Locksmith

I snapped a key in our front door so we called a locksmith. When he arrived I realized I had used him before. He remembered us, too. He's a christian, they have 4 kids and they homeschool. He and his wife just went to the same conference we did. Joseph was very intrigued about everything he was doing, so he took him to his car to show him his tools and Joe watched while he made us some new keys. What a neat job!

Making Progress

Our computer is now en route to HP. We had several issues getting the info off of it, but now (I think) the problem is solved. I am itching to get some new pictures up on here. The boys are growing by the day. They hardly look like the little boys in the top banner.

I have gotten a breath of fresh air with unpacking. We are getting so close to getting everyone unpacked, then it's on to the fun stuff, decorating :)

Andy is still looking for a job, nothing interesting as of late to report.

Seems like all the same news, just a different day, huh?

We had a great trip up to MD to see Gigi, GranRan and Mimi. It was so nice to get away and visit with family. We feel so blessed to have them so close. And are so excited to have Julie even closer! She'll be moving back to Charlottesville in a few weeks to finish out her last year of undergrad here at UVa. We just cannot wait to have her so close to us. We have her room all ready and waiting for her in case she decides to come back early, hint hint.

You all are being so patient with the lack of posts. I promise I won't disappoint once our computer is up and running.

Off to make some biscuits for our fresh black berries we got at the farmer's market! Yum. Just another reason why we love C-ville. A farmer's market Wednesdays and Saturdays!

Dada Is Home

His first flight got delayed so he missed his second flight, but was able to get on a later one. Samuel of course knew Dada was coming home, so wanted to stay up. He finally got to bed around 1am and we got to bed around 3. Then, both boys were up at 7:45. We're tired to say the least, but packing must be done.

Unfortunately, for some strange military reasoning Andy has to leave today instead of tomorrow to head down to VA. He doesn't have to drive the whole way, but just start his journey. He's only going to drive a little and then get a hotel. But, not of course before he gets a good nap in. He's doing his honey do list right now and then once he's done, he'll be off to lala land, Samuel willing of course.

Next week I think is going to be much harder than this week since he missed Andy so much and then he'll be leaving again after only being home such a short time. Pray for the little guy that he doesn't break down. And for me that I keep my patience if/when he does break down.

We're so close to moving day. Our anticipation is growing every day. All of this is so worth it!!!
Considering what the alternative would be (gone 12 months) we are so thankful that this will be our only family separation for awhile.

Please be praying for Andy's job situation. The career counselor position at the University was already through their initial interviewing round when they received his application and they said he was more than welcome to submit a resume. Well, he did, and then when he called back to talk they said that, yes, the job is still officially open and they will accept resumes, but they believe they will hire someone from the group that they have already interviewed. Needless to say, that doesn't seem like it's an option. He's applied to several others, but isn't excited about any of them.

I can only begin to understand what a man must feel having to provide for his family. The responsibility is so great. This world puts such a huge emphasis on men's jobs and how their resume is evolving, it's so hard to not get swept up in the mess. Andy does not know where the Lord is leading for this next job so the looking and application process have not been easy.

We are standing on his truth: Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Thanks to those of you who are praying. They are being felt. Transitions are not easy, but knowing the Lord is in control is exciting and we are eager to see what his plans are for us in VA.

We'll keep you posted.

And, He's Off!

Andy had his last day of work here in Indiana on Friday. They had a party for him at the office. It's sad to see this part of our lives coming to such an abrupt close. It's not Martinsville we will miss, though, it's the people. And fortunately, we will be able to keep in touch! But, at the same time we are very excited about what's to come.

We dropped Andy off at the airport way before the sun came up this morning so he could catch his flight to Kansas City, Missouri. He'll be there till Friday for training and then come home and head to Lynchburg, VA for another week of training. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks without him and having to pack for our trip. But, it will sure be an adventure!

