Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving on Bainbridge Island, Washington... a wonderful retreat.

We often spend Thanksgiving with Kyle's folks at their home on Bainbridge Island since they come to us for Christmas.  This year I told my father in law that I wanted to be sure to go see the Japanese American Memorial down at Pritchard Park -- it was moving and created great conversations with our kids.

We went from there down to the waterfront and soaked in the beautiful weather.  Oh... and somewhere in there we let the dog run.  and run.  and run.

Daryle and Kathy, thanks again for another wonderful retreat... we love you both so much.

Grandpa Schei and the kids are often finding something funny on the computer together.

Oh my word.  Handsome!

Trying to be crafty. Kid-crafty.

I AM SICK

a day with ben

Benjamin's class had their Fall field trip today. I've tried to make it to each of the kids' field trips this Fall and so far I'm 2 for 3... thanks to my mother in law who is available for Katie's. After that I'll be 3 for 3 and feeling like mother of the year.

In all seriousness, its been an intentional thing - not just a guilt thing. I've wanted to watch as these kiddos deal with the transition of our move to Tacoma... and keeping a close eye on friends, behavior, tendencies, etc. has helped in my analysis of how they're doing. Talking to them just isn't enough. They aren't quite sure when you ask them how they're doing... but then you watch them and it screams of success and even growth!

They seem to be doing great.

eating an apple and picking raspberries

digging for rainbow carrots.

the boys of ben's preK class hanging with the goats

Ben befriended the worker's son, Gabrielle.

our trip to Wright Park for lunch following the field trip...

Soccer

Soccer started today...

sammy bear

This is the second round of Benjamin bringing home Sammy bear from PreK... another part of me 'smelling the flowers' is retrieving my camera from its case, dusting it off and adjusting my settings with each frame. 

Enjoy!

Sunday evening I will stop and sit down with Benjamin.  We will have printed off these pictures and be pasting them in his journal for school... he will run down the list of adventures he's had with Sammy bear over the recent 4 days and I will transcribe them.  He will feel as though I've stopped the world in order to spend time with only him - caring about what he cares about.

This idea of slowing down seems so simple -- but it really is quite complex for me. 

Here's to slowing down!

smell the flowers, mom

We walk to school every morning.  And every afternoon we walk home.

Ben and I have bonded during this time as we drop the kids off and walk home then six hours later walk to the school to pick them up.

Ben has taught me to stop and smell the flowers.  And there are a lot of flowers on our route.

The home owners here, for the most part, take meticulous care of their grounds - not yards, grounds.  From straight lines and green lawns to sweeping staircases and flowering bushes.  It is a lovely walk.  I'm not complaining.  I'm just thinking of all I could enjoy with my eyes AND how much I'll get done once we get home... its not outrageous or irrational.

In the morning I walk with my cup of coffee in hand, kids running ahead and trailing behind... Ben is usually exercising the fine art of strolling and stopping to, yep, smell all the flowers.  The routine of the morning now demands an extra 5 minutes in the happenstance that Benjamin finds a new flower or meets a one-armed-needs-to-be-carried grasshopper that, surprisingly, wants to be carried on the very tip of his newly sharpened pencil all the way to the schoolyard.

Living here in Tacoma without the social circle of my friends up North has created a hole in me that wasn't there before.  A hole that was often filled with wonderful conversation and the oh-so-often drop-by of friends and their children; a hole that got filled with leadership to-dos and the daily life of living somewhere where things were always buzzing because you were a part of the buzz.

I'm not yet a part of the buzz here.  My heart often aches and I push through the desire to be sought after and included in the daily lives of those around me that this has been their normal buzz for a long time.  I understand it takes awhile... but the quiet moments make the not-included-in-the-buzz buzz REALLY LOUD.

In my attempt to be a part of things, I finally recognize that the little boy to my right, er left, er right... oh for goodness' sake, the little boy hanging from the tree above me vying for my attention, is exactly the buzz that God has given me to be a part of.  Not to mention his older brother and sister... not to mention his Dad.

The attempt to recreate for myself a social diorama has become increasingly less appealing.  For one, I told my discussion group this last week that I wanted to be more present moment by moment with my kids and two, as I've been more present, the richness of relationship has been something to grin about.  It has tickled me pink.

