Next Steps

There have been many big days in the past month, but today was a truly BIG one! The packers arrived at 8.30 a.m. and quickly began to assemble boxes and assess our stuff. Stuff. Yikes. When you move you realize how much of it you have! Both guys were just great and were really good to have around. One was a bit allergic to dogs and we could see that Tanner might quickly become a nuisance and well, packing isn't Tanner's favorite thing, so we opted to simply put him in his crate, which he wasn't initially happy about but eventually accepted the arrangement. That worked well until they needed to pack the bedroom! So Doug took Tanner on a long walk and then he spent the afternoon into the evening in the kitchen. I must say, he was a remarkably well-behaved dog today with very little whining. Needless to say, he is a little mixed about what's going on.
So 90 plus boxes and 9 hours later, Stefan and Pelle drove away with our earthly goods stuffed or wrapped in cardboard. It was actually a huge relief as preparing to pack is a lot of work. It felt good to get rid of a lot of stuff but it's staggering that there are still 90 boxes filled to the brim! The rocking chair was one of the hardest pieces to pack and in the end, Stefan labeled it a rocket chair. Awesome. Can't wait to launch!

Truth be told, today wasn't too hard. It was actually a relief. We've been living with this reality for many weeks now and eventually you just have to live into it. So now that most of our stuff is on its way, it feels like a huge head clearing can take place and we only have a suitcase full of stuff to manage. Because our apartment was filled with a lot of church furniture and some kitchen stuff, we can stay here until we leave. We moved the beds from the extra bedroom into the master and are ready for the next 2.5 nights of sleep. Why 2.5 you ask? Well, Thursday morning, January 29, at 4.00 a.m. a mini-van taxi will arrive to transport us to the airport. Our flight goes at 6.25 and we need plenty of time to make sure we get the dog properly settled. Tanner will fly in his crate in the hold. Without problems, it'll be about 15 hours airport to airport and that should be OK for him. We'll fly on KLM via Amsterdam because it's only an hour and forty minute layover in Amsterdam and then we go directly to LAX.  Then we'll pick up a rental car and drive to Palm Springs. We land at noon CA time and anticipate being home in Palm Springs before dark. Can you say whirlwind?
So the next couple of days are filled with taking care of final details regarding banking and other matters related to moving overseas, turning in our phones and keys to church and closing our Immanuel email accounts. This is truly happening.
Overall we're excited. We've had some very tender moments with folks over the past couple of weeks and while we'll miss our loved ones so much on this side of the pond, it's time to set our sights on the future. We are confident that God, who began a good work in us, will bring it to His completion through his Son Jesus Christ. A good promise that we're holding onto as we continue this transition.
Thanks to so many of you who are praying for us, commenting on Facebook, or wondering how Tanner is weathering this season! We're all doing well but will be glad when the next BIG thing, the actual trip, is behind us.