In the new house

Well, we have finally arrived in Atlanta. Some of us came on Dec 11th to receive the goods and then some of us had to go back to Greenville, SC to finish up the remaining items/tasks that had to be done for the renters. Painting, cleaning, and repairing the house was fairly easy just tedious. I stayed in Greenville to finish work on Mon/Tues and then Rachel was in the production of Scrooge (orchestra) and so she had to finish the final productions that weekend also.

So, the remaining family went back to Atlanta on Sunday night leaving me to do the remaining work. It was okay but very busy on top of work.

We said good-bye to our church family the week before and that was a less than warm good-bye. But, it isn't that big of a deal as the church has known we were leaving for like 16 months. So when it actually happened it was a "oh, you aren't gone yet?" kind of reaction. So, no blame no foul. Just sad. Sad for the kids, sad for the girls and sad for Zach too. Have received some lovely emails/notes that my family is missed. Those were sweet and will be remembered.

We now embark on another journey. Bekah is not happy to have left Greenville and her friends. She connected to that place and the people. She will surely miss those who have loved her and stroked her genius! Yes, she does love center of attention. I think that the internet has been a lifesaver for her. I remember moving away and going to college and never seeing a soul from school. Nowadays, you can reconnect with everyone and even blog! Not that anyone will ever read this!

Rachel is so ready to be somewhere stable and I believe she would love to find a close friend. But, she continues to say that a friend doesn't matter. I know it does. She was able to meet someone right before we left (Leah Jansen) and then hit it off tremendously. So, I know a friend would be great for her. Maybe this post will have someone.

Sarah has already found a few girls that she has attached to and have attached to her. She misses her friends very much but realizes she can wallow in self-pity or make the best of this situation we are dealt. She has chosen the latter. I am proud of her.

Zach is happy go lucky with lots of little boys to play with in the neighborhood. They all seem to congregate at my house! Go figure. The one that my daughter says is "intimidating" is the place where they all want to be! Yes, I am strict but I am fun too!

I am not sure how I feel about this move. The stress is going to do me in I think. OK not really, but it is a bit overwhelming at times. I am not certain I can keep up the family at this rate. We did take a walk as a family tonight and that was good. It was refreshing to be out together for a change.

We found out today that Greg had not been taking his meds in a few days and now it all makes sense. He has been a bear and we now all know why! He confessed at dinner and everyone was relieved to know it was for that reason! Thank God there is a magic pill!

Until we find a church, we are going to go and visit Eagle's landing First Baptist again. We did enjoy the church when we were apart of it years ago, but we would like something smaller. Until we are able to find something else, we need to go somewhere. We will have a chance to reconnect to some old friends and that will be good. May our Christmas be one that focuses on Christ and not on us. He is way more important than the piddly stuff we deal with daily!

Moving Day

Before I talk about moving day - I wanted to mention that Sarah decided to be baptized and her daddy had the pleasure of doing it. So cool!

Moving day is slowly approaching. Of course, that is a joke. It is coming way too fast. I don't have the time to do all the things I need to do. I really don't even have time to do this blog, but I figured it is a bit of stress relief to me.

We are looking forward to this move as it has been anticipated for over 14 months now. Yes, all the way back to last September when Greg was given the information that we would have to be on the move again. Thankfully, this was the impetus for Greg to move to IG and we are happily moving to a great position that will prepare us for retirement. Yes, that is right. AT the ripe old age of 47 or 48, Greg will be officially retired from the military. Thus, we are getting ready for that transition. This will also be about the time that Bekah will graduate from college, Rachel will go off to college, Sarah will start high school and Zach, well, he will be in about the 4th grade. Oh yea, I am hoping to graduate then too! I am preparing for the ole' Dr. Hutchinson title. Needless to say, that time will be hectic. Of course, I am not getting anxious for something that might happen in the future. We all know that today has enough worries of its own. But, it is fun to speculate where we will be in just a few short years.

