They say that time flies when you are having fun -but it also happens to go pretty fast when you start making drastic life changes! I guess that explains how I kinda lost track of June, July, August and September. Lots has changed for the Carlsons and here is a quick update for those who may have missed a few plays.
We started our summer early by skipping school and going to kids camp in Cedaredge, Colorado. Brian and I are both challenged when it comes to kids in mass but I think we held our own and got to make some great memories with our boys. At one point Brian was walking back from the showers and as he got to their room he could hear the other kids telling Jake and Josh, "Your Dad is awesome!" You can't plan (or buy) that kind of word of mouth ;)
The speaker at kids camp was Pastor Brian Henley, a church planter from Michigan. In addition to the amazing job he did all week with the kids we got to have a candid conversation with him about church planting. Brian H. told us about several lessons he learned the hard way (picking a funeral home as the launch venue) and a few things that were a must. One point he mentioned several time was the importance of having people on your team that were "all in". People who shared your vision and were willing to chase it whole heartedly with you.
This struck a chord with us. Six months before camp our amazing friends Ken and Jalee Rice left Denver to start the process of planting Vintage Church in McKinney, Texas. When Ken first told us about going to McKinney - we were immediately captured by the vision God had given them. At the time there was no open door for us to make the move to Texas and despite a longing to join the journey we had resigned ourselves to hearing about it from a distance. Coming back from camp to find Ken and Jalee in town giving an update on Vintage was a great surprise for us - we were excited to hear about what was happening.
During that weekend, Brian and I got to sit down with Ken and have a conversation that has started our own adventure. In that conversation Ken used a phrase, "the power of the ask" and an invitation to come be part of Vintage took root in hearts that had been prepared... at kids camp. By that point Brian already knew - we were supposed to be in McKinney - we were supposed to be Vintage.
And so began a crazy summer of watching God be BIG and faithful and miraculous.
Because Brian really likes the company he works for we started to think of ways that we could make a job in Denver compatible with living in Texas. We dreamed about how awesome it would be if Brian could stay with his company and work remotely. Because we still had the phrase "the power of the ask" in our heads we decided to be brazen enough to do just that, ask. Brian presented a proposal to his boss that detailed him moving into a new position and working from home in Texas. As June gave way to July we got a response that, to be honest, we were not expecting. Yes.
July became a crash course on McKinney. Research, rentals, school systems, real estate all led to a house hunting trip in the middle of July. We packed the kids into the van and left Denver on Wednesday evening, drove all night and then spent three days looking at houses (lots of houses). On Sunday we loaded back in the van and after a nap at the start of the trip (desperately needed by me to simply cope) Brian and I made a short list of the houses we liked. The first home we submitted an offer on is the home we are living in now - and we love it!!!
July is also the month my Daddy had a heart attack and multiple surgeries to stent the heart arteries. I was able to fly into Kansas City and then Cheri and I drove up to spend a couple days with the family. This is the first time that there has been a major medical issue for a parent and it puts new perspective on things. I was so thankful for time with them and with my siblings. One night Mom took us out to dinner at the Drake - Chere, Shawn & Amanda and myself. What a gift that night was - reconnecting and laughing and enjoying my brother and sister. I also got a chance to have lunch with Janelle and to say hello to James (these were my two best friends in high school) and it was really great to see their faces and hear how their lives our going.
After the house hunting trip we spent our last few weeks in Denver cleaning and packing and cleaning and packing and cleaning and packing. Around all that we tried to spend as much time as possible with the Denver people we love so much. Even thought we had only been in Denver for four years God had given us many "lifetime friends" there and leaving that was going to be really hard. To everyone who changed their schedule to see us extra during those last few weeks, Thank You so much. Brian and I love and miss all y'all so much!
On Thursday, August 20th we loaded into the van around 1pm and started the long drive to McKinney. We were packed to the gills with one goal in mind - CLOSING! Brian started the drive with an empty stomach and multiple large Red Bulls so he was starting to have the shakes by the first stop. A belly full of Subway and a nap helped to put him right and we traded driving back and forth. I happened to be doing the last two hours heading into McKinney at about 4AM in the middle of the most awesome lightning storm I have ever seen. Between bouts of worrying if the car top carrier was water proof or water resistant (it was not water proof and, truth be told, I don't think it resisted very hard either - sopping wet bedding and clothes) it was amazing to see the lightning strike so fast. By the time Brian woke up it felt like I had been driving under a strobe light and I needed his help to make sure I was really seeing the road correctly. After a breakfast at IHOP (which was so not good that it is currently banned) we headed to the closing site to take a nap in their parking garage.
Closing went well on our end - there was a glitch and a delay with the seller sending their documents so instead of getting the keys at noon we got them after 5pm. This meant we had possession of the house but no utilities till sometime on Monday at the earliest. Originally we were going to stay and clean and work on the house all weekend and then head out for vacation. No water makes cleaning hard and flushing impossible so at 5:30pm we decided to empty the van, reload it with vacation stuff and get back on the road. After a quick shower at the Rice household (Thanks again - no one wants a long van ride with stinky people) we were headed north to Minnesota.
In case you missed any of that the travel was
- Thursday - Denver
- Friday - Dallas
- Saturday - Minneapolis
Vacation was a week at Grandma Dee's house in the cities and then a week at Grand Vu lodge on Leech Lake. Both weeks were amazing. With Brian being between positions at work it was the first trip in a long time that he did not have to work through, he was not on call!!! The boys loved having Dad all to themselves and we had a great time together. A few highlights of the trip was taking the family to Valley Fair to celebrate Josh's birthday, Grandma Dee came and it was fun to hear the stories of how she would take Brian there when he was about the boys age. I also loved seeing the boys play with Grandpa Don - he is so proud of them and introduces them to everyone. There were several days with Jenny and John and all the cousins and we finally got to try the famous Perogi - homemade by Jen! Lake time is all highlight and I am so glad we got to spend time within the Krueger / Carlson clan. Fishing, swimming, eating, laughing, playing games --- all good!!!
After leaving the lake Brian and I headed to Burlington, Iowa for a few days at my parents house. Dad's health is stable but I wanted to take an extra opportunity to have time with him and Mom. We spent a day at Old Threshers - eatting, walking, laughing, looking. Dad rented a scooter so he could keep up with the grandkids and enjoyed it a little too much. I am half expecting one to become part of his everyday life - of course it will be a little more tricked out then the rental :)
We left Old Threshers to start the long drive home - to TEXAS!!! By this point we were ready to get home and work on getting settle in, curious to see what this new stage in life would hold.
Amazing friends had been in our house while we were gone, cleaning and getting it ready for our arrival. That made our first day home so much easier - just needed to touch up a few areas and we were ready to tackle unloading the POD on the next day. More friends came to lift, carry and sweat until the POD was empty. At one point I looked up and they had the antique Stickley dresser (about a gazillion pounds) over their heads to clear the bend in the staircase. Our friends ROCK!!!
Things are starting to settle in here at the Carlsons. We are mostly unpacked (you have to have a few boxes linger around for a bit), the boys are in school and making friends, Brian is sketching out the details of his new position, Alpha is up and going and Vintage is launched and now 3 weeks old. We can not even tell you how much we love being Vintage!!!
Life is good here in the new zip code and who knows, maybe things well settle down enough that I can blog a bit more often.