We signed the bigger kids up for soccer - knowing that that time for Benjamin would be just as energizing... running up and down the field, yelling at his siblings and spinning in a bazillion circles around Kyle and I; I signed up for a co-op preK school and am taking part in a few of the committees - all for the purpose of watching Benjamin grow bigger; I've begun cooking again and enjoying the process of having the kids help me; they also do chores and mess up on the chores and then, lo and behold, we have to clean up a huge mess TOGETHER.  Score!  Chore done AND I spent quality time with my child.  Things are really becoming clear for me.

Thanks to a gracious God.

So what have we been up to this week?  Practically nothing.  In fact, Kyle and I got sick and couldn't do much of anything and its been some of my favorite moments to date here in Tacoma.  The kids got to relax at home, cook meals for us (thank you for breakfast today, Katie) and play an endless amount of it-takes-lots-of-imagination-to-play games.

I've smelled the flowers and it energizes me.  Come on kids, let's go plant some!

Chef Katie cooked breakfast this morning after seeing egg-in-a-hole in my cookbook... she improvised and added some things.  It was delish!

 

 
And William sat at the table building.  It was such a good morning.

I honestly have no idea where Benjamin was.
  

North Tacoma

Our North Tacoma home... come visit!

As I'm sailing through these last couple weeks before moving, I'm often reminded of God's amazing faithfulness, provision, comfort and above all, love for our little family of five.  In a moment, I can get side tracked by the busy-ness of this season of our life and begin to crumple... but quickly God fills me with a sense of His presence and His direction.  In that moment, I smile and run for His Word because I know that the sense of His presence is only the tip of the iceberg... and it's there in a big, red armchair that God shows me His heart and what it is He wants me to keep focused on.

****

The Story of Our Moving to Tacoma: The picture above left was one that caught my eye on Craigslist about a month ago - it was a single shot of what looked to me to be a storybook kind of home... I saw puffs of pink and blue shooting out the chimney as fairies argued inside over the color of Aurora's gown - are you picking up what I'm laying down?  I loved this home instantly... but the rent was much more than what we felt comfortable spending in the coming year.  Furthermore, it was in Tacoma, we were 'planning' to move to Bainbridge Island.  Therefore it was only in a wishful moment that I engaged the idea and would return to the posting wondering what scenario could possibly end in this being our home... all of it seemed so far-fetched and, well, weird.

Bainbridge Island has been in our cross hairs for a long time.  We've figured it inevitable that we would one day live there because it's a wonderful place to raise a family, it's close to the airport and Kyle's folks have lived there since '87 - it'd be WONDERFUL to have family close by and the kids would love to grow up near their grandparents and, let's be honest, we move a lot.  Yet as I searched listings and booked appointments with landlords and property management companies, the homes were getting rented right out from underneath me.  Consequently, I decided to wander back to the wonderful, dreamy picture of the aforementioned North Tacoma home and email for 'more pictures'.  I mentioned we were a young family with a dog looking to move to the Tacoma area -- and that was when the awesomeness began.

The owners of the home have lived there for 30 years, raised three boys in the Lord (who are now Kyle and I's age) and since the beginning have rented out the 2-bedroom suite in the basement to UPS students - this was the first summer that no students applied to live there.  Mr. and Mrs. S. considered then to open the house in its entirety to professors and families moving into the area as a place of transition and they could try living in their cabin full-time - little to no interest from anyone at the University... then one night, Mrs. S. woke in the middle of the night and said to Mr. S. 'we are not supposed to rent it to students or professors!  there is a young family that will want to rent the house!'  So they posted on Craigslist and lo and behold, I saw it the day it was posted... and pursued it not more than a couple days later.

From the beginning we addressed the cost of living with Mr. and Mrs. S. and considered prayerfully the idea of completely setting the idea of living in this home aside because of it - and one night we did.  We had driven down, met Mr. and Mrs. S., fell in love with them and they with us... the kids immediately had a set of honorary grandparents and as we parted Kyle and I promised to spend the next couple days praying and asking God for clarity - we would give them a definite answer in a couple days.  When I woke the next morning, I was alarmed and sickened by how clearly God was asking me to 'let go' of this dreamy home with all its wonderful pieces - (a mile from Dusty and Jenny Haferbecker, walking distance to the kids' school, walking distance to grocery stores, a semi-furnished home which furthers our mission of 'being portable' and allowing us to sell most of our belongings and a safe neighborhood for when Kyle was traveling) - and so I did.  I set it aside.  A day later, Kyle emailed our regrets to Mr. and Mrs. S - we shared with them our need to be obedient with our budget and that it was no reflection on how valuable their home was.  This was not an attempt to negotiate over cost - we loved meeting them and we prayed for a family to find them!  I sobbed that evening in Kyle's arms - a mix of every emotion, I'm sure.  But above all, the releasing of something that seemed so good and perfect for us...

