The "So-Fun" Part about Moving

So, a little over a month ago, my blog was entitled "The Not So Fun Part" and in it I wrote about the things we would miss as we moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, namely our house, our church and our friends/family.  These things were such big overarching components of our life that they overshadowed the few things that I knew I wouldn't miss like, oh, mowing our yard especially the sand mound out front and driving at least 15-20 minutes to get to anything including the bus stop for the kids (and the gas bills and mileage put on our car that went with that) and random gunshots and fireworks set off in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.

In my head I started this little list of things I would and would not miss.  I've found that since moving out here, I've started a new mental list.  I thought it was only me but the other day as Naomi and I were having some quality snuggle time, she started putting into words her own little list.  Of course at the top were things like missing family and friends and excited about being closer to our IN family and making new friends but then she started in on the little things like missing our back yard there but super excited about being able to ride bikes here.

With a blog like this, it is easy to focus on the "big things" but we have found that it's the little things that throughout the days keep popping up and making us say things like, "Well, that's nice!" or "Ooo, I like that!"  The little things that make moving fun, that make the big things easier to accept and the hard things easier to swallow.  The little things that take the edge off when our tears are surfacing and bring comfort when we are missing the "big things" and the familiar things.

So, taking our big things from the "not-so-fun" post, can I share some of our little things that have been filling our days with smiles and gratitude?  First up, our house - oh how I dreaded moving to a smaller house.  I was convinced we would feel squashed and squished and we wouldn't have enough space to store our oh-so-important stuff.  Well, after visiting back in the beginning of July, we downsized our "stuff" quite a bit and now we are here in our little house and WE LOVE IT!!  So much less to clean, to keep track of, and to keep us inside.  We haven't missed our "stuff" yet and it has been freeing to have less instead of more.  Some plusses in my book is that our new stove heats up super-fast so dinner prep time has been significantly lessened; our dishwasher is super-quiet so we don't have to wait to run it until we are all in bed because the noise was so deafening; our washer and dryer are not far far away in a basement but right on the main floor; our back porch is perfect for storm-watching, bird-watching, and train-watching (see picture of Caleb - he loves the trains); and last but certainly not least, our geo-thermal heating and air works splendidly and costs us less than our previous home.  It's a great house and I think our family is doing a bang-up job of making it a home.

The next biggie?  Church.  We have visited two churches since we've been out here.  Both have been very welcoming and both have been very focused on family and children, which is nice for a family with children.  The first church we visited had many of the families we have gotten to know here in Kalas Village so we felt pretty comfortable and "at home" there.  The second church we visited didn't have many people we knew but my goodness did we feel welcomed.  Met at the door by assistant pastor, welcomed by the nursery captain, prayed for/with by this sweet older lady named Vivian who just beamed with God's love and compassion, and followed-up with two welcome letters and an invitation to lunch with the pastor.  Nothing can replace the familiar fellowship of worshiping each Sunday with brothers and sisters you've shared life with, but the little things listed above have gone a long way in making us feel widely accepted into the larger body of Christ and we know God will lead us to the place He has for us to plug in and worship as a family here in Kentucky.

Okay, I'm gonna add another biggie I didn't have have in the original post - SCHOOL.  Wow, was it hard for our family, especially my girls, to say good-bye to their classmates and friends at Shalom Christian Academy back in PA.  There was a certain level of dread that filled our home the closer we got to "first day" out here.  But God is full of "little things" to help ease our way such as finding out that teachers and classmates had grown up in PA which creates an almost instant bond, friends here in Kalas coming over and helping Hannah get ready for her first day so she didn't have to worry about if what she was doing/wearing, etc was "right" or not, and lots and lots of prayers and notes of encouragement for the girls.  Morning of D-day we headed down to the bus stop with all their new friends who were buzzing with excitement and then, the biggest "little thing" of all - we all prayed at the bus stop together; kids, parents, and anyone else who happened to be there.  Apparently this is a little tradition our bus stop; on Monday a parent leads prayer, for the rest of the week the kids lead prayer and at the end of the week we all pray The Lord's Prayer together.  Church at the bus stop.  So incredibly cool.  The girls had a great day.  They liked their new school.  The little things all add up.

Finally, the biggest "biggie" of them all; friends and family.  Absolutely irreplaceable.  See unlike the school, and church, and the house, the friends and family all maintain their place in our heart.  There isn't empty space to fill.  Instead, we had to let our hearts get bigger to fit more people in (kinda like the Grinch's heart growing "three sizes that day" only we aren't Grinches and we love Christmas).  The little things like neighbor kids spending the night and eating dinner with us and using our bathroom and drinking our water; the little things like new friends coming over for dinner and running with us in the mornings and helping us navigate our new town and borrowing burn medicine and dresses for the beach; the little things like text messages and waves "hello" and gifts of homemade hummus and little notes of encouragement - all these little things have stretched our hearts and made us richer with more friends and new faces.  It's like our love has multiplied and our friendship quiver is fuller and we are doubly blessed.  

Since we have moved,  my heart and mind feel like they are more in tune to the little things.  I'm looking for reasons to celebrate and to smile and have joy.  I'm hunting down happy moments like Mick Elder on the first day of doe season (for all of you who know Mick, I'm sure you are smiling - if you don't know Mick, let's just say - he likes to hunt).  But hey guess what?  I'm fairly certain you've got some little things going on all around you too!!  It's so, so easy to get caught up in the big things because... well, they are big.  But the little things are what shape our days and I think I've overlooked a lot of blessings because I wasn't on the lookout for them.  Maybe after you read this, you'll think of some little things in your life that bring you joy in the midst of some big things that may not.  A hug, a smile, a note, a kiss, a rainbow or a butterfly, a bird's song or a friendly hello.  Just like my little house, the blessing may be found in less, not more - the little and not the big.  It may just be the "so-fun" thing about life!