Slowing Down & Settling In

Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, and congratulations for surviving the Winter Vortex! It has been a wild couple of weeks, but we are finally through the holidays and coming in to a routine that is surprisingly slow compared to our lives in Pittsburgh. Change is good, just different. So, I've been trying to embrace the change and enjoy my new found freedom of a live lived a bit slower. It really is a gift! :)

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. – Lamentations 3:25 (KJV)

But you must return to your God;  maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. – Hosea 12:6                         

So things are going well. Rich really loves what he is doing here. I will have to make sure he gets on here and gives you a real update from his point of view. He likes to say that it doesn't even feel like work. 

Maddy has been able to pitch in and help at the horse coral. She loves to tell us all about what she is learning there. She will be a wrangler before we know it!

Savannah started "real" school on Monday and is very excited about it. Rich and I drove her down to the end of our driveway today to and she said that she just couldn't stop smiling. She was so excited to jump on that bus!  The big kids start school on the next report period which is January 21. They all wanted to make the move after we toured the schools. Not sure what Grandma Jean and I are going to do with only Willow home during the school day. How surreal!  We have cyber-schooled for around 5 years now. 

This past weekend was a middle school retreat that Maddy and Cheyenne got to participate in a little bit. Cheyenne is still a beast at rock-climbing (some things don't change). She stood up in-front of a crowd for the first time solo and sang Hosanna.  She made a few friends already. 

The big kids have begun to attend a local youth group. They enjoy the fact that they are making some friends now before they start school. It will hopefully make the transition easier on them. We still are not settled on a church, but we have enjoyed this local church so far, and plan to check out their women's group, kid's club and bible studies on Wednesday nights. 

Willow celebrated her 3rd birthday on Monday. She was very excited to tell everyone it was her birthday and to get some cake!  She tries to put up 3 fingers, but when your 3, that is hard work!

As for me, I have been enjoying the slower pace and have been able to rest more,hike more, read more and craft more.  Still in awe at God's hand in creating the way for us to be here. I know there is probably more that I missed, but you get the idea. :)

(dana)

                                           Did I mention we live next to the AT? How cool!!

Settling In

I was hoping to have posted more by now, but this has been such a crazy process for us, that I am just getting around to posting right now. We have now been here for almost a week, and Rich started working on Wednesday. These last two weeks have felt like 6 months to me. We are slowly settling in. I would like to never see a cardboard box again! It has been a great time of minimizing and deciding on what we do really need. (I REALLY do need all those boxes of books, right? Right!)

The kids may not be all unpacked, but they found time to put up 3 hammocks. I thought the kids were hiding out in their rooms, and I happen to step outside to find them setting up a triangle of hammocks at the trees right beyond our house. Maddy has made friends with our neighbor who is in rotation to feed the horses, and has fed them with her 3 times already. Even at 7:30 am before her classes began. They all have been biking all the trails and hiking all around camp, getting to know the staff quicker than me. And yes, it is December and rainy and cold, but they are out there as soon as their classes are over.

Hammocks in December

Hard to see her, but Cheyenne is climbing trees already.

Tonight Rich and the kids are on their way back to Pittsburgh to do some cleaning and seeing what is left to do at our house. I'm super thankful to my mom, brother and sister who have been watching over the house for us. Rich has some work to do, so if you are handy and want to help, you can contact him. I know this is a hard time of year to find free time, but we would appreciate it all!

Rich and I were invited to a staff dinner last night put on by the camp board members. It was super fancy. (All those years of teaching etiquette to 5th graders paid off!)  It was really nice to get to know some of the staff outside of them being on duty. They really seem like such a great group of people who really care about camp ministry and love the Lord! I am so excited to get to know them more.

Keep on praying for us as we adjust. We are so thankful for you.
(Dana)

Our new contact information

957 Camp Hebron Road
Unit 5
Halifax PA 17032

Rich's email: (same) rich.2760@gmail.com
Dana's email: (new) dana.reed.reed@gmail.com

Our cell phones will remain the same for now. :)

The First Post!?!

I'm so intimidated by this first post. I am not a blogger, I am not a writer in any sense. No matter that, I really just wanted to start something that will help us as a family stay connected to our family and friends. We need the support. We need the prayer!  Moving 3 and a half hours away, and not knowing a single person is really scary. So, hopefully I will keep up with the blog and feel connected to all of you.

So incase you don't know, WE ARE MOVING!!!  If you know us at all, you know how the Lord has placed camping ministry on our hearts. Rich was hired to serve at Camp Hebron. I provided a link to the camp on the sidebar. You should check it out. It seems like such a great place. We are so excited for the opportunity to serve there. I have applied for a programming job that may be available in a few month. We will see what God has for me in that role.

As much as we are excited at this new opportunity, we are so sad to leave Pittsburgh behind. We have so much family and so many friends, co-workers, and kids we have ministered to over the years. This is the hard part! Please pray for all of us, us leaving and for those we are leaving behind.

We have chose to pack it up and leave on November 30 (we are still waiting for approval on the date from the camp.)  I think Cheyenne has even started a countdown on Facebook. We have lots to do, and a little time. We still need to sell our house, so please continue to pray for that.

We are overwhelmed at the way God has moved in our lives to get us to this place!  As we continue, we will share those things with you. I am thankful for all of you taking the time to read this. Please pray as we figure all this out, and our new place in life. I don't really handle change that well, and would appreciate all your prayers as we look to the future with hope.

I am also going to add some photo's of our last visit to the camp with the kids. It was great fun.

Thanks.

(Dana)

                                                               Rich and Willow on a hike.

                                                   Austin and Willow hangin' at the lake.

                                                   Savannah and Willow at the gazebo.

                                                                     Maddy at the lake.

                                                                    Savannah at the lake.

                                                      Just a pretty shot. Couldn't resist.


Can't find a pic of Cheyenne at the moment. Don't worry. I am sure there are 100 selfies on my phone to find! :)