Back to the topic. The move is coming along. I have been able to get the house ready by cleaning out toy bins, taking things to goodwill, and reorganizing shelves. It has been very difficult but it will be good. Greg remains in Atlanta but will come home tomorrow to begin working on his own things that he needs to organize for the move.

In the midst of all of that we have a few things going on this weekend. Sarah has a birthday party for herself on Sat from 10-12, at 1 Rachel has to be at Scrooge (she is in the orchestra), and then we are watching the play at 2. Sarah has to be to the church at 5 for her performance at the Christmas production at church which we will go to see. Bekah will be working during the day but has to come home to study for finals on Monday. We have to pick up Rachel from the second performance Sat night at 9:30pm. On Sunday, we have church and then at 4 a birthday party for Zach at Chuckie Cheese. Yes, I am insane. no question about it.

I do stop and pause though and wonder what the Lord is doing in all of this. Each of us has our own struggles with this move. Bekah is angry about leaving all of her friends, Rachel is frustrated she is leaving all of her jobs, Sarah is torn about leaving school and Zach is going to miss his Awana friends. Personally, I have detached myself from people over the last few years. Bekah calls me "Robot Mom" as it appears to her that I am not affected by this move. I have had to convince her that I am affected but I can't fall apart as I have to move on. What has God done in my life since moving here? The things that the Lord has done is absolutely amazing. I have seen him develop me intellectually in my work, prepared me for working on my doctorate, and challenged me spiritually to know what I know that I know. I have had to defend my faith more in these last few years than I ever have before. I have been encouraged by friends in so many ways. The internet venue has been successful at stimulating so many conversations about Truth. Unfortunately, I have also seen it used to spit out hate statements and flames that in person, would not have been spewed. But God is using it.

I have been challenged to confront my whining. I have complained and questioned. None of these are necessarily sinful, but at times, they have been problematic. How many times have I looked at God's gifts and said, "You know, it really wasn't what I wanted but okay." How has that statement affected me when one of my children have said the very same thing to me after being given a gift I had so carefully chosen. The discontent that I would see in their face just broke my heart. How does the Lord feel when I do that?

Anyway, we leave this place but still have a cord attached. The house having not sold keeps us related to this area. An area that we might even call home someday in a few years when we are retiring! Until then, "home is where the Army sends us!"

FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY

We sat in a small China hotel room waiting for the door to be knocked upon! He is HERE cried the kids. Sure enough, we opened the door and there was the cutest little boy I had ever seen. He immediately cried and then turned and went to get comfort from his nanny. This little boy was none other than our wonderful Zacharias who was birthed in China for us.


We have so enjoyed our little boy and he has been such a blessing to this family. I remember someone saying that when you adopt you will find out that you will get more out of it than the child will and I completely agree. We went into this thinking we were "rescuing" a child (which we were) but not realizing how much he was bringing to us. No one should go into adoption with the idea of what you will get out of it, but boy do you get something out of it. At least that is our experience but we do know that is not everyones' experience. I believe God showed us that we are very weak people since God says he will not give us more than we can bear. He clearly thinks we can't bear much as Zach is the greatest little boy that ever lived! OK, that was a momma's exaggeration but he really is awesome. He has a heart the size of a car and joy that overflows.

Today is our Gotcha day. The day that we met him for the very first time is called "Gotcha" and it was a special day today. We looked through all the old pictures and talked about everything we experienced that day. He asked lots and lots of questions and it was really sweet. He got to pick the meal today and also pray for dinner to which he thanked God for such a great family. How blessed we are...

WE ARE MOVING

Hello friends!
We are finally moving. I am so excited. We take off to Atlanta on Dec 11th ish! Of course, that will be short lived since we will be receiving our goods on the 12th and then coming back to finish cleaning, etc. I also have to work through the 16th of Dec.

