Dear Malachi,
Today, you are "finally" 7 years old. I say "finally" because it always seems like a long time until your birthday. When summer begins, we start to count down until the day. Since it is close to July 4th, we usually celebrate with a party a week or two early. So, it feels like forever until your big day.
You have had a great time today and the previous days celebrating your birthday. You got lots of money and items that you wanted like Jimmie Johnson gear, Build-a-Bear, Lego store, and Cars2 cars. This past year has brought a lot of trials, but it has also brought great success. You started out the school year in an NC public school. Everyday was struggle at school. After many tears and sleepless nights we moved you to FACS with Z. It was most definitely the right choice. Your 1st grade teacher was awesome! After you ran out of the room, she stopped the class, and they all prayed for you. When Daddy came to pick you up that day, they were all excited to share with him that you had a great day after that.
You got into full-swing in life and enjoyed playing soccer on a team with your brother and your Daddy as a coach. Your skills and team work are greatly improving, and we are excited to see you grow in athletic ability.
We have enjoyed you growing spiritually, as well. You prefer to sit in kids church when your Daddy is in charge, but you love to worship and sing. Right now, you request "The presence of the Lord is here" the most. We love to hear your sing. We love to watch you worship. We love seeing your grown and learn in the footsteps of our Savior.
Your tender spirit earned you the Kindness award in school. That doesn't surprise me. You are gentle and sweet to all (except your brother). But, you LOVE Z, too. When Z went into the hospital back in March, you cried before we took him to the ER. You cried when you saw him in the hospital room with his breathing treatment and tubes attached. You love him, and we all love you!
You are growing in height. You are growing in ability. You are growing in spiritual depth. You are becoming an incredible young man, Malachi James, and we love you so very much!
-Momma
I mentioned to others that I would explain how this new adventure in our lives cam about. So here it is:
Back in March, Daniel submitted his resume' to Evangel AoG in Ephrata, PA. He doesn't remember why he sent it to this particular church because he typically had not been sending resumes to NE states, but he felt God nudging him to do so. He first interviewed a few days before Easter. He had a second interview 2 weeks later. On June 1, we drove (as a family) to PA to interview with the church and visit the area. We had an incredible visit. We had interviewed with several churches in the previous years, but they weren't in God's plan. As we were visiting for a very short weekend and in continual prayer, God made it clear to us that Evangel was to be our new church family and home. We had a long week of waiting, and I nudged Daniel to call and share his feelings. He did, and P. Kevin shared the same feelings. God was leading us to each other for this very season.
We were "unofficially" offered the job on June 12. Daniel was officially offered the job as Family Ministries Pastor on June 14, on our way to FL to pick up the lawn mower and visit friends. They asked for Daniel's first day to be June 15. We had all ready been praying and knew that this was God's will. This made the position very easy for us to accept. We returned from FL on June 19. We had a busy June 20, and Daniel and I departed to find a place to live in PA on June 21. June 22 was our 10th anniversary, and God gave us an incredible semi-detached home at an excellent rate to rent. At the same time, we got word that our tenant in our FL wanted to sign a lease for another 2-3 years.
Since returning home on June 24, we have been packing and sorting and preparing for the move to PA. We are so excited about the location of the house in relationship to downtown, the church, elementary school, and the general atmosphere of the town. We will be loading up the U-haul on Wednesday, July 11, and driving it up to PA on Thursday, July 12. Daniel's first official day will be Monday, July 16.
I'm still not sure what I will be doing to earn money to help support the family, but I am wanting to work part-time, so that I can have the flexibility to help the boys in school and assist Daniel in his new job. We work well together, and I want to be more involved in ministry.
We are in the heart of Amish country, and it is BEAUTIFUL! We'd love to have you come visit. We just bought an inflatable queen bed and have 2 inflatable twins. We are having to down-size, and only have 1 bathroom, but we are always open for guests :)
Your tender spirit earned you the Kindness award in school. That doesn't surprise me. You are gentle and sweet to all (except your brother). But, you LOVE Z, too. When Z went into the hospital back in March, you cried before we took him to the ER. You cried when you saw him in the hospital room with his breathing treatment and tubes attached. You love him, and we all love you!
