They're Coming!

We had such a great time in St. Louis last week and then were blessed with company, our friends the Nuevas, whom we've known since stationed in England (even before they were married)! Pictures are coming, I promise. And the pictures will all be posted here with gratitude to other photographers because sadly we cannot find our camera (who am I kidding, our beautiful 35mm was in the bag as well) has been misplaced/lost. I don't know what I'm going to do, I cannot go long without a camera. Anyway, back to our trip to St. Louis...we left from Red Cloud on a Thursday for a 12 hour trek (including stops) and arrived to Scott AFB, Illinios. We joked that we survived intact- four adults (Chad's mom and dad were good sports and traveled with us), six kids, a poodle, and a camper. Success! The kids were so excited to see the Arch along the Misssissippi, that landmark had become a weekly site since our church was located in Illinois while we lived at the seminary. We got settled down for the evening and rested for the next day of festivities.

Friday was kicked off with a special chapel service attended by Chad, Mom and Dad. We had decided to not push the traveling children and instead we met up with our dear YMCA friends, Linda and Beth and their kids. The only photo op I missed (sorry ladies). I knew there would be at least one, that was it...and it was probably the only one I missed because my mother in law took over and captured a ton with her lens (thanks Mom!). It was the perfect start to the day to see their smiling faces and see how big their kids had grown and to meet Beth's newest baby, Elly. These homeschool mamas were a weekly blessing to me, especially during our last year and the craziness of our placement. Linda also was an amazing encouragement during our adoption of Asher, and I still think of that often. Friends are a blessing, but praying friends, the kind that go to the throne of Christ, are true gems.

After the chapel service, it was Hug Fest in front of the fountain, aww, so soothing to my soul! Here we all got to see each other for the first time in almost a year. Renee, Mary & Michael, Margie, Maryann & Mat, DeeDee & Tim, Amy, Shayna & Daniel, and Joelle. It was hard to break away, but then we made our way to where the seminary was hosting a lunch and just in time for Hug Fest II! The Pikes, Zeiglers, Cohen, Crooms, Northends, Driskolls, Grenz', Veras, Bennings, Podeszwas and Hayters were all there. So I'm glad we went there instead of another eating place, though $6 cold meat sandwiches left a lot to be desired :). The company was worth it, and we closed the place down and slowly made our way back to our old apartment on campus. This had to have been the boys' favorite time. This was what they had dreamed of for months and I believe it provided additional closure for them. Our friends, the Northends, actually moved into our old apartment and Mary was so dear letting the kids use "their" old bathroom and we sat outside with her while the kids ran through their old "forest," climbed their old trees, picked mulberries and cut bamboo for souvenirs. Isabel and Asher were drawn to the many toys in the apartment next door, and it was just like old times.

After the trip down memory lane, we stopped at Penzy's spices, Ted Drewes custard, our favorite playground in Forest Park before eating at Boston Market and heading to the commencement ceremony. The very soggy ceremony. It was nice though, and we were all so proud of Chad. The man had not only accomplished all these years at seminary with a nice grade point average but kept his family happy and intact while doing it. Impressive. And He'd give all the credit to God. And I'd have to agree. We witnessed Him sustain us through those course years in new and amazing ways.

Once the ceremony was over, and more pictures were taken (the last on our cameras, until their found), Chad brought the kids and grandparents back to the AFB for a slumber party and joined me at the Cheesecake factory for some additional fun with with friends. The Sahlbergs, Neiders, Podeszwas, Hayters, Crooms, Barketts, Stinettes, Boldts and Boggs all reminisced until the wee hours of the morning (o.k. well midnight seems like wee hours, ha) and left with smiles on our faces and not a thought about "the next time we see you." It was sweet.

On Saturday we visited the Re Sell It shop (thrift store) on campus and had fun piling up items that we were sure we couldn't leave behind. We headed to lunch at CiCi's pizza with the VanWeys (from our field church), and the Fords and Starfeldts (from our small group), and Gretchen and Noah Hays (sweet friends who started the seminary journey with us). The Hays family was our last stop the last time we left St. Louis too, hmm, maybe that will have to be a new tradition now. Again it was very sweet.

Saturday we traveled to Whiteman AFB and Knob Knobster State Park an hour from Kansas City to spend our last night away from home. Sunday we packed up and headed to Leawood, KS to worship with our dear friend, Pastor Burt Garwood at his newly assigned church. He and Chad are close (I wasn't sure if Burt was going to let go of his head, the embrace was that intimate and nearly brought me to tears) and we know him from our old church in Omaha (King of Kings). Burt and Chad worked together with the men's ministry that's still going strong today.

Sunday concluded our trip with many, many miles of the state of Kansas (we're only six miles into Nebraska). All the travelers were amazing, and we were all happy to be home though I think it took many days for the shock of the whirlwind trip to wear off completely. Plus we missed our traveling buddies "Grama" and "Papa."

After unloading, we prepared for our visitors the Nuevas. Richard, Melissa, six year old Owen and twins (21 months old) Jack and Ben. Our house was rockin' and we loved it.

Pictures will soon follow.