The family is the family that I posted about last time. he is a BMW worker and he has a wife and 2 kids. They are sweet and I am looking forward to being their landlord! Pray that nothing goes wrong with the house! I want to it be easy and problem free for them but also for us.

This also means that I will be giving the privilege of schooling my children at home. We can't take this privilege lightly. You never know what a Marxist in office might do to take away that freedom. We need to be able to educate our children at home without government influence. Let's pray and fight to keep that freedom!

Well, there are so many things to do to prepare. United Van lines came over yesterday to survey our goods. Sure enough, they brought some wonderful materials to help the children prepare for the move. She brought a little stuffed animal, a truck that will look like the one that takes our goods, and two books about moving. I was so grateful. This is the first time any moving company thought about my family in this way. Given that military move a lot, I think this should be a given that moving books, toys be provided to families. What an awesome idea.

Being a door to door move, things seem like they will go smoothly. I am so looking forward to being settled on the military installation. I believe it is going to be a wonderful experience for the children but mostly for me! Easy traffic to the grocery store! Greg will get to come home for lunch and we will have this great backyard to play in! It is amazing! I will post a pic!

I love my family, my life, my God, my country and my friends! Instead of God Bless America, we all need to start saying, "America, Bless God!" Amen?

Just the same O same O

Well, here we are and little has changed. However, there is some exciting news to share. The market seems to have picked up a bit, and that is good. However, we have only seen the prices come down. That isn't good given our circumstances. But that is OK. We are prepared either way.

Well, yesterday (Fri) we showed the property to some people interested in renting it. We are considering that as we can then make a little more headway on the mortgage front. The guy works for BMW as an engineer. He helped to design the hybrid from BMW! He is here now to oversee the production with a leave date of May 2010. Now that was absolutely what we were looking for - someone to rent it until that summer when we could put it back on the market. So, is that our answer? We don't know because....

That same day, we received a call that someone wanted to show it for "sale"! That always makes my heart go pitter patter. So, we showed it today to the interested purchasers. Don't know how it went really. They were somewhat quiet. Then, the renter people came back to see it again. They stayed for a bit and that was nice to meet the wife and children. They would be fabulous renters! Really. I just have such a great feeling about them.

Then, we have the men standing outside of the house for sale next door. I asked them if they were interested in seeing the neighbor's home and they told me that they would like to see it but the realtor was late. So, I invited him to see my home. He told me that he was going to try to see my home as well but later in the day. Since it was just shown, it was perfect timing. So, he came in and seemed to like it. So, one showing today turned into a 2nd showing and then another showing. That was great!

The renters want the house but they are being very kind and letting me wait to see what happens with the showings we had today. They would like an answer by Wed. I am thrilled. I feel so relieved to know that they want our home to rent, and relieved to see the market pick up. I would want to sell it now, but maybe we do need to wait!

Decisions decisions decisions! God is in all of it.

AMAZING GRACE

I am all about the rapture right now. How cool would that be for us to be raptured on November 5th! ha ha I am just praising the Lord for this day and not worrying about tomorrow. I am thankful to see the gas prices come down, the Dow Jones go up yesterday, and the sun staying in the sky. I can only count on the Lord to be consistent!

Halleluiah! Praise the Lord. Get in your prayer closet and praise Him for everything. I am going to love on my kids even more, praise God harder, pray consistently and resist the evil one. I am going to bless others and honor my husband. I love the Lord and am unashamedly a Believer in Jesus. WOO HOO! Come Lord Jesus COME!

TO Rent or NOT to Rent????

Well, the Radio Station guy came over during the weekend and I haven't heard from him. I got the sense that it was out of their price range, but also there were other factors. The Christian radio station where he just joined, completed their Sharathon in which they raise their budget. They earned about 570,000 but are short over 230,000. So I am not certain that his job is real stable at this time. SO I am praying for him!

But, Today is the day in which our house listing has been on the market for 6 months. Therefore, we had to decide to list again or to do it on our own. OR RENT???? So, we have decided to list again and open up to the idea of renting. Praying we get some movement over the weekend! My God is able.

