How it's going...

In a word, it's bedlam.
I use that word because:

• I'm packing a house with six children in it.
• We are doing our best to catch up with people - so many people we love and will miss and want to get with one more time.
• Toby is working on his pre-course work (or trying to), alongside continuing to work full-time (one more week!), pack a house with six children in it and catch up with people.
• We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and Noah's 7th birthday, while 2 children spent the day on the couch with fevers.
• We are trying to figure out what we can pack and what needs to stay within reach - I accidentally packed all of our microwavable bowls. Whoops.
• I lost my credit card. Thankfully, it wasn't stolen. Replacement on the way.
• We are still showing the house. Fortunately, we think we have some tenants, but until the lease is signed, the house keeps showing. It is easier to keep it clean with less junk around...
• The logistics are messy, or perhaps it's just my memory that's messy. I keep remembering who needs what furniture and to make a date with that person and send the kids to that house and the hundreds of other details that go into a long-distance move, but when it's time to get it all down and make a plan, the thoughts run and hide, much like my children at a playground.

 Having said all that, it's also going well. Really:

• We've been doing a little at a time for most of the summer, which has helped a lot.
• We've been the grateful recipients of a lot of help, from child care to packing and cleaning, with promises of continued help, right up to packing the moving truck.
• We have been encouraged and prayed for, which is huge.
• All the "to-do"s are getting done, one thing at a time.
• The kids have been enjoying getting with their friends and celebrating what will probably be their last birthdays in Maryland.
• They are also more excited about the adventure than sad about leaving, which is much how their parents feel.

I am anticipating the next couple of weeks to continue this roller-coaster pattern, as we tie up loose ends. But you know, that's okay. I'd be a fool if I expected this stuff to be easy - God doesn't promise me that. Here's what He does promise, what I'm placing my hope in:

 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 Psalm 27:1