Our New Home

We will be moving to our new home starting tomorrow. I'm so very excited, but I know that there is lots of work to do. As soon as I get off work today, I'm planning on boxing and cleaning and organizing until the movers get here tomorrow morning at 8:30. I've already done a lot of packing, but I still have a ways to go.

Our current house served its purpose for the time being. Just as our church was moving into its new building 4 years ago, the little house next to it went up for sale. It needed work done on it, but it was so convenient to be living right next to Victory during its formative years.

However, I don't think six people are meant to share one bathroom. The kids are definitely growing out of their little-kid stage, where they like to run and play and stomp around. As I said earlier, I never realized how noisy my family was until I was by myself in Chicago. It doesn't bother me, but I'm glad that they will have room to breathe now.

Mom and Dad are coming up here also to help out. There's still a lot of work to be done to put our old house in sellable condition. In the last 12 years, Brett and I have moved seven times. I certainly plan on staying here for a long time.

Chicago Conference

Things I learned at the Ronald McDonald House Charities International Conference in Chicago last week:

- Australian currency is made out of a fabric that you can't tear.
- The Gandy Dancer in Ann Arbor has the best lobster bisque I've ever had.
- You can buy an original Dr. Seuss painting for $30,000 on Michigan Ave.
- There are fireworks at the Navy Pier that explode in the shape of a heart.
- The Chicago Marriott downtown has truly comfortable mattresses.
- It is a small world. I met a girl from Springfield who knew my sister-in-law.
- The Field Museum is a breathtaking place to visit.
- Nights are eerily quiet without my four kids around.
- It is possible to gain 5 pounds in 4 days from the chef's cooking at the Marriott.

I had a great time and learned a lot from the conference that will help our local organization. This week, it's back to the grind and gearing up for moving into a new house. The next couple of weeks promise to be very busy . . .

Exhausting Week

We have Vacation Bible School going on at church this week in the evenings from 6:00-8:30. Roughly 80 kids from K-6 have shown up every night, which has been rewarding, though exhausting. I'm the teacher for the 3rd and 4th graders. It is actually a really good age to work with because they are old enough to understand instructions and follow through, but young enough to not have the "I'm too cool for this" attitude.

We have two more nights left. Several have already made the decision to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and we're praying for more to do the same. I'm sure Saturday will be one of those collapse-and-do-nothing days.