More of Amy's Story

Part 3 

We’re heading into the home stretch here.  The first two parts of my “story” were marriage and missions.  Today we move on to “motherhood and moving.” 

            Motherhood – As our time living and working in Austria came to a close, Bobby and I were longing for children of our own.  After we arrived back in the States, we began trying to have a baby. Our journey to parenthood wasn’t easy. The waiting felt eternal.  At times it didn’t look like we would be able to have kids at all and I began wondering what kind of plan God would have for me if that were the case.  It would be a completely different life than the “mom life” I had imagined and ached for.  But, then, God decided to bless us with not one, but two baby boys at once.  Now, 19 years later, I thank God almost every day that I get to be their mom.

First Year of Flag Football, Fort Worth, TX

          Allen, our oldest by 23 minutes, and very much the typical first born, is majoring in aviation flight science at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, 10 hours from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.  He’s in Air Force ROTC, plays ultimate frisbee and plans on a career as an Air Force pilot.  He sees himself flying an attack plane that swoops in to combat areas providing support for those on the ground.  I’m so proud he wants to help and protect others, but there are times I wish he wanted to be something safer, like an analyst or a teacher.

             Davis, our easy going second born, is working in Auburn, Alabama as a bank teller.  That’s 15 hours away FYI.  He plans on attending Auburn University in the fall, where Bobby and I met.  He says today that he wants to major in accounting, like his dad.  He’s been changing his mind about a lot of things lately, so we’ll see what he says tomorrow. Davis enjoys his independence and has grown up surprisingly quickly during this gap year.  He’s figuring out exactly where God may have him in the future, but in the meantime, he’s learning to play guitar and endearingly spends a lot of time with his grandparents and Great-Gram.

Senior Pictures, Bloomsburg, PA

             From the beginning, Bobby and I agreed I should be home with our boys as much as possible.  So, I was the one to put them down for naps and make their lunch.  I was the one playing with blocks on the floor and filling up the plastic pool in the backyard.  I picked them up from school every day and heard what they made on their spelling tests or the funniest joke ever they heard that day.  We even homeschooled these two little guys from the end of 3^rd grade until the middle of 9^th grade.  It was a gift to be the first to see Allen’s fascination with the military and battles and history come alive as we read A History of English-Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill.  It was fun to read poetry to the boys and have Davis say from where he was laying on the couch, “Poetry makes me feel really relaxed.”

 

             But, by far, the biggest blessing of being a mom was hearing a 4-year-old Allen say, from the backseat of the van on the way to swimming lessons, “Hey Mom, how do you ask Jesus into your heart?”  I was blessed to walk both Allen and Davis through what it meant to live their little lives for the Lord. Bobby and I continue to walk with them as they struggle and grow in making their faith their own.

             The next greatest blessing of being a mom is being able to sit across the table from my two 19-year-old young men and realize they’re two of my favorite people in the world.  I actually like them.  I enjoy spending time with them and prefer their company to almost everyone else.  That is a true gift.

             

             When Allen and Davis were making their plans for high school graduation and talking about what came next for them, I didn’t handle it very well.  We had taught them they could go anywhere in the world God called them to go and do anything God called them to do, with our blessing.  But as they started talking about Michigan and Alabama, I wanted to take it all back.

Baby Allen

Baby Davis

               Once again, I saw a great application in the TV show Once Upon a Time.  In this instance, Rumpelstiltskin is married to Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  (You just have to go with me here. Don’t over think it!)  Anywho, Rumple and Belle have a son named Gideon who has been accepted to some sort of school.  Rumple and Belle are proud of Gideon and watch as he begins excitedly gathering his belongings to leave. As Gideon leaves the room to continue his packing, Rumple looks at Belle and says, “I didn’t think he’d be leaving so soon.”  Belle says, “We’ve had Gideon for 18 amazing years.  Years filled with life and adventure.  Now it’s time for him to find his own.  He’s ready.”  And Rumple replies, “But what if I’m not ready?”

              That was me.  My kids were ready for their next adventure, but I definitely wasn’t.

              

              Moving – One of the reasons my children were ready to go out into the world is that Allen and Davis have had to move a lot.  Because of Bobby’s job, Allen, Davis and Bobby have each survived five big moves in nine years.  We lived in Alabama until the boys were almost ten.  Alabama is “home” for me.  It’s where we gather for holidays and where extended family live.  

              Then, we lived in Fort Worth, Texas where I learned to grind wheat and bake bread and we began our homeschooling adventure.  One day while living in Fort Worth Bobby came home and said, “What do you think about moving to Nebraska?”  I answered very graciously, “Nebraska?  I’ve never even wanted to visit Nebraska.”  But we loved it there where everyone is a University of Nebraska fan and has at least one red car.  We lived on five acres with a beautiful barn where we held an English Country Dance one Saturday night in November.  

Norfolk, Nebraska in Front of THE Barn

        From Nebraska we moved here to Pennsylvania where I learned there are some people who THINK the Sound of Music is a Christmas movie, and if you take mashed potatoes and wrap them in dough it somehow becomes a meal, called pierogies.  Pennsylvania is where I’ve had two knee replacements and where my children will come for class reunions for the rest of their lives. Pennsylvania has also shown me there is yet another beautiful place on this earth where God has gathered a warm, dedicated and loving group of Believers to encourage my heart.

Allen Photo Bombs My Vance's Apple Dumpling Picture at the Bloomsburg Fair

             Each move has been a blessing in its own way and each has given us lasting gifts – church family, friends, and adventure.  But it is never easy to leave.  And It’s never easy to arrive.

              

              I said at the beginning of this story, I wouldn’t be here with you today if God hadn’t decided to change my life.  He saw me, a curly-haired, Southern, 15-year-old girl who just wanted to do ballet and twirl her baton.  He orchestrated my life to lead to this exact point, at this time, with you.