He hadn't been gone for 20 minutes and we already had our first escapade. Since our entire town is flooded no grocery store is open, so on the way home from Indy I realized I should probably stop and get some essentials, since it doesn't look like anything will be open anytime soon, and they're calling for more rain. So, we find a 24 hour grocery store and I load the boys in the cart. I should have had my camera, it was hilarious. So here we are at 5:30 am and I'm grocery shopping with two babies. Samuel had on just a diaper and a pair of shorts. Andy had literally moved him from his crib to his car seat. I didn't have a wrap for Joseph, since I didn't think we would be going anywhere. We have a portable car seat carrier that I leave in the trunk for stuff like this. His real car seat is one of those that you cannot unhook from the base. So, I keep this other one in there just for times like these. So, Samuel was sitting in the grocery cart seat with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders and Joseph was in his portable car seat in the basket part of the grocery chart with groceries all around him. I guess it doesn't seem all that funny when I try to explain, but let me tell you, we were a site to see!

Andy took a self portrait at 4:15 am this morning of his freshly cut hair. He ended up having to cut it himself because of course he couldn't find a barber that was open in town. He use to cut it himself, but he wanted to guarantee it would look good for the next 2 weeks and he wasn't sure how well he would do since it had been so long. He did a great job, and didn't mess up a bit!

*Thanks Mike for letting us use your clippers! Not sure how we would have managed without them!*

This is the Short Version!

Mid-April I got a call from a man asking for Captain Eckert. My heart dropped to the floor. I knew this was not good news. It was a man asking if Andy had received the notification that he was being recalled for active duty with the Marine Corps. I told him we had not received the letter and to call Andy to discuss this issue further. I was in no mood to be asked anymore questions. Andy called back in a few minutes and told me the news. He had a muster on June 2 and there they would give him orders to report 5 months from then to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan for 12 months.

This was absolutely the last thing that we thought our future held. We had felt the Lord leading us to move back east more and more and within the weeks prior to the news Andy had been applying for jobs in the Charlottesville, VA area. We have attempted the groundwork for a move to head east a few times, but the Lord had never allowed such a move. We truly felt like this time it was the Lord who was leading. But, now what? Were we totally off base? We didn't think so one bit. The Lord had confirmed it in our hearts that he was preparing the way for us, and now it was time to go.

But, now we had an enormous roadblock. Not only could we not focus our attention on job applications and house hunting, we had to face the fact that just around the corner our family would be separated for an entire YEAR. So far from what we saw the future holding.

Andy has a contract of 3 1/2 years active duty and 4 1/2 years reserve time. He had just pasted his one year mark in the reserves in February. They can not recall you for active duty when you are in your first year of reserves and they cannot call you up when you are in your last year of the reserves. They called him up after 13 1/2 months! We don't have any friends that this has happened to, so we were clueless as to what to do, and where to go from here. Did we have options, or did he just have to go?

As time went on we started to find some alternative ways to avoid him deploying. He had to get another job in the reserves that would satisfy them enough so that they would allow him to do this alternative job instead of going. But, he had to find one quick. It had to be found, applied for, accepted all before this muster on June 2.

Time was not on our side.

While doing his research, Andy found a particular job that would allow him to finish up his reserve time here in the states and not have to deploy! There were plenty of jobs across the country so he contacted the persons in charge for the ones in Virginia. There were 3 openings in Virginia. He interviewed for the position and was offered the one in Roanoke, Virginia. This would allow us to live in Charlottesville and Andy would only have to commute 2 hours once a month. This seemed perfect. But, God had even a better situation in mind. The point of contact emailed Andy back and said that he had changed his mind, he was going to put him in the Lynchburg, VA position instead. This job is even closer to Charlottesville! It took a few weeks for everything to go through officially, but now we are on the other side of that mess. The sergeant that Andy was going through to help him out with this process said he had never seen an application go through so fast and that he was very lucky because he's heard that they are trying to not let this particular job be an option anymore for people to get as an alternative to deploying, since there is no chance of deploying! God was in every detail!!!

