncontrollably. She taught me how to play one game called true or false which is apparently the same thing as one truth and a lie. I thought it was a great time to tell stories about me and Thiele that she may not know and be creative in the false responses. It was amazing for me to hear her stories and her sense of creativity and to laugh hysterically while we wandered through the dark without a flashlight. Our eyes adjusted and our hearts were delighted. It was truly a time where inside jokes are made and I'm so thankful for that. 

On the way home we sang songs and laughed some more before we arrived home. I hope that she took as much from our time as I did. I was reminded of the value in relationships, the value of adventure and the restoration that laughter brings. I was reminded that a grand a glorious story is being written and the painter is involved in all the little details. It was a night for the books!

Blank pages

This morning before any of the clan awoke I stumbled out into the kitchen dramatically grasping for the K-cups so I could make some coffee. I had hit the snooze for just long enough that I woke up to the second alarm with a mass amount of disorientation. I must've hit the REM cycle in record time! While my coffee was brewing I grabbed a few things and decided to the spend the morning outside on the deck. 

One of the benefits of moving is you unearth historical treasures from years past that have been buried deep amidst the American collection of things. I noticed that sitting on a shelf was a journal from a specific date I couldn't recall that had been placed as decoration on a bookshelf in our living room. Like an adventurer on an expedition I excitedly took it with me outside. Upon opening the journal I found a story (more a collection of prayers, dreams and hopes) inside from what seems like an eternity ago yet was only actually a few years ago. 

On the pages, week after week, were stories and prayers from my everyday life. Stories of healing and stories of immense pain, joy and peace. Though the prayers seemed to go wherever the spirit led and jumped from place to place there was a consistency to the storyline. Then all of a sudden in January of 2012 the journal was written out of the story and sat somewhere untouched for years. 

Alongside these entries were dozens of prayer cards I remembered creating after reading A Praying Life in 2010 & 2011. I found bible verse, key words and hopes for members of my family, my closest friends and leaders within the church.  It was amazing to see through the cards the answered prayer for these individuals over the last few years and a much needed reminder that He is faithful to finish what he has started. 

About half way through the journal the pages became empty and the stories/prayers seemed to pause. I must admit there have been many days where real life seems to have mirrored the pause. And yet this morning the blank pages seemed a sign of hope. A reminder that the story is far from over. And an invitation to come and be heard, to listen, and to move forward. 

A traveling road show...

It's been almost a month since we haphazardly crammed every inch of a 27' moving truck with seemingly endless amounts of stuff. If you live alone and have moved the only way you can relate is if you...actually you can't relate. After over eight years in a city we love deeply we started a traveling roadshow complete with a three vehicle caravan and embarked on the journey south. I had the privilege of taking my oldest son with me in the semi truck while my gracious wife endured the other four kids in her van and my kind sister in law followed in back with her kids crammed between the "junk" we couldn't fit anywhere else. As every wise human would we loaded the entire day then decided we were superhuman and would drive overnight so the kids slept the majority of the drive...

It's was 10:45pm on a Saturday when we pulled off the beautiful tree lined street in Lincoln Park and navigated toward Georgia. If you've been to Chicago (at any time/day) then you know we got stuck in traffic and spent an hour just to get on the highway. It was an adventure!

Remember that superhuman strength we have? Turns out we were more fragile than we wanted to admit, at least my sister in law and I were. We made it until 1:45am then slept amidst a sea of semitrucks in rural Indiana. When I woke two hours later I found out that my wife was actually superhuman and was currently hours ahead of us in Kentucky. By this point the dawn was about to break and Anderson was awake. It's one of my favorite memories. We were talking about the sunrise and how faithful God is to bring a new day each morning. Anderson had so many great questions and told me he was getting hungry and he was wide awake. I looked left to see the sun rise over the horizon and when I looked back Anderson had passed out. I learned that you can't always trust what a six year old says at 6am. Still I pressed on with the thrill of trying to catch up with my beautiful wife!

Once we made it about 45 miles north of Louisville my sister in law and I were having serious Starbucks withdrawal so I googled the closest one and we raced to get our prize. After wandering two miles off the exit the destination was on our left. The only problem was that it was now an autozone and when I looked at the Starbucks that was in Google Maps I realized that I failed to notice the "permanently closed" message directly below. This trek, while adventurous, was keeping me from catching Thiele. Kinsey and I rushed to find the next Starbucks which turned out to be 2 1/2 hours later in Bowling Green Kentucky. 

Once caffeinated we pressed onward with a vengeance through the rolling green hills of Tennessee. It was around Nashville when the A/C went out in the semi and the temperature began to soar into the upper 90's (Welcome to the South!). It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Our road trip took the ultimate step in memory making when we then had to cruise with the windows down and the jams on blast! For a little over four hours we endured the heat and pressed on. Finally in the late afternoon we arrived to our new home in sweat soaked clothes. It was a feeling of both victory and complete exhaustion (we also NEVER caught Thiele...). 

From that day forward we've been sifting through our belongings and wandering through the hoarder-esk trails that exist between stacks of boxes. It feels good to say we're making progress (even if it's going slow). I've loved seeing our kids enjoy the adventure. In the little things like gardening, running through the forest, eating on the deck and playing ping pong. While no one is settled at this point there is a feeling that this is where we should be. It was a long journey to get here but we all survived. I hope that my older kids will share stories of our cross country move with their kids and the little kids will create new memories as they grow up in metro Atlanta. For me it's all about the story that's being told and I love that we have little roles along the way. Someday when we're rocking on a porch swing and our grandkids are running around the estate I hope to call them up to the porch and recall all of the little stories being written in the moments of life. Stories of our move, of dance recitals, of times things went wrong, of times things went right, of where we saw God move, of where we witnessed redemption first hand, of the falls, of the comebacks and of the love that overflows. 

We're transitioning well into our new southern digs but appreciate your continued prayer over our crazy quirky family.