Greg moved in to the new house on post in Atlanta on Wed. He is so much happier there. But, he is concerned about the size (it is quite small in comparison to where we live now). But, we are able to handle it for only a short time (2 years or less). Bekah goes off to college in 10 months (AHHHHH!@!!!!!!) and so we should be fine! We are just looking foward to being able to be together, be on the military post and homeschooling again! Halleluiah!

A possible silver lining

So here it is - last Wed and I get the urge (whatever you want to call it - leading from the Holy Spirit) to call the Christian Radio station and ask for prayer for the house to sell. I call, but no one answers. I call again and again but I don't get through. So, I forget it. The next morning, I am "urged" to call again. I get on the phone and make the call. This time, no one answers. I decide to call back and the phone rings and rings but is finally answered. I tell the person on the other line my request to have my house prayed over for the sale. Get this....

He further asks about the house which I thought odd. He then asks its location and some other information like, "would you be willing to lease it?" Shocked I told him I would prefer to sell but would consider renting. Sure enough he is in the market for a house and he currently resides at his in-laws home right down the street (about a mile!)

Fast Forward to Saturday. I hadn't heard anything from him since but didn't get concerned. I am at peace about the house (well, most of the time) and decide that I will just wait. Greg on the other hand, has been praying like a maniac for this opportunity and sure enough, at about 1:00p we get the call from the radio station guy - he is in the neighborhood and would love to see it. He comes with his family and checks out the house. Still praying for the sale, but they are praying about it.

If nothing else, we had a wonderful 45 minutes of sharing with this lovely family. They too homeschool their children and we had the joy of sharing experiences. They were so sweet. We were truly blessed to meet them today and I pray we might remain friends regardless. God is truly in control and we completely KNOW He understands where we are and is using this for our own growth but now I believe for the growth of others. I have been able to share my story of trust with a lady at work who is completely amazed at my peace. I openly share how the Holy Spirit has worked in the situation and she is really interested in what I have in Him! So, I am grateful to share with her my faith.

The Lord knows and I am completely trusting despite my own personal, selfish confusion! God is so good and i cannot complain. He has always proven faithful.

Weeks just keep ticking on by....

It is now September 18th.... It is shocking to me that the kids will have been in school now for 4 weeks. Actually a little more than 4 weeks. I am so determined to get them home soon but I just cannot do so until we have either a renter or the house sold. It kills me to think they will spend a school year in public school. Although the school is great and I am pleased with the work output of Sarah, I am discontent as I am the one to be teaching her.

I know things will be normal again someday. I know it isn't as long as I FEEL it is going to take, but the day to day waiting can be painstaking. The Lord has been very kind and I have been stretched in my faith beyond my expectation. I do trust Him and I do trust that He knows what He is doing through all of this. I am certain I will look back on all of this and see the Hand of God. I just wish I could see His hand right now - moving and working. Until then, I just wait. What else can I do?

The kids are doing very well in school. I am very pleased that they have adjusted to this craziness with such finesse. They are truly amazing children. They are both far more resilient than I ever imagined.

Work has been great. I truly love what I do. I am so thankful for this job and the opportunity to help families. (I would rather be helping my own, but I am grateful for my training)! I have so enjoyed my new school and going back to my old school to work with the staff there was very comforting. It is a "known" and that makes my transition back to work, easier. I am in the process of getting my credentials in line for a position in GA. I am hoping to do some work there for the school district on a contract basis. That would be very flexible but allow me to make some extra spending money in the process! That is always nice.

Greg continues to make the trek back and forth from Atlanta home each week. He shared with me that he gets very excited on Thurs nights as he knows he gets to pack and be ready to leave the house for the weekend on Friday morning. That makes him happy and I am excited for him. I know it is hard on him to be away but I know the Lord is going to use that time to work on Greg. I don't want any learning opportunities to be missed. So, if it takes weeks, months, (God forbid) years to teach us - then let's get started. Until we learn, we remain!