It went from thinking he had no way out of going, to now having a job in VA that would secure that he stays stateside for the remainder of his contract. Plus, now we have extra income as well from this job. And we just realized we can now have military health insurance coverage again as well. A huge blessing! Charlottesville is not a cheap town to live in so this will allow us to live close the the University of Virginia comfortably.

Andy's last day of work in Indiana is June 6. And if all goes well, the next week he will spend it in Kansas City, MO for a week of training with the USMC Reserves, and then the week after that he will be in Lynchburg, VA for another week of training. There are still a few unresolved issues about his week of training in MO, so please pray that he is allowed to go that week. We are discussing the option of me and the boys driving down there to Virginia with him so that we can start moving into our house.

A house?

Oh yes, the Lord provided an adorable house to rent!!! What seemed like the impossible, we found an affordable house close the the University of Virginia. This is practically unheard of this time of year, considering it's so close to when the students are leaving to go home for the summer and have already secured their homes for the next school year. Pretty much all of the decent houses and most of the not so decent places have already been taken. In our searching there was not much to choose from at all, but this house miraculously was available. The landlord said a few weeks ago the current tenants contacted him and said they were moving, totally unexpected. So he had to put it up on the market. He is faxing us the lease tomorrow so we can look it over, but if all goes well, it's ours!

We were originally thinking I would be looking for housing the week Andy was working in Lynchburg, but God had an even better plan! We are going to sign to start the lease on the 15th and by the end of June we will be residents of the town of Charlottesville.

Now.. why Charlottesville?

Andy went to school there and I went to school in Richmond, an hour away. We absolutely love Charlottesville. We spent as much time there as we possibly could. Since leaving we have always wanted to go back. It is a perfect location from SO many of our family and friends. And it is an absolutely perfect location for a million outdoor opportunities that we love. These are all sidenotes though.

Most importantly since attending UVA the Lord has continued to grow in Andy a desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the students there. He came into a personal relationship with Christ as a student and has seen both sides of how to live life, with and without Jesus as the center. He wants so desperately to share that gift of eternal life with the kids there. There are several Christian fellowships active on the campus and he intends on getting involved with a few of them and possibly interning with one next year and possibly being on staff with one of them.

That is our intent as of right now, but we all know, life changes. And what we thought the Lord was bringing us there to do, might not be. Kinda like our move to Indiana.

We moved to Indiana right after Andy got out of active duty in NC. We didn't know what exactly he should do as a job, all we knew was that we wanted to get away from the Marine Corps, far far away. It's not that we hated it, but after 2 deployments overseas and him missing the first 20 weeks of Samuel's life, he wanted nothing to do with an organization that would take him away from his family for so long. We moved to Indiana with all intentions of only staying here for 3 months. He always loved log homes and decided to take a course to learn how to build them. We thought it might possibly lead to him wanting to go into this profession, but after the course he realized that he loved the art, but did not want to pursue it as a career.

We were kind of at a loss. We knew we shouldn't just move somewhere just for the sake of moving, because we did not feel God directing us anywhere else but where we were. Andy got a job doing carpentry and we decided we would just sit tight here for as long as God wanted us to. The carpentry job was great. He learned a lot of skills and really enjoyed himself, but he missed working with people. He is a huge people person and he knew he wasn't using all of his talents doing carpentry. We found a job as a career counselor that seemed so up his alley. And after 6 months later, it really truly is. He loves it. He is so good at what he does. He has truly found a place where he is using the gifts that God has given him to benefit others.

I write all of this for one thing... Well, I guess two, to inform you, but also to share that there is a career counselor job available that we just found online right at the University of Virginia. This job seems like it is the perfect job for him. It says a master's degree is required, which he does not have, but he of course applied anyways. Please join us in prayer that the people reviewing his application will choose to interview him and then eventually hire him, despite a lack of a master's.

