Beth, Birds, and Beginning to Move

I'm a little late in sharing this good news online, but I am so excited to tell you about what the Lord has done, how He has provided, how He has blessed us yet again.

Some of you know that we have been praying for Beth to get into the same school in which Tali and Zac are already enrolled in South Africa. When we originally applied to this school, there was no room in the 3rd grade class for her. Beth had been accepted into another school, but our desire was for all of our children to attend the school which the other kids from the hub (where we will be living) are already attending. While both of the schools looked great online, we wanted to share in the 20 min (each way) carpool, share in more activities with the kids in our community and share in hopes that their friendships might be easier to develop. (You know it's really about that carpool for me -- ha!)

So Saturday morning before the kids woke up, we checked our messages and were surprised, relieved, and overjoyed with gratitude to God for providing not just a spot for Beth in the school of our choice in the 3rd grade, but also a message of an interested family/home for our bird.

Here is our bird Quinoa:

The family interested in adopting our bird sent us a long list of reasons why they believe Quinoa would be a wonderful fit for their family. Not only does this family know way more about birds than I have ever cared to know about a pet, when the mom came over to meet the bird, they bonded very quickly and Quinoa was singing and dancing for her soon after their introduction. It was like Snow White in my living room - she cooed, Quinoa flew to her finger, she tilted her head and they spoke in soft chirpy voices together. It was so lovely I was slightly annoyed that Quinoa was so quickly bonded to this new person so quickly. Why should I be surprised, this lady was also a certified foster for bird rescues and had a parakeet, by the name of Fugi, of her own.

The interesting thing is that our kids had put on a play and written a poem just a few months ago about how they really wanted our bird Quinoa to have a bird friend (second bird) to keep her company. Tali even drew a picture to show what kind of bird that Quinoa should be paired with, and their petition for adopting another bird was relentless for a week straight.

"Sorry kids, we're moving to South Africa. There's NO WAY we're getting another pet right now."

"PLEEEEAAASSSEEEEEE MOM AND DAD THEY'LL BE BEST FRIENDS!!"

Here is said picture:

And then here is Fuji, the bird who,

also, has been longing for a mate:

While we will continue to pray for this pair to be as happily ever after as Tali's photo depicts, we are so grateful to this family for being willing to care for and love Quinoa for us.

And moving. Moving is so hard. There are so many tiny little toys EVERYWHERE! And children just cannot stop making messes. Even if they clean their messes up, they just go and make another mess! We are outnumbered. We have decided that our children are not allowed to be at home anymore. This is why I must also priase the Lord for all of the amazing people that have been helping us move. Most especially Michelle and Danelle who have graciously helped care for our kids for many hours now and have helped keep their brains occupied on more important things than screens. Michelle also gets extra kudos for emotional support and extra cleaning assistance. Also big thanks to Annie for helping organize some important things for me, and Janice who graciously helped clean some of our kitchen this week. And honestly y'all, I cannot keep up with how generous our friends and family have been to us. Messages, financial support to this whole endeavor to Africa, cards of encouragement, prayers for the details and the big things, farewell meals and gatherings. It's a beautiful way to be overwhelmed with love, and we praise God for you. Thank you!

T-minus 12 days.