A Visit to Virginia

I grew up without any sisters living in my home. But that doesn't mean that I didn't have a big sister. This is Hannah - technically my best friend Rachel's older sister but I claim her as mine too. Eight years ago she moved to Virginia after marrying her hubby Steven. You can imagine how excited I was to figure out that they live only 3.5 hours away from us! So, after all that is going on with my family back home, we decided we needed a weekend away with some dear friends. 

I did the driving since Alex worked an opening shift on Saturday. He's so cute when he sleeps (heehee).

When we arrived in the Newton's driveway I knew we reached the right place when the voices of 4 excited children came rushing out the front door. They all charged me and gave me a huge group hug. Seriously, the best therapy is the greeting of children! 

On Sunday we went out for lunch at a Deli with Steven's folks. Of course I got a tuna melt. I always try the tuna melt at any new place I haven't been to before. This place was extra awesome because there is free soft serve ice cream after your meal! 

You can see that Steven and Alex have something in common...bearded husbands are the best.

We had a little time before church so we walked around a bit in Norfolk. I think the neighborhood we were in is called Ghent. There is a great little coffee shop right up the street from the church that roasts their own beans. Stella was a thumbs up. 

What a refreshing service we enjoyed at Big House Church! Adam Cates is the teaching pastor but he also leads worship in rotation with the other musicians. 

Since we were first time visitors, we got to take home a worship CD that the church has put out. The songs they write are beautiful lyrically. And at the end of the service we were prayed over.

The whole evening was exactly what we needed! Thank you Jesus!

Monday was a relaxing day. We took the kids for a long nature walk around a lake.

It was so nice to feel like auntie and uncle  again.

Those kids did more to rejuvenate our excitement for ministry than they may ever understand.

They have such a curiosity for God's creation. They collected berries and pinecones and leaves. We threw things into the lake to see if the fish would eat them. There was spinning and piggy-back riding and racing. It was a glorious day. It was an awesome weekend. Watch out Newtons, we'll be back for more!

The End of One Story

Ah, it's good to be back. I took a month off from blogging to get into the swing of things in our new life here in Raleigh. I've decided there is no such thing. My life is not one that can be predicted from week to week...there is no "swing" to things. But you know what? That is A-OK with me. I never wanted a cookie-cutter life. I always loved the idea of having an unpredictable and adventurous life. Well, now that I have one, I'll admit it can be a bit exhausting. Fun, but exhausting. Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A few weeks ago I found out that my parents are going to divorce. They have been married for 28 years. When I think about that amount of time...and how I've only been married for less than two years...I can't even wrap my head around it. I haven't even been alive for that long yet! At first I felt so detached from the whole situation. I live so far away from Oregon now, I'm married, my husband and I are our own family - I guess I really have left my father and mother to cleave to my spouse. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my parents and am so sad for what they are going through...but my head and my heart naturally approached the situation differently than I think I would if I was still more dependent on them.

I haven't had a chance to talk to all of my brothers yet (I have 4 of them). The two that I have talked to are still going through a bit of the shock phase. My youngest brother lives at home, as well as the middle brother. Luke, the youngest, has been really helpful at home with my mom. He hangs out with her, goes to appointments with her, he's just one of those real gems of a guy. I'm super proud of what a good man he is. The next one up from him in age lives with my oldest brother in another house. Adrian is pretty disappointed about the whole situation. It is a messy divorce. I haven't connected with Nik (the other one that lives at home) or Alex (the oldest) but my husband and I are going to Oregon for a few days at Christmas, so it will be good to chat with them all face to face.

Fortunately, both of my parents are surrounded by amazing people. Their friends love them and turn them towards truth, healing, and God. It is going to be very different seeing my parents on separate occasions now. They came for a visit a couple weekends ago. My mom stayed with us but my dad stayed at a hotel. It was odd having to coordinate visits and making sure we wouldn't let them run into each other in town. I am happy that I'm old enough not to feel a need to "choose sides" because otherwise this would be much tougher. I think about how so many families have gone through this, and often there are still younger children living at home. It makes me realize how much each decision we make can effect so many others around us. My prayer right now is that our family can still have a sense of togetherness...even if not all of them are together anymore.