My grandmother doesn't have email. She doesn't have a Facebook page either. I know what some of you are thinking, "How the heck do you keep in touch with her?"
Well, the truth is, I don't do a very good job of picking up the phone very often or sending her a note. So, for Mother's Day, while Claire was napping, I sat down and wrote her a letter. What I mean is, I took some real paper and a pen and ended up with a few pages to fold into an envelope, add a stamp, and put in a mail box. Yep, it was a lot more effort than I'm used to putting in just to communicate. But, it was for my grandmother, and she is so worth it!
Here is a picture of she and I on my wedding day. Isn't she lovely?
Anyway, as I finished it and let Tony read it, we both realized that the upcoming changes in our lives that I shared with her, might be of interest to you also. Here are a few excerpts from my letter to my "Abuelita".
Dear Lita,
WE'RE PREGNANT! We are expecting baby #2 this fall! Our due date is September 30th, but if the next one is anything like Claire, he or she will more likely come in the middle of October. Claire will be 20 months old then and we are hoping she will be as sweet to the new baby as she is to us. Now that I am past the first trimester, I'm more and more excited to be pregnant again. I have all of the usual symptoms (nausea, exhaustion, strange aches and pains), but now I am starting to feel the baby move a little bit here and there. It really is such a miracle and I am so thankful for our little family.
We do have other news... In just a couple of months, at the end of June, we'll be moving back to Washington. When we originally moved here to Wisconsin, we committed to help start this new church and stay for two years. Time has flown by, and it has been almost three years since we got here! The church, Great Lakes Church, is thriving with well over 1,000 people in attendance each weekend. It has been the adventure of our lives to be a part of what God is doing in this community, but now we feel like it's time for us to go. We both sense a real joy and peace about leaving, remembering that we didn't move here to make a name for ourselves, but to get this church off to a great start and then move out of the way so that other leaders could rise up in our place and take ownership of the vision. This is happening, and we couldn't be more excited!
We are sad, of course, to be leaving behind such great friendships we never imagined we'd have here. Our baby was born here, and though we had no family around us, our friends here took such good care of us and surrounded us with such love, it's hard to imagine Claire will mostly know them through pictures and maybe the occasional cross-country vacation. Still, this adventure will be as much a part of her story as it has been a part of ours. We hope she grows up knowing how much God loves her and how fullfilling it really is to live her life to worship him.
When we move back, we will be on to new adventures. Tony will begin freelancing as a graphic designer, honing in on his amazing talent and developing his portfolio. I couldn't be more proud of him. I will be working full-time for a church in Sammamish, Washington... Timberlake Church. Sammamish is not very far from where we used to live in Kirkland. Timberlake just so happens to need some help with their small groups, and there is hardly a thing I'm more passionate about. I'm a little sad that I won't be with Claire as much as I have been for the first year and a half of her life, but I am thankful that I've had this season and am really looking forward to getting back to full-time work.
We love you all so much and hope everyone is well. We'll send you our new address as soon as we figure everything else out, but my phone number won't change and I'd love to hear from you.
Love,
Michelle
