How I Will Miss the Venables

Wow. What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been. All the events have been leading up to this day... the day the Venable's left me with an empty home until Ben comes to join me tomorrow. "Who are the Venable's," you say? Where do I begin?

Let me give you the short story first, then if you want to continue reading you can get the long version next. The Venable family consists of parents Steve and Michelle and their adorable children Sarah, Steven, Rebekah, and Moriah. Steve was our previous landlord who was also our savior in providing a wonderful safe home for us to rent after a disturbing event occurred in our last apartment complex making us realize we needed a new home to feel safe. We quickly became good friends of the entire family and now they left today to make the long trek to Phoenix where they will start their new home and Steve will continue his new job at Harvest Bible Chapel.

This last week and a half I've been living with the Venable's. If you read earlier posts, you will understand why. The first week I was actually not around much because I stayed with my friends Jenn and Scott for two nights, then picked up Ben at Notre Dame to spend the weekend in Michigan with my family. But, this week (Sunday night through today) I was able to spend a lot of time with the Venable family and really enjoyed the short-lived time.

First I have to explain my admiration for Michelle, who has been trucking along quite well (although rough at times) with her cancer treatments. I've learned that she is a ridiculously strong woman! I don't mean muscle-strong, I mean faithfully strong, motherly strong, energetically strong! She doesn't even know it...but I've learned so much from her just this week.

Now Steve... what a worker and a care-taker! Not only was he busy taking care of his own family, but he made sure we were taken care of, too, like we were his own. (Of course he's not quite old enough to be our dad, though. ha) Both he and Michelle made sure that Ben and I were taken care of through-out the last (almost) two years. While I was living with them, they made me feel so at home and I am very grateful for that.

And on to the kids... all four of them... precious, sweet, little angels that I will miss dearly. I don't want to be mushy, but my eyes really are tearing up as I'm typing this part. This week Moriah, Rebekah, Steven, and Sarah allowed me to remember what being a kid and using your imagination is all about. The most special part was our walk in the park...Was it 4 miles? They showed me their "common"...their secret open field that has a hidden trail where no one else goes. How privileged I felt that they shared this secret place with me, so now I can escape there and maybe read a book, bring Ben and play Bocce ball, or just walk around and practice using my own imagination. We spent more time playing in the yard...games I haven't played since childhood. Like, "Red Light, Green Light" and "Mother May I". Every one of these kids have their own unique personality that just shines and shows their extremely good upbringing. Now I really can't wait to have kids of my own.

Thank you, Steve, Michelle, Sarah, Steven, Rebekah, and Moriah for sharing your lives with me these last few days. I really enjoyed myself and hope you have a safe journey to Phoenix. You'll all be in mine and Ben's prayers. We love you!