God is truly our Savior. He knows so much more than we can imagine and we have to just sit in awe of His grace and mercy.

Another Week to Trust God

Well, it is the 8th of September and I am just amazed at what the Lord has done in only a few short months. He has given me breath to praise Him, Words to honor Him and a Life to serve Him. What more could I ask?

This Monday is a day that I am thrilled to say that I KNOW the Lord is going to do something amazing. I can just feel it. I KNOW I serve a God who hears, knows and is in control. Can I get an "Amen sister?"!

Greg is home

After 2 long weeks away, Greg has returned home for a long 4 day weekend. The kids are happy to see him as am I. We have just laughed and played today. Actually, in the morning, Greg got to go with us to take the Sarah and Zach to school. He had the chance to relive his childhood by walking down the halls of this very neat school. The teachers were very friendly and he even got to meet the principal. She was flattered by his compliments to the staff and the school.

After they were dropped off, we just enjoyed the morning with coffee at MacDonalds. Nice to just get to talk to him again without kids interrupting. Greg hates that (I am so used to it I don't even notice it) and so this was a pleasant morning. We talked about "stuff" and it was nice. The Cubbies are in first place along with the White Sox. We joked about a Cubs/ChiSox world series. That would not be fun.

I took Bekah around to look for jobs and get a new phone as hers was having technical difficulties. She then went to Best Buy to apply for a job. Getting back on the internet, she applied at Bloom and then at CVS!

We pray we have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and praise God that we can be together, even for only a few days.

TOTAL CHANGES in the Hutchinson House

Wow! A whirlwind has occurred in the house. So many things have changed in just 7 days. Last weekend, while doing the bills I realized that we just couldn't make it each month while waiting for the house to sell. So, I sent an email to my previous boss to see if there was some contract work to be had. That very same morning, a psychologist had resigned and my boss didn't know what to do. I was an answer to her prayers! Who would have thunk? I was an answer to someone's prayers. She asked when I could begin work and I said I could begin on Wed. So I am not employed Tues, Wed and Thurs of each day.

Well, this was a Monday and on Tuesday, I thought I had worked out a solution with my daughter teaching my youngest. But Tues morning, after only being in school now for about 7 days, she gave me an ugly fit about doing some basic math. I thought, "How in the world is my oldest going to do this?" So, I took Sarah to the local public school and enrolled her and Zach. That took everything out of me, but I know it is for a short time. Sarah is learning that she will be happy to return to home schooling! AS will I!!!

So, work began and life has had a few bumps in trying to figure out getting up schedule, making lunch schedule, and car riding vs. bus riding. It is going well so far and we will continue this until the Lord tells otherwise.

We remain praying for the Lord to sell the house as soon as possible so we can be together again. I have looked into working in the GA public schools so that we can move to Atlanta. Greg will take possession of a home on post on or about October 1st. This is great news but also sad news that he will be in our house without us. So, I am praying for a position in GA that I can get there quick.

Well, that is the craziness. Greg's grandfather is also struggling with cancer and he is there visiting him and hoping to share the Lord with him. May JB be open to the healing of Jesus.

Stress and Decisions must be Given to God

Well, the long awaited arrival of Bekah home from Romania was nearing and we were getting anxious here at the house. The kids and I were watching the computer hourly because we could watch her plane and where it was located over the Atlanta as she flew the 10 hour flight to JFK. We were thrilled to see it nearing NY and then the craziness hit. Apparently bad weather sent the plane to Hartford, CT. Unfortunately CT does not have customs so they could no deplane. Rather they sat there for 2 hours to refuel and wait for clearance.

