Ode to 726

Alas the day has come! The day we've been anticipating. This is the day we go back to being owners of just one home. The day we say good-bye to two mortgage payments. And, yes, the day we also say good-bye to 726 Bennett Street...

726 was our first house. The house that came our way through circumstances that could only have been the hand of our loving God at work. The house that was on a quiet little one-block street with fantastic neighbors. The house that was within walking distance of 8 different playground areas. The house that was in the perfect location for friends to park to go to the "Fun Days" parade. The house that was the place we called "home" for the last 7 years. The home we eventually felt like we were outgrowing. We loved it at 726, and though we are more than satisfied in our new home, we will look back fondly and be forever grateful for all the memories we made on Bennett Street. Here are just a few:

*Putting in new counters, dishwasher, and linoleum in the kitchen
*Bringing home our new Baby Sarah
*Many cozy evenings by the fireplace
*Easter egg hunts in the backyard with cousins
*Sending all three of our children off to their first days of school
*The railings down the stairs that were irresistible for toddlers to climb through
*Numerous kickball games in the back yard
*The slip 'n slide
*Bike rides to Hiniker Pond
*Walks around Spring Lake Park
*Sitting on the bench in front of our house in the evenings
*Hearing Sarah come in screaming because of the wasps and bees outside (neighbor had a nest in their tree)
*Hanging up the white sheet in the living room for a photo shoot
*The bird in the fireplace
*The bat in the fireplace
*Nedra almost lighting the house on fire because she didn't know how to use the fireplace
*Neighborhood children popping in and out
*Playing "McDonald's" in the backyard shed
*Personalizing the bedrooms with new paint
*The "Cocoa Incident"
*Putting in egress windows
*Splashing in the puddles at the curbside (or lack thereof)
*Watching the machinery and playing in the mud as they replaced our street
*Carrying groceries, luggage, etc. to and from our vehicles that couldn't be parked on the street during construction
*Running through the sprinkler in the front yard
*The HUGE spider and web on the swing set
*The screaming baby bunnies out our bedroom window (you don't want to know)
*Marveling at how the wind was always calmer in our neighborhood
*A house full of relatives and friends on too many occasions to count (small group, Bible study, New Year's Eve, game nights, holidays, birthday parties...)
*Our new puppy doing his best to destroy the place (We love you Rudy!)
*The Christmas tree in the front window
*A summer-time garage full of toys, bikes, camping equipment, and tools - not the vehicle
*The kids learning to ride their bikes on our street
*The toilet explosion in the bathroom downstairs
*Listening to the "Fun Days" concerts while trying to sleep
*The pumpkin thrown through Dana's truck window
*Hearing the rain drip on the eave spout at the corner of the house
*Scrapbooking on Wednesday evenings
*The temporary water pipe exploding in our front yard during construction
*Chalk cities and roads on the driveway
*Hosting date night children
*Loving up the neighborhood puppies
*The kids' lemonade stand
*Jumping in the plethora of autumn leaves from our beautiful maples
*Building a snow fort in the front yard
*Coming home to dead fish in the tank when our heat went out
*Sunday afternoon dinners with Martha and Hal
*Chatting it up with Hank next door

Innumerable diapers changed, loads of laundry and dishes washed, cookies baked, children babysat, baths given, meals prepared and served, tears shed, games played, floors vacuumed and scrubbed, butts wiped, fights solved, messes cleaned up, books read, and laughs shared.

We slept there. We cried there. We learned there. We played there. We argued there. We loved there. We struggled there. We cuddled there. We thrived there. We laughed there. We raised our babies there. We hosted there. We prayed there. We lived there.

And so we move on now from 726 and take our wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) memories with us. We ask God's blessing on our new home. May we grow closer to Him here. May this new dwelling place be as much of a blessing to our family and friends as our old one was. What kind of memories will we make here? We're excited and hopeful for our new experiences at 1543.

The Home Fires Are Burning

Today was a beautiful day in Mankato! We had a baby shower at our house with 20 women (plus little girls) in attendance. The house was perfect for hosting such an occasion. It was exciting to share our home and extend a little hospitality to some friends. We want this home to be a blessing to people and a gathering place for friends and family. Today was confirmation of that dream coming to fruition.

Dana took the kids and Rudy over to King Arthur Park this afternoon. It actually felt hot in the sun (Thor...it almost felt like "80 degrees"!). The kids dug in the sand, kicked a ball around with Dad, & played on the playground. Rudy even got to chase his new throw toy and get some much needed spring excercise. Sarah helped Dana rake some leaves in the back yard. We met some neighbors.

We had our first campfire of the season. Hopefully there will be many more to follow. We roasted hotdogs, ate chips, and enjoyed the fire together. Nedra commented that she might not even need to go camping as often if we can have campfires often at home. Next time, we'll have to get S'more fixins. (Nedra was at the campfire too, she is just always taking pictures.)

Hannah's Heart

We experienced a gift from the Holy Spirit last week by witnessing His work in Hannah's heart. In the new year, Nedra has assigned a daily list of 'jobs' for the kids to do in the morning before school starts. They were to receive a reward when the chart was completely filled out. Ethan really got into the work and faithfully did his jobs everyday. He completed his chart just last week and was rewarded with a week long rental of Super Mario Sluggers for the Wii. Let's just say that the girls have not been as regular and motivated with their jobs as their older brother. However, once Ethan received his reward, we noticed their jobs getting checked off their list a little more quickly, a little too quickly. Nedra hadn't been keeping a real close eye on the chart, but knew that the girls had been significantly behind Ethan. So, when Hannah presented her completed chart and began asking what her reward would be, Nedra said she would to talk to her about it later. Hannah kept asking Nedra all day when she was going to talk to her about the reward. Finally, at bed time, Nedra expressed her hesitation in giving a reward because she was not certain the girls' hearts had been in their work. They needed to be reminded, prodded, and often scolded in order for them to complete (sometimes) the tasks. So, she said the reward would be postponed until we saw the right attitude in their hearts. There were no accusations or even thoughts of them being dishonest about the work chart.

Fast forward to later that night, after the kids had been in bed for awhile...Hannah came downstairs, bawling, telling Nedra that she needed to tell her something (I was at the church for a meeting). At first she wouldn't say what it was because "it's too hard!" She finally confessed that she and Sarah had one day crossed off five extra days of work from their charts. They then had a good talk about confessing sin, and that it was the Holy Spirit at work in her heart that compelled her to tell mommy. A great end to the night? No, it got better!

She came down a short time later and told Nedra that she couldn't sleep. When asked why, she said she thought that God was putting things in her mind that He wanted her to write down in her journal tomorrow, because it was all she could think about. Nedra told her maybe the reason she couldn't sleep was because God wanted her to write it down now. So, Hannah got her little notebook, sat down on the couch, and wrote for about 20 minutes. She showed it to Nedra and told her to "make sure daddy reads it when he gets home."

I don't remember exactly what she wrote (and wouldn't put it on here anyway because it's in her notebook), but let's just say that it was one of the most heartfelt prayers to God that I could imagine a broken little 8-year-old could write. I know that there was something about her asking God to help her be a better family member. She also wrote out John 3:16 in regards to helping people to know Him. It brought tears to my eyes.

We are greatly encouraged and humbled to see God's hand at work throughout the day, even though we had no idea what was going on in our daughter's heart. We were reminded of how God's kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). We often wrestle with a desire to see fruit in the lives of our children. Thank you God for a little glimpse!