Getting ready to move again

It is now two weeks before move in day. Every Saturday my sweetheart and I go park down by the river and read a book together and talk. We usually sip on some tea or coffee or one of my protein shakes (that secretly contain a lot of blended okra.). Today we drove to the new house and parked in the driveway. We don't have the keys yet. We read and sipped and watched the rain drip down the windshield.

Last night three of our older children came in with some friends that they had been having adventures with. We were about to start movie night so we piled bedding on the dias (it's our substitute for a couch) and floor and we all squished in. It's a good thing I had a big batch of granola just coming out of the oven because they were hungry! Their friends often come over to play games, watch a movie, have a dance party, join us for singing or just to talk. We feel so thankful to have this opportunity to love them and experience the joy of the Lord together.

Next week I must get some boxes and pack some things up. We have lived in a 400 square foot cabin and for the last 4 years our homes have been 1000sq ft. We have gone down in numbers from 12 people to just 9 in that time. I think that it will be a lot of fun to live in a space so big again. We must strive to keep our closeness even when we can't hear everyone breathing at night.

 1st photo: hosting an English Country/Swing dancing party
2nd photo:That was the house we bought and basically rebuilt. Elsie is out front.
 3rd photo: Ephraim designed and built these cabinets as built-ins. Because the house was so old and settled, there were no right angles anywhere. This kind of project always required his advanced math skills. It was beautiful and hard to leave behind when we sold this house. That's Lazuli and Seraphima.