Camp at the Freedom Center

Friends

 I think I've touched on the fact that, at age 41, I'm finally getting to the heart of what it means to feel loved by God. Grace may be the hardest concept for the human heart to grasp, especially in our worker bee society. We are constantly evaluated by our performance at school, at church, at work...

Lessons in Archery

 The Freedom Center is an apt name for the epicenter of our experience this week. It's a freedom in Christ that we embrace as we lead our little ones toward His grace and forgiveness... as we invite them to enjoy the gifts in His creative work in this world all around us. We knew only the Baldwins and the matriarch of the Gossage family when we started out this week, but only an hour into day one, it felt as if we were at home with our family. And we were.

Archery

The Lord works on our hearts in such unique and creative ways. His timing is different for us all. Each of us was there to minister to each other, to extend and receive grace and to bask in the glory of the handiwork of the Master. As I spoke to and observed each child and adult, I imagined the hidden happenings in their lives. I watched each Mama struggle with her own need to control, and I grappled with mine. Ultimately, it was all offered up to His Sovereign Plan. We each had millions of little opportunities to get over ourselves in the heat and bugs and craziness of chasing little ones all over the wilderness. 

The creativity displayed in each mind and body there was so interesting to observe. Each Mama and helper there gave each other the grace and freedom to take on the role specific to their God-given gift;  photography... canoeing... archery... games... teaching... the organization of people... the organization of stuff... the integration of groups... even the quiet gift of standing in the shadows until little needs arose that went unnoticed by others. Grace was extended in the midst of mistakes and misunderstanding. As children of God, there's comfort in the reality that everyone has a role to play and we all have feet of clay. No matter how small or large, it's all important. No one gets their nose out of joint. Everyone wants to put the other first. No one takes offense. It's all for this much bigger Thing... His ultimate Glory.

Study of Ancient Culture - Mummies

Mummy Growls - Arrrrrrrggggg

And that's what it's coming to. When you feel loved, it's a lot easier to extend love. When you feel loved, it's a lot harder to say an unlovely thing. When you know you were made for a purpose, that your existence will serve a greater good if you allow it, then it really doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Your gifts and talents begin to serve your desires, and in the middle of all that, you wind up serving the One who loves you like crazy. He wants to fulfill, not only your need, but also the deepest desire of your heart.

The Farm

Living Room Camping

 This photo was taken the night we closed on our house. We camped in the big tent in the living room for four nights before our household effects came. I'm missing those days. Oddly, I was not pining for our things. OK - maybe I was sweating the fact that we were running out of clean clothes just a little bit, but things were much less complicated without all our stuff!

The Cauldron

 On our second night, we roasted wieners and marshmallows over our new fire pit. I think we ended up doing the same thing on night three and four. Lots of fun!

BIG back yard!

 Somewhere back there lies a lovely black raspberry bush. It is not quite so lovely now. Daddy got crazy with the industrial-grade Round Up you can get at Southern States. Not all leaves of three are bad. Some things we find out the hard way

Canada Geese

A new thing to fascinate John Muir Jr. -- Canada Geese.  We have several collections of their feathers tucked in boxes around the house. Nature has already invaded the little house in Hamilton. {Smile}

Riding the wagon to the strawberry patch

 There's this really lovely place called Great Country Farms not too far from our house. We left the unpacking behind on Daddy's first day back at work and high-tailed it there for the last week of strawberry picking. While we were there, we joined the CSA and hauled home four quarts and a pint of strawberries, spring onions, the prettiest asparagus I've ever seen, kale, chard, a basil and parsley plant and two pints of cherries. There was more, but I just can't remember it all. Believe it or not, we've already eaten almost everything we brought home. Now we will go to "the farm" every week to pick up our produce. There's a giant play area for the kids and several ponds for fishing. And it's a free for all if you're a CSA member.

Big Helpers!

 This made a pint of frozen for our smoothies and two quarts of freezer jam for ice cream and toast. And yes, there are still piles of unopened boxes in my house.

New friends

Found!

