Deo Volente

I know, I know. I really need to post pictures and really need to … post. Period. It’s been a flurry of a week. We arrived here in Highland County Monday night. It’s about an hour from Staunton, which is its only vice. We are in an absolutely beautiful part of the country. The colors are vivid, the animals are pastoral (how fitting!), the weather is cool and delightful.

Ethan’s ordination and installation service was Saturday, and today was his first full day "on the job." He gave the benediction (a privilege reserved for the ordained)! My family (parents, brothers, my sister in college and the married sister with her family) attended, as well as many friends from our last church and many new friends from our new church. My family spent the night here with us and headed back home (only 2 hours away!) today.

And except for the couple that intermittently stays here to keep the place running and document the flora, we have the entire retreat center to ourselves.

Oddly enough, this worries people. I have had so many people marvel at and pity us for "having" to stay here until we close on the house. Are you kidding me? I can’t imagine a more perfect place! The children and dog have acres and acres to run on and scream on and I don’t have to shush anyone. And the deacon who stays here and his wife have been very gracious with the children and include them in their daily workings, showing them new plants and birds’ nests and how to hammer.

The only hardship (which is, in a warped way, part of what makes it so endearing) is that you better not be distracted when you’re shopping at the closest Walmart (an hour away in Staunton). Because if you are, you will groan when you get almost "home" and realize you forgot to buy butter. And then when you stop at the local grocery store (a mere 20 minutes from the center), you will gasp at the $3.25 price tag on butter. Who spends $3.25 for a pound of butter?

Let’s pretend that’s a rhetorical question.

And we’ve been spoiled. My girls all sat with one of the ladies at church tonight. Edee even fell asleep on her lap. We’ve been given sweatshirts, food, disposable dinnerware, and plenty of love.

And I will find the camera bag and I will upload the pictures and I will post them. This week.

Unless I don’t. But I’ll try!

Yes, that’s right. We are done. All done. Done packing the house. Done unpacking the house into a storage unit (oops, too much stuff, better make it two storage units). Done wiping and scrubbing and dusting and vacuuming and throwing away. Done weeding and cutting and culling.
   
Later today I meet the carpet cleaners at the house and then turn the keys (and gas and carpet cleaning receipts) in to the Realtor. And say a loud GOODBYE HOPE TO NEVER SEE YA AGAIN to The Big Bad Wolf aka Property Management.
   
Thanks to the gargantuan efforts of many helpers in this church, we are on the next stage of being a part of the next church. Ethan’s last ordination test is Saturday. Then we shout a loud HALLELUJAH and head for Staunton (by way of Highland County, where we’ll be for about a month).
 
We’re getting there!