They got it at about 9pm and then flew into JFK at 10:30pm. Bekah's connection had long left or long been cancelled by this point (we aren't really sure what happened to it). But, she went through customs quickly thinkng there might be another flight. Well, she got in line at ticketing, along with the other 500 passengers stranded already. No food on this side of security mind you! The line creeped along, if you can call it that, and she finally got to talk to ticketing at 5:30am!!!! I got on the phone with the man and told him of my concern that she was sitting OUTSIDE of a secure area, but he didn't care. His response, "She's old enough." Old enough for what immediately went through my head, but keeping my composure, I pushed for assistance to no avail. She was stuck. THey would not give a boarding pass until 6 hours before her flight (that was currently scheduled for 4:25pm!!!!!!!) Not being a patient mother (or person, in general). I continued to call Delta over and over to get some help. Finally about 10:15am I was greeted on the phone by a woman who understood my pleas as she too had a 16 year old daughter and could completely relate. She got my daughter wait-listed on 2 flights that were due in well before her 4:25 departure.

Bekah attempted to get on the first one but it disappeared into thin air. That plane was no where to be found. So, she went to the next one at 1:55 to arrive at 4:34. SHE GOT ON! She was number 15 on the wait list, but they got her on! I was so excited. Unfortunately it ended up not taking off until 3PM and arrived into ATL at 5:56pm! baggage was, however, no where to be found.

I am glad to report, the bag just arrived at my front door as I type! Halleluiah. Bekah and her dad arrived home from ATL at about 11:30pm last night. My daughter was safe and sound asleep in her bed. It was good to have my family all together.

As much as my 2nd oldest daughter, Rachel, didn't miss her oldest nemesis, I know she was happy to see her this morning. THey have a love/hate relationship that will carry them through any tough times to come. Sarah, she made signs for Bekah's return and was disheartened when she was told to go to bed at 9:45p because Daddy had stopped to have a sit down dinner with Bekah instead of fast food drive through so Bekah could get home to her momma (or maybe so her momma could see her baby - not sure which takes precedence but you get the idea!) Zach had prayed for Bekah each night and anxiously awaited her arrival until it was time for him to go to sleep as well.

What the Lord did in this girl's life is going to be seen throughout her lifetime. I know she was eternally changed by this. I am so grateful that she could have this opportunity. I am grateful to the Lord for his provisions of finances, opportunity and safety. He is so good and worthy to be praised! Be a blessing to others. Always.

The vacation is over

Well, we made the dutiful call to the military doctor to see what the results were for his blood culture. Unfortunately, he is clear! ha ha. Just kidding. Sort of. He now must go to Atlanta tomorrow to go to work. At least it wasn't a Thurs and then he would have to go down there for just one day!

We will miss having Greg around all the time. He has been far less stressed and as relaxed as he will ever get! ha ha. we have played downtown, cleaned out the garage and read lots of books to the kids. It was a blast and a month we won't forget.

Bekah is in Romania for 10 more days. She is learning a lot about the Lord and we are so thankful. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for her in the coming months.

Rachel is making lots of money babysitting. She is rolling in the dough. She also made us so proud in that she washed windows of neighbors to make 200.00 to send to China for the earthquake relief. How cool is that?

Sarah continues to make interesting choices. She doesn't like to do anything difficult which fits well with her name "Princess." She will avoid any work and it makes life around here difficult. yet, she has the most tender heart towards her siblings. I am so pleased to see her love on Zach.

Zach is just a trip these days. Testing the limits whenever possible. So fun!

We enjoyed 18 years of marriage yesterday. God is truly great to get us this far! ha ha

New to Blogging

Well, I figure since we move A LOT, it makes sense to keep in touch via blogging for those that do not facebook, myspace, IM or call. Since I have no idea what my email addy is going to be when we move to Atlanta, why not set up a blog that will always be there?

I am excited to keep in touch with those that already blog but even more excited to make sure I maintain relationships that are important to me. Please sign up for my blog so you can get an email when I update it. Also, you can contact me via my blog! Cyberspace is the greatest meet-up place!

blessings to you!