Settling in

Raven Run Sanctuary
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

One of the gifts our move to Kentucky has brought us is to be living close to Rebecca's brother Jeremy and his family: aunt Erin and cousins Jed, Caleb & Andrew. We spent a delightful couple of hours this past Sunday hiking the trails at Raven Run sanctuary and sharing a picnic lunch. They joined us later that afternoon at the High Street House, where we met with our new community for the weekly gathering and to be welcomed with a potluck dinner. We continue to be deeply grateful to have been sent out with love by our Mercy Street family, and to be received with love by our Communality family - an uncommon experience and a profound privilege.

We have the living space of our new home sorted out, but the guest room is not quite ready to provide a comfortable welcome to anyone. Maggie asked us today why we had stopped unpacking boxes when we still had so many. Maggie spent 3 days at Kindergarten last week, but we really struggled with her being there for more than 7 hours each day. In looking for a pre-school for Seth we discovered the Lexington co-operative school, which has been here for more than 50 years, and which has a kindergarten that meets for 3 hours a day. We really enjoyed our visit, and so enrolled both M & S. School meets from 12-3 each day (Seth stays home on Fridays), and Rebecca and I will have the opportunity to spend several days a month volunteering in their classes - part of the co-operative nature of the school. We are very much looking forward to the opportunity of spending time with Maggie & Seth in their classroom this first year in Lexington - an opportunity we recognize may not present itself again.

The leadership of the community have been gracious in affording us the time to settle in to our new life here - we have our first meeting with Greg & Billy tomorrow morning, followed by a meeting with all the leadership (or as they like to say, "the people with responsibilities") on Monday. We are eager to begin to find a rhythm to life here, and to discover what our partnership in the missio dei will look like...

Lexington, Kentucky

We got internet service in our new home today, and so I thought I'd end the day with a brief update on our transition from Houston to Lexington.

Our last week in Houston was a blur - more details to take care of than we anticipated. But thanks to the exceedingly gracious hospitality of Bonnie & John McMillan we survived. One highlight of the last week was Seth finally gaining confidence in the swimming pool, thanks to Gigi's (Peggy Hennek) steadfast 'coaching'.

Our last night on the Street was overwhelming. We were showered with love by the community that we have had the privilege of belonging to for the last 7 years, and who are sending us out with their blessing and support to live and serve and "keep the main thing the main thing" here in Lexington. It was a bittersweet time, saying 'a dios' to so many people who we love, and who love us and who we have experienced much of God's grace with in the messiness of our common life over the years. People were so generous, kind and thoughtful with their words and gifts and we left deeply humbled by the evening, and deeply aware of how much we have been blessed during our sojourn "keeping it weird" at Mercy Street. There really aren't words right now.

We set out early Sunday morning for the 2 day drive North-East, which was relatively uneventful (at least compared to the same drive the week before in the U-Haul with Geoff). We arrived late Monday afternoon, and enjoyed the first of many meals with the Maddocks - mostly made with vegetables picked from their garden just beforehand. We have been slowly unpacking, making lists and taking care of the myriad details a move entails. We've enjoyed being pedestrians again, and went to our first pot luck tonight with some local food enthusiasts - cheese grits, ummmmm. We catch glimpses of what our life will become here, which offsets the chaos of our home, and weariness from lack of sleep and the sheer pace of the last few weeks.

Maggie and Seth have jumped into their new situation with both feet, and love spending hours and hours with Isaac and some of the other kids in the community. Rebecca and I are bone-tired, and decided yesterday that it feels like we're visiting on vacation - hanging out with friends, sharing meals, doing some fun things - rather than this being our new home. I imagine the reality of all that this transition means for us will sink in in the days and weeks to come.

We look forward to becoming much more intentional with the blog as this new season in the life of our family begins...