Our 2011 (Part 1)

After reading several year-in-review blog posts I was inspired to try to put our 2011 into words.  It wasn't easy, partly because of my memory and partly because of the whirlwind that was 2011 for us.  Since my blogging was less than consistent in the midst of it, though, I decided to try to fit it into this space for the future (when my memory is even worse!).

In January 2011 we were up to our elbows in home projects and final preparations for listing our first little house in the country for sale.  We remodeled a bathroom and touched up paint.  Clutter found new space at Goodwill and a storage unit.  Matt began his doctoral studies at the seminary and celebrated a birthday.  We prayed that the year ahead would include a fourth member of our family, somehow.  

February brought continued plans to sell the house and by the end of the month it was officially on the market.  While we waited for interest, we spent lots of time playing and looking forward to spring.  We also began seriously discussing and researching the adoption process.

March came and we marched into action, it seems.  Matt took students to Fargo for a week, while Haddon and I stayed home to hold down the fort.  That week we got to hang with some precious friends and have one last hang out on Morehead Road.  

The weather improved and so did our cabin fever.  The first week of spring, after only five weeks on the market, and two viewings, our house was officially "under contract;" it was super exciting for five minutes, and then terrifying.  We assumed it would take longer to sell, and really hadn't gotten in a hurry to find a replacement home.  Visions of homelessness and doubt crept in, as the roller coaster that was to come raced uphill.  

The houses we had slight interest in before our house sold suddenly evaporated when we actually began looking seriously (with a serious closing deadline, too).  One failed negotiation and another failed contract later, our faith was fragile.  April came and felt very full of temporal things demanding our attention.  Suddenly our real home in heaven seemed much more secure and precious.  We knew we would find something - and we did - but the process tried us and left us very thankful that our real estate agent was a good and trusted friend.  

April also meant Easter celebration and marked the passing of a year since we first knew the heartache of a still ultrasound screen.  Even as we searched for a new place to live, my heart ached for more children to fill it.  We did treasure the last days and weeks at our old address, the place we brought our sweet boy home to and watched him pass so many milestones.  

April went out like a lion, not in our personal lives, but in the history of our country, particularly the south.  Historic tornadoes ripped through Alabama and surrounding states, leaving death and destruction in their wake.  The first Sunday in May we heard news that the Disaster Relief team from our church was heading into the devastation to bring aid and Jesus, and our hearts were compelled to go, even though we were not certified "DR" people; after so much time spent thinking about where to live, it seemed refreshing and appropriate to help families who had lost everything.  It was a sobering reminder that our lives are a vapor and that houses built by hands can literally be gone with the wind.  

We were blessed beyond measure by those long-working, but short-lived days amid flattened houses and deflated hearts in Alabama.  Friendships deepened and fellowship was strong as we worked side by side with fellow Hopers and with other brothers and sisters from the Kentucky Baptist DR and the Alabama Christians, light in the midst of darkness.  The families our chainsaw team served as we cleared ancient trees and scattered debrie will forever be etched on my mind and our hearts.  This special time was truly a highlight of 2011 for me, though it represents the heartache of a lifetime for so many others.  

And then the rest of May.  It was crazy.  We closed on one house and waited for the closing of another, in town and an answer to prayer.  We packed.  We moved.  Two days later, Matt headed to seminary for a week for his first round of seminars and colloquium.   After a few solo days in the new abode, Haddon went to Mimi's and I attempted to follow the next day.  Then our car broke, beginning a two month process of various mechanics figuring out precisely what was wrong and ending in a very large repair bill.  

Haddon the ring bearer, only happy with an iPhone

After the move, there was a flurry of unpacking and settling in, plus a wedding (Matt's brother), and some medical testing to determine why we had failed to conceive thrown in for fun.  And...with that I'll leave you in suspense and say TO BE CONTINUED.  :)