Hi dear friends and family,
Matthew and I are so thankful for each and every one of you and the ways that you have supported us, encouraged us, and loved on us throughout this entire transition process and move to Nebraska. . . .to say that we miss you all immensely is an understatement! So I thought I'd give a "Schulte Family Move Update" via pictures. . . .
On Monday (1/10), while Matt spent the entire day with the packers/loaders, I took the kids and spent the day with my dear, dear friend, Deb Hervey, and her sweet girls. I'm not sure how I managed not to capture any snapshots, but it was definitely the perfect way for the kids and I to spend our last day in the Chicagoland area--lots of playing, celebrating, and of course, tears. Thanks again, girls, for the surprise b-day party! After naps, I took JT back to our house so that he could see it empty. It meant a lot that Joshua's buddy, Calvin (below), and my dear friend Sarah stopped by to say good-bye.
During nap time I got a call from Matt, telling me that b/c the original truck we should have received broke down, we received another (older) truck that was 2 feet too short at the top, which meant that we weren't able to fit everything in the truck. When Matt called and asked me, "How would you feel about pulling a U-Haul behind the Jeep?" I looked at Deb, who confidently said, "You can do it!" to which I (without much thinking) replied, "I can do it!" Never did I ever imagine that I would drive 10 hours with my 16 mos. old daughter while pulling a U-Haul at 34 weeks pregnant! Thanks to Charles Ogborn who spent the afternoon helping Matt in our house and with the U-Haul! JT even got to "load" some of his own things into the U-Haul.
We spent the evening at the Hervey house with our small group--kiddos playing, yummy dinner, great fellowship. . . .and then Matt surprised us all with a Bebo Norman song followed by a surprise "dance party", which he's been wanting to do for some time (he's a great dancer. . . .I'm dance-challenged). Needless to say, the kids loved it.
Susannah with her sweet friend, Kara Wilkinson. Joshua will miss Sunday mornings with Kara's big sister, Jenna, who were always in the same class together.
JT with his buddy, Miles Lewis, both of whom LOVE trains. It made me tear up when JT was saying good-bye to Miles: "Miles, I'm going to miss you all of the time because I'm going to my Nebraska house." And so what a sweet surprise for JT to get a package at his "Nebraska house" from Miles--he loves putting together the puzzle of the two of them in addition to the sweet photo album of his buddies.
And of course, JT and Susannah with their triplet friends--Abigail, Amelia, and Madelyn. It is not uncommon to hear Joshua say of Abigail, "My LOVE Abigail." Susannah already misses all of the sweet attention from Amelia and Madelyn! And what a treat to receive some drawings from the girls for our fridge.
A very special thanks to the Herveys for letting us spend our last night in their home (and not on air mattresses in ours!). It was a snowy Chicago morning when we left--Matt drove the Penske truck and pulled our Vibe with Joshua, while I drove the Jeep and pulled the U-Haul with Susannah (I got some good "how to pull a U-Haul" driving lessons from Charles Ogborn!).
Let me introduce you to "Harvey", Joshua's FAVORITE stuffed animal that he got from the Hervey family. . . .whenever I got the chance to see Matthew and Joshua in the truck, I smiled, because all I could see was this big dog and Joshua's little head peeking from behind. Matt said that it never left his lap the entire ride (he sleeps with him every nap and at night!).
After a 10 hour drive, we finally made it around 6:30 PM! Thanks for all of your prayers for traveling mercies and safety. There were really only two major times when I got really nervous: 1) during Susannah's morning nap when she couldn't fall asleep and on and off for over an hour, put her arms out crying "Mama!" and 2) driving through Iowa when it got pretty windy and you have the visuals of 12+ jack-knifed trucks and 30+ cars in the ditch from the previous day(s) snowstorm.
After much prayer and having God's peace and leading for us to move to Nebraska, I began telling Matthew that because it seemed to me like there was a lot of land in Nebraska, we should live in a spot where there was lots of land. . . .well, God has sure spoiled us with an incredible backyard view! We love the morning sunrises and spotting of deer from time to time.
On Wednesday, (1/12) the Campus Life staff came over to help us unload the U-Haul and Penske truck (which actually never started up with the below 0 temps and had to be towed away!). We were so overwhelmed by their care for us on our first full day in Nebraska. I was also overwhelmed by the sweet b-day cards and calls from friends and flowers from Mom as I celebrated "35" on Thursday. Matt's parents took the kids that weekend so that we could have some time to unpack, although the kids and I ended up getting the stomach flu that's going around and so had to take it easy (our immune systems were already down due to these "coughs" we previously had, and then with me being pregnant and the stress of the move. . . .I'm just now on meds for bronchitis). Thanks, Steph and Gary, for caring for our sick lil' kiddos.
