Transition

This week for our update I figured I’d do things a little differently. Although we hit a new milestone with the pregnancy—we are 32 weeks (okay, by the time I actually finished we were almost 34 weeks), less than two months to go—last night it hit me how minor that was compared to every thing else. I’m not saying we’re not excited…we definitely are! But this time of life has surrounded us with so much transition, so much newness (if that’s a word), that I felt like I’d rather write that down to have it on record. I’m not really the journaling type, but I couldn’t get it out of my head and felt like it would be nice to look back on one day. So here goes…
When we moved up to Orange County, we definitely experienced a lot of transition. New marriage, new full-time worship-leading position for Dale, first full-time teaching position for Ashley, new church, new city, new distance from our friends and family, new friends, first apartment, first time of paying all our own bills…a lot of new things for us. Apparently we like to do all of the transitions at once, because moving to Wichita has had even more all at once.
For me, Ashley, here are the things that come to mind-
-new state
-new city
-new time zone
-new role being home more often
-new church
-new weather
-new drivers license and car license plate (which was actually weirder/harder than we thought)
-new baby coming, which involves new concerns (like is she moving enough, why did that sneeze hurt so bad, will the house be ready, will we be ready), new joys (we’re so excited for her and love feeling her move all around), new emotions, new body and the physical changes that come with it.
-new even greater distance away from friends and family
-new time of grieving over the loss of my dad and what this new time of life is like where I can’t call him for advice or to share news with him.
-first time experiencing a loss so great, and being so far from my mom and sister through it. Although I can see God's protection in this as well. If I lived in California, I would want to be with my mom 24/7, helping her to work through all the stuff she is going through. I might have neglected my marriage and this time of preparation for our baby coming. It’s still very hard to be so far, to feel like I can help with so little. But it does protect me from trying to help with too much.
-new grocery stores and restaurants, which might seem silly, but has been difficult with the food restrictions we have.
-new insurance, once again, seems minor, but has been one of my biggest frustrations here.
-new friends-I can already see God at work in who He has surrounded me by and what that will mean for my future relationships. Obviously they aren’t deep yet, but I can see a lot of potential. And, through the new things we’ve been going through (including loss of dad and new baby coming), some friendships are forming faster than usual. When someone can tell I’ve been crying, it forces me to be vulnerable quickly and we form bonds more quickly. I’m grateful for God giving me an open heart (which I know can be too open for some :) ), because it helps people open up to me more quickly too.

For Dale, I can think of other new things as well.
-new job where he has to learn small things like how to use this copy machine and what’s the process for turning in receipts, and big things like what am I responsible for, who do I go to when I need help with something. When I really think of all he has that is new, I get a fresh appreciation for all he is doing right now.
-new service to plan, which often brings new people to share a vision with, new battles to fight, new budgets to work with, new complications to overcome, new people to reach.
-new band
It has definitely been a bit overwhelming, but God is showing us a lot through it. We know that things will slow down a little before our new adventure of parenting begins-as long as she does not come early :). Thanks for reading…if you actually made it through the whole thing. We appreciate all the love , prayers and support you’ve given us. We’ll hopefully have more on the house and baby up soon :). Above are the most recent pregnancy picture (33 weeks) and some photos from the preview worship concert for the new service. We love you.