It seems like this strange move to Indiana and us being here for a year is starting to make more and more sense the more we see things unfold. Andy was able to get a career counselor position here in Indiana with little experience in the field. We know that was no mistake on God's part. He now has some background to apply for this job at UVA and coming out of the Marine Corps, he probably wouldn't have ever had a chance at getting the job, much less the realization of how much he would have loved doing it.

We can start to see how God's master plan is unfolding little by little. It's an amazing experience to see God working things out even better than what we could have ever imagined.

If Andy doesn't get this job, it will be alright. We will be disappointed, but we know it's for a reason. But, bottom line, this job or not, he needs a job. It is the last piece of the puzzle for our relocation. A big piece, yes I know, but we are confident that this is where we are being called, so we are confident, he will also provide a job. Until he gets a job he can work in Lynchburg in his Reserve job. There's a ton of flexibility with that job allowing him to work more than once a month if he desires.

I realize this was not a short version to say the least, but just be glad I didn't give you all the long version! Sorry to keep most of you out of the loop on all of this, but it was a tough situation and things were changing literally by the hour some weeks so it would have been hard to keep everyone up to date.

To say the very least we are thrilled that this move to Charlottesville is in fact in God's plan and that this reactivation threat only allowed him to move us there much quicker than we had even imagined moving. We could not be more excited about what God has in store.

Please keep Andy's job situation and our packing and settling in process in your prayers. Packing and moving with 2 babies under 2 sounds like quite a challenge to me. I can't say I'm looking forward to it! But, I sure am looking forward to being on the other side of this move!

100 Days Left

I am uploading all of the November pictures of Samuel to our shutterfly account today and found some cute ones of the past week so I thought I'd come on here and post them.

While I was at it, I thought I'd check on the countdown to baby Joseph's arrival. Much to my surprise, there are only 100 days left! I will be the first to admit, I am no longer a due date fanatic. Samuel's due date was set for July 9 and he didn't show up until July 17 and was no where near 'overdue.' He was 7lbs 1oz and neither of us had any signs of being too far along. But, I have to admit, that 100 days left is sure an exciting day to celebrate! Tomorrow I will be down to double digits!!!

With Samuel to take care of, the months have flown by. I can only imagine what the next 3 months have in store. We are so excited for the arrival of Joseph and for the chance to attempt a homebirth. There are a few reasons why we would have to transport to deliver in a hospital, but as of right now, I do not have any of those signs or symptoms. So, please pray for everything to continue to go smoothly. But, most importantly, please pray that we continue to seek the Lord in all of our decisions.

But, for now, enjoy our latest Eckert Escapades:

Samuel loves my headband. He tries so hard to get it to stay on. And with a little help from mommy he gets it 'just right.'


We surprised Daddy at work yesterday for lunch. We hadn't been to his office yet, and since he left his lunch at home, we thought it would be a great day to surprise him and bring it to him. Samuel had a great time exploring his office and stealing the hearts of all the women in the office.

To celebrate the 32 degree weather yesterday I thought it was only appropriate to make some baked potato soup. Winter = Soup, soup and more soup!!!

New Job - from Andy

I know Amy already posted about my new job, but here it is, from me. This is also my first blog in months. I got discouraged because I never learned how to write short posts. It has always taken me forever to write a post and I just couldn't justify spending so much time on it, so I quit. But now I am going to try to write one post each week, on whatever I think might be good to say.

Anyway, I got a job at the Indiana Employment office, as a Career Counselor. Amy described the basic purpose of my job perfectly. I am enjoying spending my work day helping people directly. I think that is what I like doing best. I've never been a big fan of "customer service", ever since my days as a waiter (only job I've ever been fired from) when drunk people would threaten me with physical abuse if I didn't get them their next beer in two seconds. I don't like dealing with people who whine and complain and think that everyone owes them something. But so far, I haven't seen too much of that in this job. For the most part, the people I have worked with genuinely need the services we offer, and are appreciative of what we can do to help them.

