Whirlwind

It's hard to even know where to start this post.  I even asked Dustin, "where do I even begin?"  He wasn't much help because truthfully this last month has been an absolute whirlwind.  From accepting an offer on our house April 26th to getting on a plane May 28th bound for Europe, life has been on fast forward.

First things first, we need to acknowledge that everything that has happened in the last month has been orchestrated by God in ways that still leave my mind spinning.  There were so many pieces that had to come together perfectly and it couldn't have happened without God and the many many many many people that came alongside our family during our time of transition.  I want to name everyone but for fear of leaving anyone out, let me just say this:

To the army of people that have helped us on this journey, please know that we are so incredibly grateful and there are no words that could ever express the depth of our gratitude.  You fed us.  You moved us.  You came at a moments notice when I was losing it.  You took in our stuff.  You called.  You texted.  You prepared an amazing send off.  You cleaned our old home.  You helped us plan the details.  You gave us our new home.  You showered us in prayer.  You have financially supported us and continue to do so.  This list isn't even close to complete.  Know that we love you all and we are thankful for you.  Without you, there is no way we could have accomplished what we did in 32 days.

I'm not going to lie!  THIS IS THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE . . . ever.
It's one thing to be moved by the Holy Spirit to the point that you make a decision to give up almost everything to follow His plan but the part where you actually DO it is emotionally exhausting.  I refuse to sugar coat it and tell you that this has been easy.  I refuse to tell you that I have never questioned it.  I refuse to be all puppy dogs and rainbows.  THIS IS HARD!  There were moments when cleaning out our house that I wanted to just quit and change my mind.  There were moments where I realized just what a crazy and hair brained idea it was to move a family of seven and two dogs halfway around the world.  There were moments when my kids would tell me that they were nervous or scared or that they just plain didn't want this.  In those moments, of course you question it!  But what I can say without a doubt is that there were too many pieces that had to come together in order for this to happen and the fact that I'm writing this from my beautiful porch in Poland is testimony enough for God's will for our family.  We are exactly where God asked us to be and while I had doubts, emotional moments, and second guessed things, we were obedient and God is faithful.

So, we are HERE!  In Poland.  We are moved in to our new home for this year and we are getting our bearings about us.  We are overcoming the jet lag that tells us to pass out during weird times of day.  We are overwhelmed at times and at others we are stir crazy, a fine balance between having purpose while also taking off what we can chew for this moment.  We've walked all over the city and gone to the stores for food multiple times.  We are mostly winging it and trying to acclimate ourselves slowly with our surroundings and the bus routes and so far we are still sane.

Crazy three amigas!  Going to miss these girls at work for sure.

My last day at Parkview these lovely ladies came in to say goodbye . . . for now.

One of our biggest mentors, cheerleaders, and supporters in so many ways.

This is only one part of our the huge crew that helped move us out of our home.

Part of our road travel crew bound for Chicago.  This Burger King had no ice or cold drinks (broke down) so they gave us free milk shakes!  It was a real score since it was nearly 100 degrees outside where we had to hang with the puppies under a tree.

Getting ready to DO this!

Flight one from Chicago to Frankfurt.  These guys did amazing!

My seat partners.  The one to my right was out within minutes of take-off.

After a two hour delay, here we are on the last flight.

More chaos!  Only this time in the new living room instead of the old living room.

Thankfully, it is now clean enough to play a good game of marbles on the floor with dad.  Without television, we are finding ways to entertain ourselves.

Pascal loves the deck on the master bedroom.  He hangs out there as much as possible to watch the neighborhood.

Jordy and Melina enjoying the outdoors as usual.  They found some interesting snail shells everywhere.

Good stuff right here in this box.

During a walk to a local park.

Technology for the win!  Keeping in touch even though we are so far away and in another time zone.