Hamilton has this little gem of a store called the Natural Mercantile... a.k.a. Heaven For the Honey Snob. I found this dinky jar of wildflower honey that didn't taste like honey at all when I went on my maiden grocery shopping voyage to Harris-Teeter. Then I found THIS! Ahhhh... And that little box behind -- that's my favorite brand of herbal tea. And it was just sitting there, on a rough-hewn wood shelf. It didn't come in an Amazon box. I picked it up in my warm little hand, carried it to a cash register and was enjoying it like three minutes later because THAT IS HOW CLOSE THE STORE IS TO MY HOUSE!!! AYEEEEE!!! 

Adjustment period or no, I could definitely get used to this... this being deer foraging in the backyard at dusk as a million and one fireflies dance about... all while the sun sets behind a dusky blue Mount Weather... Venus presiding over the whole lovely scene.

Update: The bush attacked by the industrial-grade Round Up was actually a wineberry bush... apparently much better than a black raspberry. It looks as if even industrial-grade Round Up couldn't knock out this hardy native! At any rate, I think we'll wait until next year to enjoy our wineberries.  

The Journey

Eli's Birthday

 As is usually the case, there was a whole lot of activity for a good two months before the packers actually came. We were in N. Texas for a family celebration at the end of April. Although I don't think we planned it this way, it was the last gathering of the Womack side before we left for Virginia. 

Me and my "big" little brothers

Josh and I are competing for the most gray hairs. All three of us are prematurely gray. I guess it's a family thing. 

Coon skin caps at Bass Pro

Sweet friends

More sweet friends

One of my favorite people on earth is Jeannie Buller. She and I met at MOPS early in our time in Boerne. We discovered we were kindred spirits when the whole room started to play a game involving Facebook and texting and neither of us could play. So, while everyone's face but ours was bathed in a blue glow, we simply enjoyed talking with each other the old-fashioned way.  

Preschool Graduation

 The day the packers came, Jonathan graduated from preschool. I stood in the back filming and crying. That morning was particularly emotional. Oak Hills Church and Preschool has been so good for us in so many ways. We are so thankful for all the teachers, leaders and pastors there.

Preschool friends

Eli and Oliver were two of Jonathan's best buddies in preschool. He mentions how much he misses them often. We go to camp this week, however, so I'm sure some new bonds will be forged.

Papa Jack & Mel

The day after preschool graduation, we took the kids to Lampassas, Texas to meet Grammy and Papa Jack. They graciously agreed to keep the kids for several days and nights so that we could get everything packed out and cleaned up in Boerne.

Haircut

 Mama has received a break from her job as family hair stylist over the past couple months. During our time in Tupelo with Giggie and Bop, Jonathan got his hair cut by the same barber who still cuts Bop's hair and also cut daddy's hair way back when.

Crossing into our new home state

 

Learning checker strategy at Cracker Barrel

It's been fun, it's been exciting, but I think we're all ready to start feeling at least slightly normal again. I'm not sure that's entirely possible with boxes in every corner and junk laying around. We miss people, and that's hard. We're in that all-too-familiar place where we're the newbies and everyone around us is already established with friendships and nearby family relationships. The adjustment period has begun. 

His provision is already evident and abundant. Things are coming together. God is good.

Happy Fifth Birthday Jonathan!

Blowing out the sparkler with preschool friends

 It's hard to believe it's been just over a month since I took the above photo. We celebrated Jonathan's fifth with his preschool friends and then met several of them at Chick-fil-A afterwards. It was definitely an early celebration, but since Jonathan has been a bit sad that he doesn't have close friends around here quite yet, I'm glad that I can remind him that he already partied with his friends back in Texas. 

It was wheels day too!

 Fast-forward to today. 

We have been extra-busy in our new home. Everyone was a tad frazzled and worn, so the celebration varied between tearful and fun. Yesterday, Jonathan and Melanie spent almost the entire day outside with Deklan, a new friend that has an adjoining yard, and came in at sunset completely worn out. Those are the best kinds of days and we've had quite a few of them lately.

Birthday cake from Giant!