Much of the time, career problems are only the tip of the iceberg. I find myself daily wishing I could do more than just help them with their careers, but there are undoubtedly limits to the type of help that would be appropriate for me to give in my official capacity. Suffice it to say, people need the LORD to intervene in their lives BADLY.

For example, little babies need a mom and a dad who love them unconditionally and are willing to subordinate their material greed and selfish ambition to their child's wellbeing. Instead, I see more parents who view their children as hindrances that require babysitters so mom can "get out of the house and do something" (like a full time job). How about being a good mother to your children? I better not even get started down this road if I want to go to bed tonight.

Anyway, I see things like this on a daily basis that get me really fired up. You could help me by praying that I will channel my indignation into surrender and prayer. I am learning that God is the only one who can do His work in the world. All any of us can do is be willing vessels through which he can operate as he chooses.

More next week.

A Congrats To Dada

Andy started a new job last week. He is a career counselor at an unemployment office. It's a government subsidized program that helps place people in new jobs or to receive grants to get some further education so they can get better jobs. He has loved it so far. He is an excellent counselor and truly has a heart for those in need. I think he's going to excel at this job very much.

Samuel made Dada a very nice sign:

I Am A Homemaker!

I don't have any other homemaker friends around. It's a hard life to lead with little moral support. It's a lonely life when there are no other women who share your biggest hearts desire. I have begun to gain encouragement from other women's blogs online. On in particular that I just found is Abbi's. She sees life through the same lens I do, and I am always rejuvenated when I visit her site. Today she had a great post about homemaking. Here is a quote from a book she is reading from John Seymour: Forgotten Household Crafts.

When a woman says she is a housewife she should say it with the utmost pride, for there is nothing higher on this planet to which she could aspire."

If I could only live every day as though I really do truly believe that, then all would be well in my world. I have no greater passion in life than to make our house a home and to give my family the best of everything I can provide. No mother's life is easy, that is for sure. We get down on ourselves and question if we are doing the best we can. I had a mother who did it all, worked full time and was the greatest provider a child could want. How am I seemingly struggling with staying home?! It's a mystery. But, when I'm having one of those days where I can't seem to get the confidence to convince myself that what I'm doing here is truly making a difference and that it matters to my family I have a loving Savior who reminds me:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

What a relief to know that I do not have to do it on my own. I have a Savior who is waiting to carry me along. He does not want to carry me along just when I am having difficulties on my own, but for me to find rest in Him every day of my life. I can't imagine a better solution to my problems.

Position Available

I desperately need a dishwasher! Or, ya know what, better yet, a maid! Any takers?

The last two weeks

We have held back alot of information in the past two weeks. When something traumatic and sad happens like Lutalo dying, our immediate reaction is not to blog about it, though Amy finally did after a few days. When that happened and compounded what I'm going to explain here, we were too overwhelmed with all that was going on to have the energy or desire to blog about it for hours. The lessons we learned from Lutalo's death (that Amy wrote about) can stand alone, but they make more sense when viewed in the big picture of how God is working in our lives right now.

Many of you know that we came to Indiana to attend a log building school, with the intent of getting a job in that trade upon the completion of school. You may also know that we have intended to stay here since the time I unofficially accepted a job offer from the teacher/owner of the school about six weeks ago. We like this area and we have found friends and good churches here. Everything seemed to be working out for us until we recognized that the situation at school and my future job was headed in the wrong direction. It isn't my purpose here to argue a great case for my decision, but we decided we needed to pull out of that situation right away - the school in week 9 of 12, and the job that would begin May 21st. Two Thursdays ago (the 26th), we followed through on our decision and found ourselves back at square one in the vocation/employment search. I hadn't had a job since February 1st, and wouldn't have had one until May 21st as it was, so we really were no worse off financially that we had been. The obvious choice would have been to start looking for log building jobs in other states, but to do so would have been to ignore the God who was behind and in control of the situation.