Mr. and Mrs. S responded with a heavy heart - that they truly believed we were meant to be in their home and that God had brought our families together.  They were appreciative of our concerns and met them head on -- they offered rent at $10 under what God had laid on Kyle's heart since the beginning of our hunt for houses.  We were ecstatic at how God had handed back to us what we had released to Him... and with greater joy than I could have imagined, we responded with an affirmative YES, we would LOVE to live in your home.

A week or so later, we unloaded the kids on my dear friend, Cheney, and Kyle and I made the trek down to sign the contract and put the deposit down.  It was absolutely wonderful sipping coffee and laughing with this couple that had become a part of our lives at the hand of an awesome and FUN God.  We spent two and half hours with them and looked forward to the next time we'd catch up.  As we drove from our new home to Dusty and Jenny's home to give a quick hug and say 'goodnight' before leaving town, we drove past a gentleman pulling kids out of a minivan -- at 9:00pm it was getting dark and what I thought was Kyle being a little 'creepy' was actually Kyle slowing the van because he recognized it to be his roommate from 12 years ago... he rounded the next corner and asked me to verify that it was indeed Andy Collins pulling kids from a minivan.  I mustered up my confidence and yelled down the block... it was!  It was Andy!  We hadn't seen him since his wedding some 10 years ago in which Kyle was a groomsman -- his wife is wonderful and now they have two beautiful children.  We stood on the sidewalk, in front of their North Tacoma home, laughing at God's continued affirmation that this was indeed His plan for us -- He was already surrounding us with community.  

And so here we are... packing up - but not a lot! and preparing for the coming move.  While grieving the loss of what He's had us a part of here in this area, we are reveling in the continued unveiling of His plan for our family.

Preparing for Jordan

'set foot in the Jordan...'

and the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.  Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'" Joshua 3:7-8

As our family counts down to the inevitable move ahead, the feeling of anticipation increases.  As a friend of mine related her stepping out in faith this year to the crossing of the Jordan, I was touched by how picturesque and poignant that was to exactly what she was doing - isn't God great to give us stories in His Word that reveal to us exactly what He's doing?  At the time she spoke of it, I hadn't thought to relate it to how God was working with our family... lo and behold, as I studied it this morning, it strengthened and encouraged me; brought me peace and comfort.  The waters may very well not part until I'm already wet... and not a moment before, I thought to myself.


It's so sticky and uncomfortable isn't it?  From secular to Christian thought, we have role models of how to plan out our life - its laced with words like stewardship and wisdom.  But just a few weeks ago I spoke with someone who over the recent year has felt the move of the Holy Spirit on her life in a way she'd never experienced before; she knew His whispers and she acted in obedience to His calls - daily and moment by moment.  Just before that she and her husband had closed the books on trying to plan out their financial situation via one of Christianity's famous financial planning strategies... it just wasn't how God had asked my husband and I to steward our finances, she said.  It was so refreshing and beautiful - I wanted to dance and shout for joy!  Is what you are doing right now God's purpose that you've adopted?  Or is it your purpose that you've asked God to come bless?

But how can we know for sure what His purposes are for us?  How can we adopt what it is we aren't certain of?  What if its His purpose and my desire?  That'd be awesome!  But what if it's...

I want to live in that tension... wrestling between my desires and God's.  It's uncomfortable and sometimes messy; we sin because our flesh pulls us; it requires 'pressing on' and 'straining toward' as it says in Philippians.  Yet in chapter 3, verse 15 it exhorts that all of us who are mature should take such a view of things.  And if on some point you think differently (gulp!), that too God will make clear to you (phew!).  Only let us live up to what we have already attained'  What have we attained?  In our life we become dependent on, and comfortable in, our own plans - we pride ourselves on being prepared and ready for the unforeseen circumstance and yet in many of those scenarios (not all!) its at the expense of the sanctifying process of sin which demands forgiveness which leads to repentance which brings redemption back to the Father.  Have you allowed God to build for you the most exhausting and seemingly insurmountable obstacle course where its only by His grace that you attempt it or have you chosen to purchase Rainbow Play System's most recent set?  A stamp-guaranteed structurally sound 'adventure'.  Guaranteed.  Guaranteed.  Guaranteed.

