Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

 Saying goodbye is never easy - especially when you are saying goodbye to one of your best friends.  My older sister Teri, her husband Steve and their son Judah recently moved back to Reno, NV.  Steve & Teri initially moved to Reno in 2006 to help plant a church.  While out there, they helped plant another church, Coram Deo. 

Steve, Teri & Judah Meek

Fast forward a few years, they felt that God was moving their hearts to come “home” to the Quad Cities.  We were surprised and so excited about the prospect of them moving here!  Soon after moving, they had Judah (same age as my twins).  We hardly knew Judah due to the distance between us.

We were blessed to have 4 years with the Meek family.  We had many backyard parties, birthday celebrations, girl’s night(s) out, etc.  During these 4 years, we realized that, although they loved being near family, their hearts were still in Reno.  They love the outdoors and Reno has so much more to offer than the Quad Cities!  While God was preparing all of our hearts for their move, He was quickly opening doors for Steve.  Steve was offered the Executive Pastor position at Coram Deo.  He accepted the offer and they placed their house on the market.  It sold within a week!

Uncle Steve with Alex (aka "Boots")

Another "Steve" mohawk for Casey!

 July 1st - Heritage Church held a going away bash for Teri, Steve & Judah.  Here are a few pictures from their goodbye during church..

"Laying hands" on Teri, Steve & Judah

Praying over the Meek Family

Steve was the Children's Pastor at Heritage.  During the service they had all of the elementary kids come up to be a part of the service.  They sang a couple of songs with us, including Steve's request of "Roaring Like a Lion" by Newsboys.

Will with a sign that said, "God's Not Dead"!

Later that evening, our family had a separate party to say our final goodbyes.  While the hugs were tearful, God blessed our time with MUCH laughter and for that, we are so thankful!

Teri, Mom, Deb, Dad & Becki (missing older brother Dave)

Teri, Deb & Becki

John, Fran & Tammy Truitt with the Meeks

Mom, Dad, Steve, Teri, Deb, Brad, Becki & Matt (missing Dave & Peggy)

Mom, Dad, 3 of 4 kids & spouses, 8 of 11 grandkids

Teri, Steve & Judah - we will miss you terribly.  I praise God for cell phones, email, Skype, facebook, etc.  It will make the miles between us seem smaller...but I will dearly miss our get-togethers over dinner, shopping at Kohls, IKEA, hanging out at Mom & Dad's, and the many other "norms" that we had created.  It helps immensely to know that you are where God NEEDS you to be...but it doesn't stop the tears from flowing right now.  I love you & look forward to our next time of seeing each other in person.

Father's Day 2012

 For Father's Day, we headed up north to Backbone State Park in Dundee, IA.  It is located in the northeast corner of Iowa - about 2 hours from our house.  The weather was perfect and we decided to take advantage of the day.  Some friends had told us about this park a few years ago and we've been itching to get there ever since!  We weren't disappointed one bit!  There is a beautiful lake with a spillway, great hiking trails, camping, a shallow river that zig-zags through the park (Maquoketa River, I believe), a cave & so much more!

Katie & Matt enjoying the view

This picture makes me chuckle every time I see it!

 We went for a hike along Backbone Trail.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  We never expected to see such a bounty of rock croppings!  Every turn we took/rock we climbed, we found another photo spot!  I am sure the kids were sick of posing for pictures!

What you don't notice on most of these pictures is the sheer drop off!  It was a bit scary at some points as the kids wanted to venture out on the rocks.  All in all they did really well and we hope to head back there later this summer to camp!

Will trying the limbo

Watch out for the trees!

The Devil's Backbone!

 This is the cave - We loved the steps to get up to the cave!  Unfortunately, we left the flashlight in the car so we didn't explore the cave at all.

throwing rocks into the river

Other Summer Fun!

I keep the kids active all summer long with local Vacation Bible Schools!  They participated in this sports camp VBS (from our preschool church) last week.  Maddie & Will played soccer...

Katie played basketball...

Alex learned cheerleading...

We are in the middle of another VBS right now and have two left in July.  They love the structure and seeing other kids - I love the down time!

 Katie went to Chicago with a friend for a day at the American Girl store.  She was so excited to take "Marie Grace" with her.  She saved her money to buy a new outfit for her doll and then they ate at the AG restaurant.  She talked about her trip for DAYS!

Letterboxing - On the Trail Again!

We've been able to get out and find a few letterboxes this past month.  We drove to a small park in Dewitt, IA to find a new box - the kids loved playing on the playground after Matt stamped in.

Another afternoon we took a bit of a drive to find a mystery box.  It was a great hike!  This bridge was a bit freaky...but we all made it across! 

I guess the kids aren't used to hiking anymore!

While I was in Naperville with my mom & sisters, Matt took the kids to the annual Great Lakes Letterbox Gathering - this year it was held in Blue Mounds State Park, WI.  They camped for the first time!!  Matt & I have camped, but not since the kids were born!  Matt said that the weekend went well and we hope to camp again soon!

Welcoming Home a Hero

The kids & I had the honor of welcoming home a fallen hero a few weeks ago.  We witnessed the procession for Cpl. BJ Luxmore, killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.

 After waiting for over an hour, we saw the first police vehicles coming through.  The Patriot Guard was next - well over a hundred motorcycles!  It was an amazing site to see so many bikes and flags - very emotional.

After all of the motorcycles went through, there was a lull of vehicles for a minute or two.  I don't know if this was intentional or not...but it really brought the moment "home" for me.   After the moment of silence (ie, no vehicles), a small handful of Patriot Guard riders escorted Cpl. Luxmore and his mourning family through the town.  I will never forget the faces of the family members as they drove by.  You could tell that they were moved by the number of people coming out to show their support, as well as the patriotism and so sad over their tremendous loss.  Emotions were high - you could feel the sadness all around you. 

The memory of this will forever be on my heart...I pray that for my kids as well. Freedom is NOT free.