We felt God moving on our hearts more strongly in the week or so leading up to this change, and it was no coincidence that our year or so long interest in foreign missions was peaking. In the month or so prior to that, a number of things made me question whether I would really be doing what I had once thought I would this Summer. It was one of those feelings where you think you want something, but you just suspect that it isn't going to play out and you can see how that might be okay or even better than if it did play out. That is how I felt. Right before we made the decision to change course we identified it as a matter of obedience to God, not just a matter of what we thought we wanted or what we thought was best. It was as if God was saying "Get out, now, and watch what I do." We didn't argue.

So that is where we are - out of the old situation but still in Martinsville, Indiana. We know that God isn't calling us to go somewhere else for log building right now. We believe he has something for us right here, and we trust him to reveal it to us in his time. We are learning that God's plans for us are always bigger than what we plan for ourselves, and we know during this time of transition and uncertainty he is looking for our trust and unconditional obedience.

Who would have thought that three days after our obedience in this matter God would have allowed Lutalo to be taken from us? We wouldn't have, but even in that we see him transforming us into the people he wants us to be. Since that time a housing situation we had only dreamed about has become available, and I am pursuing a job opportunity that is far more than meets the eye. I will write about it later when I know more, but suffice it to say this is a time of rapid growth and change in our lives, by far the most exciting one we have ever experienced.

Lutalo

We've avoided writing this post since Sunday, but I just want to get it over with... There's no easy way to form these words.

As Andy wrote awhile back, we have felt the call to missions more and more heavily the past year. Well, one of our biggest worries has been what is going to happen to our animals if we are called to a place they are not welcome. This has been a serious issue with us, since we are such avid animal lovers. The Lord has really used this whole missions issue to help us realize what we are placing as modern day idols in our lives. Last Wednesday Andy and I went on our bi-weekly hike and were praying that the Lord would give us peace about the situation with our animals, and that if he calls us to missions that we trust he will have something good in store for them. We recommitted them back to him, acknowledging that these animals are not our own, but they have just been loaned to us to steward for the Lord. Our hearts were truly changed that night as we headed out of the woods. We had a fresh outlook on God's calling for us, and a peace that he had our best interest in mind. Little did we know what was to become of it.

Just 4 nights later Lutalo was hit by a car, and taken from us. Gamba was also hit, but is going to make a 100% recovery! Praise the Lord! We fought so hard as to why this happened, and what good could have possibly come out of this. Anger was definitely an emotion we were battling. We love these animals more than most people we know!!! And, that is what we believe the Lord is going to teach us through this.

When you are seeking God with all you have, he is going to bring to the surface issues you must overcome before he can use you in mighty ways. We are starting to believe that one of our issues is our overwhelming love for our animals is hindering our eagerness to possibly go where God is calling us. Once we recommitted these animals to him and reminded ourselves that they are God's creatures and not ours, we thought that was all that was going to happen. God sometimes wants us to offer him up something that we have been making an idol, and sometimes he gives it right back. He just wanted to know we were willing to give it up. Well, in Lutalo's situation, we gave him Lutalo, and he took him back! NOT what we expected or wanted.

But, this has been quite a learning experience. We feel like we are on the brink of something big in our lives, and the Lord has our undivided attention! As much as we love our animals, we do not want them to stand in the way of serving him and doing the work he has called us to do. When we commit something to him, we better be ready to back it up!

Since that night, things have been falling into place. We have a new apartment we are moving into that we are super excited about. It is on 75 acres of land that some honey farmers own. They have a Christmas tree farm on the property as well. It is in the country and away from traffic! I will also be working for them to offset the cost of our rent. I have always wanted a part time job where I can have Samuel with me, and have held out hope that it does exist, and here it is! We are excited to see what else the Lord has in store for us, because one thing we are certain of is that you cannot outgive God.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8