Dear Friends,
I am finally feeling like I have the mental space to think again and the time to sit down and once again begin writing to you all on a regular basis. First off, I’d like to update you on the two prayer requests that I ended on in August: My dear friend’s dad Andy Pryor went to be with Lord soon after his accident. God was gracious to the Pryor family during this sad time of loss. Vivien, another friend’s 13 year old daughter, has had some let up of her discomfort and most of her sight has returned but they are still seeking answers so continue to pray for her and her doctors.
SO what are we doing? Well, Mike started working in Sharpsville on September 1st, since our house didn’t sell in the 14 days we had it on the market, he is commuting. This has relieved our family of the incredible stress of trying to move before the school year started. Instead, all the kids are enrolled in school here in Pittsburgh. We took the house off the market until spring. I am still working my business and we have a bit of time to scout locations and properties to look for the perfect place for the Carlin homestead. It also allows Mike to move into the role of pastor a bit more gradually as he learns about the congregation and the community. We are really enjoying Sharpsville and enjoy learning about the many connections we have to the area since my Dad grew up just a few miles away in Greenville, PA. We took a mini-vacation a few weeks ago and camped just outside of town at Shenango RV park. Tessa and especially Riah spent most of their time in the shallow creek behind our camper catching frogs and crayfish.
We had gorgeous weather and we primarily just relaxed around the campfire, played games, and took the dog for walks.
We saw turkey tracks down by the river and while the mosquitoes were a bit hungry the scenery made up for all the slapping we had to do.
They close off the main streets near the river and have lots of artists and other vendors fill the downtown, and they put floating braziers on the river. At sunset they light the fires and keep them burning for four hours while they play specially arranged music. It was pretty cool.
The best part of the time was just being together without anything in particular we had to do
(look at how tall they are all getting! Mike is the one wearing the ballcap!)
As we take this reprieve before moving we are really appreciating every part of our life in Pittsburgh, while becoming more familiar and excited about life in Sharpsville. A congregant is loaning us a mother-in-law suite apartment over her garage until we find our own place up there. It provided us with a quiet and private place to stay as a family. It’s fully furnished and equipped and such a gift for us during this season. We are praying that the kids will meet great friends that will help them to grow over the next few years and ease their transition. I look forward to being in touch.
oxNicole
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