Settling In

We have settled in now- we've been here for almost 2 weeks, and it really doesn't take long to get used to a place. Maybe having moved 17 times in 18 years of marriage helps! Our days this week have been good- filled with worship and some school work. We drove to Beech Mountain on Wednesday to sled. The Chamber of Commerce over there makes snow if they don't have any natural snow. The kids had a blast again and were on the slope for 4 hours!!


We made a quick stop at the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis on our way home (we love the store in Greenville SC). They have all kinds of old fashioned candy there, and so we all picked a few pieces to hold us over to supper.


It has been really cold the last couple of days- it was 3 degrees when I got up this morning. The house is cold in the common areas, but the bedrooms are really warm, so I stayed there some of the afternoon (and yes I did take a rare nap!)

We are hoping that we can form some really great habits while here that will carry over when we get home- morning devotions and evening worship for one thing. I hope that the dailies don't get in the way of that when we come off of the mountain.

We arrive...

We arrived at our Sabbatical on Monday with only a few minor distractions. The battery in my car was dead when I went to start the car, so a trip to Joey Watkins Automotive was in order. Thankfully, the AAA guy came really quickly. Next, I had to take our dog Tory to the Dyess’ for R and R. Tory tore her ACL last week- don’t ask! Apparently, that happens a lot in dogs. Finally, after loading two cars with everything that we thought we would need for a month, we were off. The drive took 5 hours with an hour for lunch. My friend Dana and her kids went with us since Roger was leading worship in Texas until Wednesday night. When you are traveling with 5 kids ages 4-14, an hour lunch ensues. Everyone must go potty when you get to ChickFilA and everyone must go when you leave!!
We arrived in Blowing Rock North Carolina to two days of pouring rain and wind that we thought might take the roof off of the house that we are staying in. We are on TOP of a ridge! Good thing the brakes on my car are good shape! We have been so completely blessed with a very comfortable home with gorgeous views. We have already spent time just watching the cloud formations move around in the valley below us.
We were very excited on Wednesday night when the rain turned to snow! It was so beautiful- the kids loved it and had a great time throwing snow at each other. (Except for Ella (age 4) who stood in the front yard crying because she had snow in her eyes! We helped her out and all smiles again!)

Thursday afternoon the Webbs left for sunny and warm Georgia, and we took ourselves to Wal-Mart for sliding equipment. (In Maine we learned that it is sliding- not sledding, which makes a lot of sense because we very rarely use a sled!) The kids spent a great afternoon sliding down hill on various pieces of sliding apparatus.


Roger joined us at the end of the session, and then we headed back to the house to show him where we will be staying.Friday morning, I used the magic words to get the kids out of the bed- “anyone who wants to go sliding must get up now!” I have only seen Sam move that fast once before and that was with a promise of a ChickFilA breakfast! The sliding was even better after a night of icing, and they all spent the better part of the morning going down the hill.


We are so glad that Roger made it here safely, and he is decompressing now and getting relaxed after a busy couple of months. We are so looking forward to rest and relaxation, but mostly to the contemplation and study of God’s word without the usual distractions. Family worship and devotion times have been super, and we all feel better connected to our Lord after only 5 days.

Sabbatical

sabbatical (from the Latin sabbaticus, from the Greek sabbatikos, from Hebrew shabbathon, i.e., Sabbath) is a rest from work, a hiatus. Our family is blessed! My husband is the pastor of a wonderful, loving, and godly congregation who gifts us with a sabbatical every two years. We have been at the church now for three years, so it is about time that we took advantage of this perk!
Tomorrow we leave for our month of spiritual retreat and rest. A family in our church has offered us their mountain home in Blowing Rock NC for the month of January, so we will be in a beautiful place hoping for snow! We are so excited about having our batteries recharged and being able to seek God and His will for our upcoming year.
We will update you from the road- though we will have to drive for an internet connection. I pray that as your year begins, that you will be able to take some time to seek His face as well!
Grace and Peace!!

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. Psalm 23:2-3