Guaranteed not to dive into God's Word.  Guaranteed not to seek advice of wise, Christian counsel.  Guaranteed not to experience the exhilaration of falling into the arms of a powerful God.  Guaranteed not to learn more about Him.  Guaranteed self-preservation and ego centrism.  Guaranteed to not be a witness of His strength in your weakness.  Guaranteed.

Jumping back to Joshua: the ark of the covenant was full of that which God had revealed about Himself on Mt. Sinai.  His command was that when the ark passed the Israelites by, they would follow it.  He had asked them to consecrate themselves, to set themselves apart as sacred, and be ready for that moment when they were to move.  He was about to do amazing things.  The only way for us to not plan but still prepare is to be on a continued trajectory of consecrating ourselves to Christ.  Setting ourselves apart from what the world demands of us and finding our soul fulfillment in Jesus Christ... it takes the act of mourning our filthy human state and asking to be made holy through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross - then when the ark passes us by, with all God's revealed about Himself and asked us to live according to, we will move.  Just as He's commanded.

In pursuing His purpose, I'm experiencing His continued faithfulness.  I'm capable of jumping a little bit higher, trudging a little bit deeper and reaching a little bit further - He's been equipping me for my good and His glory.  And I'm trusting that the waters will be dammed up river and I will cross through Jordan only by His amazing power.  

He is not concerned for our happiness, He is concerned for our holiness. 

 - unknown source

    

Dear friends,

He is good - His mercies are to eternity...

This year in Bible Study Fellowship we've studied the Acts of the apostles - we've become 'friends with Paul', as a woman today so beautifully put it, we've been encouraged by Peter and warned by Jude; we've been convicted of grumbling in our trials and being entitled in our happiness; we've been affirmed in our alienship and have wrestled in our plenitude.

It has been, of course, the perfect lessons at the perfect times.   

The Schei family is once again on the move... where to, we do not know!  We've spent the recent 10 months in the most beautiful of homes, on the most lovely of properties with the most wonderful of neighbors - God did it.  He did it all.  Who would have thought...

Remember when you had your child and you can't remember what your life was ever like before you had them?  Even at a mere 2 weeks old you're thinking 'I can't remember what it was like without you.'  THAT is what has happened here in this place... what did we do without Bob and Cheney and the girls?  How could we not have known Apollo and his sisters?  When was it ever not an option to go jump on the trampoline or go make forts at the park while Mom cooked dinner?  When did I not expect Lily's knock on our door to go the park?  Our life is forever enriched by this experience and this group of friends... lifelong friends.

And once again, we see as God has planted us, ignited us and let us explode -- all for the purpose of refining us and moving us along with the encouragement of knowing that He has, once again, accomplished exactly what He wanted to accomplish.  As He has promised, he is finishing the good work in us and bringing glory to Himself.  Just like He did with Paul!  What an incredible study for this year!

After days of warmth, the clouds slowed over us and became increasingly heavy.  The air smelled of the impending rain and we all, for a moment, slowed as well -- until we decided instead to dance.  Cheney and I and the kids walked outside and flinched as each drop hit our dry bodies... then began to relax under the inevitable drenching.  I grabbed my camera and captured some of the greatest moments to date... we laughed and danced and screamed as we walked under waterspouts and through puddles; we giggled and looked sadly at our now soaked new suede boots; we hugged each other and pointed out Ben's crazy antics -- we loved the moment... nothing else mattered.

I continue to revel in what God has done, is doing and will do with this experience - in our life and the lives of those around us.  When it seems the clouds have opened and let loose its rain, when it feels as though I'm surrounded by the unknown and want to crumple in not being able to plan, when I'm tempted to succumb to society's demand for explaining why we do what we do and when I'm peaceful with where we are but feel the need to justify it with anything other than Jesus' call...

I must hold tight to my plumb line - I must smile and dance without regard for the world around me.  And I must be obedient... its how I got here in the first place.

Praise be to God.

 

It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere.  Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.  - Deuteronomy 13:4

"Hey, Schei kids, let's go..."