 We have been attending church just a few minutes from the house with friends we knew when we lived here almost a decade ago. We didn't know they lived just a few minutes away. That's a long story for another post, but we're very thankful they're nearby. What's really nice for three members of our family is that there is no option to attend at 8:15 am. We don't have to get out of bed at the crack of dawn. We can slowly get ready, have a leisurely breakfast and then calmly saunter out the door. So, we had plenty of time for our little control freak to pick out his own birthday cake this morning.

Sissy enjoying the festivities

Horsey from Grammy and Papa Jack

Umbrellas and rain boots... just in case it storms

 I didn't manage to get a picture, but a whole grouping of items sent from Giggie and Bop lined the breakfast table when Jonathan entered this morning. His new Spiderman car was a real hit. 

Jonathan is so inquisitive and energetic. It's hard for Mama and Daddy to keep up. We find, at times, that what he knows intellectually doesn't quite line up with how it all gets processed emotionally. We work hard to keep this boy's intellect fully engaged. In the midst of a move, we have to really weigh the priorities. And this is how that translates. We still have lots of boxes that haven't been touched. The house is pretty much a wreck. And that's ok. We're all tan, well-fed and having a ball to make up for the fact that there are a whole lot of someones we miss. But we are thankful for this new home, this new adventure, each other and this wild and crazy five-year-old!

In our swim togs riding with Deklan on Birthday Eve

First hours

Happy Fourth Birthday Melanie!

Coming Home

 Naturally, I'm behind on the blogging, but finally, we have a blog post for Miss Melanie's birthday.

This year was characterized by lots of growth and fun and general wellness. Oh how thankful we are for that! 

The photo above was taken the day Melanie came home to stay. We were all so green and untried in so many ways. Even though we still have much to learn, we have grown a lot in the last couple years. We have become more aware in this process that "hidden happenings" are underway all around us. Faith is hard to come by, but stepping out in trust is well worth it.

After church last Sunday afternoon, we were sitting at a winery in Middleburg with old friends, sipping a really wonderful blueberry-apple concoction and watching the kids run up and down a hill next to the vines. It occurred to us that we had missed celebrating Melanie's "gotcha" by a day. The activity over the last few months has been non-stop to say the least. It was nice to have old friends to help toast the event, and also nice to realize that Melanie is so much a part of us that we have difficulty remembering a time when she wasn't with us.

Surveying the vines

A little word about the photo quality... we had our phones for picture snapping.  Our cameras were packed and we've been A LOT more laid-back about unloading and settling in this time. We've had to be. So, please excuse the poor quality... and my fat finger in the photo above.

Since Melanie's surgery last May, she has grown a great deal and become very vibrant and talkative. We were hesitant, but we even enrolled her in two-day preschool this year. Being more exposed, she was ill and out of class quite a bit, but we feel she gained a lot by being in a classroom setting this year. She had a wonderful, understanding teacher who was very patient with all of us.

We have been able to back her off almost all her prescription meds just in the last few months. When Melanie is ill, we start her back on and then back her off again. Much to my chagrin, there is no set formula for this. The docs can only tell us to use our best judgement. She did so well on the trip out here and is reacting so well to her Virginia environment, we are considering just taking her to a pediatrician and putting off the hunt for specialists. We are also trying some holistic/ integrative health methods with success.

Moving really made birthdays fun this year. We've had multiple celebrations with both kiddos. One day, in the last week of preschool, Mama brought cupcakes and juice to both classes so Jonathan and Melanie could celebrate with their school friends.

Blowing out the sparkler with Mrs. Belden's Buckaroos

Purple Icing!

 We celebrated with Grammy and Papa Jack a few weeks before the movers came and on our road trip to our new home in Virginia, we stopped off in Tupelo, MS for a few days. Melanie got to celebrate her actual birthday with Giggie and Bop.

Birthday play at the park

Posing for the camera

Celebration!

Sweet Siblings

Wishes

We are so thankful for Melanie. She brings such a spark to our family and to our lives. Each season brings more confirmation that Melanie was chosen for us and we were chosen for her.

Happy Birthday sweet girl! We love you!