The big move...

Today, my parents moved out of their house and away from a church family they have called "home" for the past 25 years and 2 months. I called my parents in the midst of it and asked my mom if she was sad and she said she was too tired to be sad! However, if I know my mom, I wager she's just putting her emotions aside for the time being. Two weeks ago, I wrote about our trip "home" to WV to be a part of the retirement celebration for my dad. He's been in full-time ministry as a pastor for 36 years, 25 of which were at Oak Hill Baptist Church. We moved there when I was 7, so I consider it my home place, where I grew up. The house we lived in was the church parsonage, which most churches these days don't have those anymore. Wow, the memories!! Not only just living and growing up in that house, but from the people and activities at the church. We had 2 former youth ministers come back to speak and that really was a trip down memory lane. These 2 youth ministers were my youth ministers from the time I was in 5th grade through the first 2 years of college. They had a great impact on my life. But the neatest thing was hearing all the people (them included) talk about how my dad had impacted their lives. I guess growing up, I didn't really know how much my dad mentored and discipled people and how much he loved on folks. It was evident from the people who came from near and far and from the ones who spoke, how much my dad invested in them. I'm thankful to have parents like mine!

And now, to reminesce about living in that house for so long... here are just a very few memorable things that happened, going from recent to long times ago.. I'm sure I could come up with a longer list, but it would go on and on and on and on....

In this house is where Stone spent his very first Christmas, where Kevin asked my dad for my hand in marriage, where I held my nephew for the first time, where we hosted many, many, fun gatherings, including our annual family Christmas with my mom's side of the family, where we had many of my friend's birthday parties just hung out, where my parents threw a surprise 16th birthday party for me, where we got snowed in through at least 2 blizzards, where we played in the snow and sled down the back yard and came in to a warm house afterwards and had hot chocolate with marshmellows, where we had the fireplace cranked up during the winter months and roasted marshmellows for smores, where we hosted some youth activities and events, where we took NUMEROUS birthday, graduation, prom, Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's and Father's Day, and just candid pictures (usually they were always in the same spots!!), where I remember bringing home my puppy Taffy and chasing her through the house, where my friend Jennifer came as a safe haven after her church was set on fire, and the list goes on. It will be weird not going back to that place when we travel to WV to visit. It will be weird not seeing the people from that church as often as I have been able to do for the past 15 years. But, I am thankful my parents are able to retire on a good note. I look forward to what God has in store for them. Hopefully, they will be able to visit us more! And I know dad will want to help fill in as a guest preacher or interim whenever necessary in the churches in his area. Goodbye to this new chapter and hooray to a new one....

This is a family picture taken the Sunday of dad's retirement celebration (4/22/07).