These have been the busiest few months of my life. They've also been so full of gifts from God that my soul aches from holding them all, the way a tooth aches from too much sweetness. It hurts it's so good. Before Alethea was born, Eric and I were chatting about what it would be like to have two babies, fifteen months apart. We remembered colicky Clay's complete inability to cope with the outside world. So Eric resolved, "Let's not plan anything until she's six months old. Nothing extra. We're just doing what we need to do to get by." The months leading up to her birth were busy. We were preparing our home for a new baby. I spent the semester finishing my thesis, defending it three weeks before Alethea was born. For Eric, he was in the season of Advent, preparing extra services and celebrations at church. On December 11, we had a baby girl. On December 16, I graduated. The joyous hustle and bustle of Christmas descended on our home. On New Year's Eve, Alethea was made a new creation through baptism. Grandma, Grammie, Grampie, and godparents Stephen and Alyssa were able to join us for the celebration. We stayed awake until midnight (one time zone to the east). Before Alethea was a month old, Eric was extended calls to two churches over two consecutive weeks - one in Ohio, one in Illinois. When Alethea was a month old, Eric visited the churches and Grammie came to help with two babies and one still-recovering momma. A week later, after much prayer, we decided to move to Ohio. We worked furiously to get our house ready to be sold. On February 15, we said goodbye to the very good people of Faith Lutheran in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Alethea was barely two months old when Uncle Christopher arrived to help us finish packing and fly the kids and me to our new home in Ohio. On February 20, we moved into our lovely new home and met the people of St. John who themselves were very busy preparing for our arrival. We sold our home in Minnesota that evening. On March 1, Eric was installed at St. John, 700 miles away from where Alethea was born eleven weeks before, at which time we had no idea we were about to move. Eric began his new ministry in the season of Lent, a beautiful though busy time of the Church year. And that's what we've been up to. Nothing extra. Not until she's six months old. |