Moving: Part 2, Saying Goodbye

On Memorial Day, we went for a walk by one of the rivers, enjoying the sunshine (that arrives so late in Pittsburgh each year).

On one afternoon, the girls & I visited Aunt Marion, who was temporarily staying in a nursing home for rehabilitation on a hip injury. Aunt Marion is the only sister of my late Grandma Betty.

One of the children's special requests was to have one last visit to Kennywood Park before moving. This ended up being Gabriela's birthday treat, since her birthday was spent packing our house a week later. Jon, Kaitlyn and Zach went with us.

Mom and Daddy met us at Kennywood, as well as our "nephew", EJ. It was so fun having them with us, and Daddy LOVES rollercoasters!

Zach & Jon had a moment of silliness with the prizes won by Craig & EJ at the basketball toss.

Several people stopped by our house on our last day in Pittsburgh, including "Aunt" Paulette, who was smitten by our cute little Penelope.

We were especially excited to see our great-niece, Ava (who apparently wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest of us). We don't see much of her, now that she lives in NC.

Kaitlyn has been such a blessing to us. She's a wonderful friend to Caelyn, and our entire family has come to love her and Zach as our own. The two of them, as well as Jon, spent an entire week coming to our house in the evening to help us pack.

To loosen things up a bit, the guys had a wrestling session in the living room. 

It's not all fun and games with these guys. They carved out intentional time to get into the Word of God together, even in the midst of moving.

We were so grateful for the meal that Kaitlyn fixed for our family. She's a very thoughtful and generous friend.

Gabriela worked so hard on packing her own room and helping in other areas. Kaitlyn & Zach thought it would be fun to give her a manicure and pedicure.

Our time in Pittsburgh was rich with fellowship and fun experiences. We thoroughly enjoyed our neighborhood in Mt. Lebanon, and it was wonderful to spend time with family, even for a brief season.

It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone, but we are thankful for this new chapter in our family.

Looky!

These! Are in. My! Yard!

At long last, spring is making its debut in Pittsburgh, just before we move.

God is good.

Yeeeeeee-Haaaawww!

"In his heart a man plans his course,

but the Lord determines his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

I can still recall the day when Craig received his assignment to his first duty station, and he called to tell me that we'd be moving to Ft. Ord, CA. I was ecstatic! A small-town Pennsylvania girl like me would be moving to California!
When we left Reno, NV on the final morning of our LONG drive there, I insisted on being the one behind the steering wheel on that pivotal moment at which we officially crossed the state line. It was somewhat anticlimactic to still only see mountains and highway for miles and miles, but the scenery was very beautiful.

That was our first move together as a family. To date, we've had fifteen mailing addresses.

Along our nomadic path, Craig seems to have viewed each new location as merely a stepping stone back to our Pennsylvania starting point. I, on the other hand, have viewed all of the transition as "The Adventures of Craig and Dayna", with our children as our supporting cast.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to me, has signified "The End of the Road", and consequently, the end of our grand adventure. After all, there's a whole world out there to explore!

In 2008, when we made our pilgrimage back to Pittsburgh, I was sure that it was The End. However, God had another plan for us, and we found ourselves, ten months later, moving to Maputo, Moçambique. There, we experienced very high highs and rather low lows; but it, too, was a grand adventure. The Lord used that time to bring me to a place of submission to His will, and I no longer felt bitter toward the idea of living in Pittsburgh.

Since returning here last summer, we have been richly blessed with many wonderful memories made with family and friends -- not to mention a LOT of good food!

Recently, however, it became clear to us - despite Craig's efforts to remain here - that God has plans for our family elsewhere. In just a few weeks, we will be packing up and taking our African dog on a new American adventure in the southwest.

We have visited Houston, TX, several times to spend time with extended family there. We've always enjoyed our visits, and briefly entertained the notion of living there a few years ago. The timing wasn't right then, and the door was closed to us for a season.
That door has recently swung wide open, and with joyful hearts, torn over leaving our beloved extended family here, we will march right through!

For the march, I'd love to don these beauties (or at least an affordable knock-off version):

Doing My Best

This is a big day here in the city of Pittsburgh. Steelers fans are passionate about their team -- our family, included. I must admit that I, personally, have never been a very loyal fan, but it's hard to resist being swept away in all the excitement. 


In a city where many people -- even women! -- wear Steelers jerseys to church, my pseudo-southern sensitivities are somewhat offended. (It's quite vexing really.) I've decided to wear black and gold today as we join friends to watch the Super Bowl. That I'd even do this is noteworthy, considering the fact that I've never even worn team colors to our son's football games. 


Where I actually attended. 


And he actually played. 


Our son. 


Who came from my body.


Choosing game attire has been a bit of a challenge for me. I own plenty of black, but other than a (very cute summer) skirt that I stole inherited from one of our daughters, I have nothing yellow. Although I find them appealing, I avoid yellow clothes, for the most part, because I'm... well... yellow. It's just wrong for me.


Thanks to one of our daughter's sweet friends, I do have a metallic gold scarf that should work just fine, I think, for today's festivities, along with one of the magnetic bracelets I bought a while back in the Strip District.


And here's the final ensemble:

The bracelet and scarf don't really match, but hey! It's only a game.

I'm a Country Girl at Heart, But...

Don't be deceived. Craig's no coffee drinker. This is tea.

... the city certainly does have its perks! I think that I've mentioned 21st Street Coffee in the Strip District before. No visit to The Strip is complete without making this our first stop -- especially since the roasting chamber of my coffee roaster was accidentally shattered earlier this week. I was not only in need of a cup of coffee yesterday morning, but I also needed to buy some beans to carry me until my new chamber arrived. (Incidentally, the package was by our door when we returned home yesterday.) I ended up buying the Otoño blend. 

We stopped at Penzy's for some empty bottles for the spices I bought on our last trip.

 The street food was quite tempting, but we had a plan in mind.

We really miss mangoes. I romanticize about becoming a locavore, but I just can't help myself. When I see a good deal on mangoes, my desire for smoothies drives me to the checkout.

This guy claimed to have the "best fresh bread in the 'burgh". Hmm. Well, maybe the best purchased fresh bread in the 'burgh. He hasn't been to our house. Still, I give him credit. It all looked tasty, and he was very enthusiastic.

This was our plan. Craig hadn't yet been to the Smallman Street Deli, so we planned our trip around meeting friends there for lunch. (Somehow, our friends didn't make it into any photos this time. Sorry, Tom, Amy, & Levi!)

Filet Mignon Sandwich

The sweetest little teenage girls sold me this irresistible scarf, and I just had to buy these magnetic bracelets. I regretted not buying more of these before leaving Moz, so I was quite pleased to find them in the 'burgh. At first, I only bought the yellow and brown ones. As we were driving off, I realized that they almost matched the scarf. My wonderful husband agreed to return quickly so that I could add a green one to complete the set. What a guy! He understands a girl's need to accessorize properly.

I am always cold these days, so when we were admiring the wares of an Ecuadorian vendor and chatting with him about his goods, his former home, his children, our children, etc., I was smitten with this hoodie. It's perfect for wearing around the house to keep warm while trying to save on energy costs.

After making homemade pizza with my new friend, Esther, in her kitchen, I decided that I need a wooden pizza peel. The one I use has a metal paddle, which makes transferring dough a bit of a challenge. I found using Esther's peel much easier. I searched high and low (literally) until finding one at the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. It was "high" above the produce display. I noticed it while standing in the checkout line. Craig Grayson reached one for me, and here it is! I plan to put it to use this afternoon. It's been a while since I've pulled out my pizza apron.

Shabbat Shalom!