Three in Six

By the time Emma is six months old she will have lived in three different states. That’s quite the stat for such a little girl. She was born in NC obviously, we’re currently spending three months living in Chicago for the summer, and about two weeks after we get back we’re moving to Pennsylvania. Sheesh! I’m trying not to think of all the details and transitions because I basically get an anxiety attack when I think about everything that’s been going on.

The past few months have been very difficult for us. We’ve been in the midst of some big decisions and weighing the sides has been rough. But we’ve finally arrived at a decision and Aaron took the assistant coaching/assistant athletic director position back at Messiah. Parts of this decision are pretty exciting because we’ll be living near some close friends again and Aaron will get to be a part of Messiah soccer again from a different vantage point. He’s pretty excited to do what he’s been doing the past six years in a smaller, more personal environment. He’s also gonna get to be on the sidelines for Brett’s senior year which is pretty stinking awesome. It also moves us closer to be able to see Ben play more as well. He’s really missed so much of their soccer careers living so far away and that’s always made him crazy. Plus, we’ll be so much closer to both our families which will be great for us and Emma! AND Emma’s going to have a cousin soon so we’ll be closer to the little Keller Baby!!!! I’m going to be an aunt and that’s pretty sweet J

While we’re excited about all of that, Charlotte has become home in the past six years and leaving really stinks. We’ve made some really close friends over the years and they’ve kind of become our family away from our families. The thought of leaving so many of those people kind of makes me sick to my stomach. But we know that those friendships run deeper than location and we’ll just have to be intentional about staying involved in each other’s lives from a greater distance. I guess every decision has some bittersweet moments.

The little lady in our lives is doing pretty well. We’re starting to have more days when she doesn’t cry all day long. So that’s nice. I think maybe she’s been overtired because she hadn’t slept much during the day. But I’ve been putting her down in her crib these days and she sleeps longer which makes for more happy moments when she’s awake. Thank goodness. Her little personality is coming out more and more which is so much fun to watch! She smiles so much more and almost plays little games with you. I think we may have a little character on our hands.

Things up here in Chicago are going pretty well. It’s quite different than last year. With the addition of Emma my role is now very different and it’s been hard to adjust to that. I spend more time at home and have to miss so much of the down time that leads to the informal ministry moments. But my first ministry is to my daughter and she seems better off with a quieter environment. So, home we stay. Thankfully God’s provided some opportunities for me to minister to the girls in different ways which has been nice. But the group is great for the most part and some really powerful ministry has been going on. It’s hard to believe there’s just a little over a month left.

Some prayer requests if you remember…
That God sends whatever is needed to continue this Chicago ministry
That our house sells (we’re actually putting it on the market before we get home)
That we can find a house near Messiah that fits our needs as well as our budget
That we will be able to juggle all the details of this transition in the midst of all our responsibilities

Chi-Town

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted any sort of update. Things in our world have been a bit crazy. We’re now up in Chicago and have been for a few weeks now. We have been abundantly blessed to have our own housing this year instead of doing the host family thing and moving to a new place every week. Not conducive to the motherhood lifestyle. So our little house here was abandoned for a year or so and the people that own it basically said we can live in it for nothing all summer. WONDERFUL!!! So we’ve already had guests which makes it even nicer to have your own space. The Faro’s came up for a long weekend and basically to see Emma. My parents just left. They came to keep me company while Aaron’s been in Brazil and again, basically to see Emma. And today, Lani comes for the weekend. It’s been really nice to have company while Aaron’s gone.

I’ve gotten two e-mails from Aaron so far and it sounds like things are going great down there. He’s loving the group of players he has and says the ministry has been good. We’re hoping to hear more now that they’ve moved from the country back into the city. One week left to go until I get my husband back! The group was here for about 4 days before they all left and it seems like it is going to be a great group. Part of me wishes I could’ve gone with them but I’m looking forward to getting back into when they get back.

Emma update…she is getting more and more of a personality every day. And what a personality it is! At 11 and a half weeks she’s smiling more now which is always a treat. She also has become more and more verbal. She will make all kinds of sounds back at you when you talk to her like she is really answering you. It makes for such good conversation J. Maybe she’ll be like her dad and have the vocabulary of a 20 year old when she’s 3! As fun as that all is, she remains a bit on the fussy side. We are learning that she has opinions already (her mother’s daughter!). She definitely knows what she wants and doesn’t want. So far she wants to be held ALWAYS. There’s no awake time when I can put her down and she’ll be calm. She needs to be held, and many times, you need to stand up while you’re holding her. She also prefers to be outside (her father’s daughter!). Makes rainy days even more depressing than they were before! She wants to be held facing out so she can look around and see everything going on. She also does better when we’re out and about than when she’s home (also like her mother). Napping… where are these babies that take 2 and 3 hour naps???? We get about 30 minutes at home…tops. Do the math…30 minute nap, 30 minutes to eat, and a lot of time to walk around and try to keep her from crying! But we keep getting to know each other and hopefully I get better and better at figuring her out!

There’s been so much going on in our lives the past few weeks I’m sure I’m leaving things out but its hard to remember all that goes on these days! I’ll be sure to update again about Aaron’s trip when he gets back as well as other life updates!