We finished our summer travels on a plane (we had put 2500 miles on our car at this point) as we headed to Arizona for the end of our summer. It was wonderful to spend time with Angie's mom and help her settle into her new condo. We may not have been too much help with the unpacking but I'm pretty sure we did a lot to create new memories there!
The trip started with a celebration at a family friend's wedding. All of Angie's sisters and families came as well so it was a busy and wonderful weekend. Our girls loved playing with their cousin "Joshy" and Angie enjoyed spending time with her sisters and mom including some wedding dress shopping for her sister Jessie. Thanks to Angie's sister Tessa we even got a great new family photo (now on the top of our blog) to use! We love having photos in the family.
The Whole Family on the dance floor at the reception
We did lots of swimming to stay cool and Maddie learned how to swim without "floaties". We hung pictures, unpacked boxes and organized the garage. Most of all we relaxed and enjoyed a break from everyday life in Saint Louis.
While there Bobby was able to present on behalf of the Foundation for Called Workers (www.tfcw.org) at Christ Church-Lutheran (www.cclphoenix.org), Angie's home church. It is funny to be in a place where he is "Angie's husband" as she is much more often the "outsider". That church has grown and changed a lot since Angie moved away 14 years ago for college and it is sometimes strange to return. The old school she attended has been torn down and a new building is rising in its place, many staff members have changed and congregation members have come and gone but it is still home. We have both been blessed to come from such strong churches where our faith was developed and we were offered mentoring and growth opportunities. We give thanks for CCL and the role played in Angie's life.
The trip came to an abrupt halt on July 31st, as Eley had a very scary medical crisis when she quit breathing. Angie had to give rescue breaths as her sister Tessa drove them to the ER. She stabilized within 30 minutes and was transferred to a children's unit at another hospital. The medical staff took great care of baby Eley and after three days in the hospital with many tests, she was given the clean bill of health. It is a bit nerve wracking to leave without "answers" but we are so grateful that there were not serious heart, lung or intestinal issues requiring surgery or specialized care. For now, we are continuing regular visits to the pediatrician to rule out and ongoing problems and lifting up prayers of thanks for our little one's health.
After our "exciting" week in the hospital, we took the weekend to settle back into life before we decided to celebrate our 9th anniversary with a stay at a local hotel. We brought Eley with us (since we weren't quite ready to leave her alone) but enjoyed time at the pool, an incredible dinner and a night without our two oldest. We have had an exciting journey so far in this marriage and this year will be another big milestone as Bobby finishes Seminary and we are "sent" to our next mission field. It is exciting, scary and overwhelming, but we have faith that God is walking ahead of us and has it all under control. Our marriage and partnership in the gospel is our greatest thanksgiving, it is incredible to think that it has been nine years as most of the time it feels like we are still new to this. We can't wait to see the what's next for this family.
Finally, after going through many boxes of things that Angie's mom wanted us to claim as our own we packed up a truck with help from some old friends Tim and Peter Walsworth (former youth from our church in Alaska who now live in Arizona). It made us feel a bit old but was great to reconnect as their family was very dear to us and adopted us in during our time in Homer. We again were reminded of the many lives that have touched us and the incredible "story" God has allowed us to be a part of.
Bobby began a three day trek in a U-haul from AZ back to St. Louis carrying some furniture, Angie's high school and childhood goods (including the entire Babysitters Club book series), and after a stop in Texas, our dog Kali. With this drive Bobby's summer milage was about 4500, he covered 12 states, and three time zones. Angie and the girls flew back with her sister Tessa three days later with sad good-byes to Grandma Sue after our 21 day stay. We can only pray that our girls will share such love and affection for their mom and sisters as Angie does for hers.
Although summer is done, we carry the memories with us into this final school year in St. Louis. We saw all of our parents, grandparents, cousins, second cousins, most of our closest friends and our home towns and churches. We were encouraged, prayed over and for, and we enter this fall with full cups.
Thank you all for being a part of our lives, for walking with us, praying with us, and loving us. We love you all and can't wait till we meet again.