all tied up nice in a bow

Ever since Hunter wore a bow tie to Cherry & Peyton's wedding last summer, he has been asking me to make another one for him.  He also has been wanting to wear a tie like daddy to church. Of course, if one boy has it, both boys must have it. They were too precious in their little ties.

When I posted this picture, I thought about things being all tied up nice in a bow. That's how we like things. Neat and tidy, picture perfect. Hiding the mess that we all have in our life and shoving it away. I've thought about this a lot recently as we have just moved and are constantly asked, "How are things?", "Are you settled?", "Do you like living here?" and so on. Everyone that asks has good intentions and most want to hear things are great, yes we are settled, we love it here, etc. Some of those things are true- we do like it here and we are settling in. However, these things take time. We have no doubt that God wants us right here and are not questioning that. However, it seems like people don't want to hear that things are hard. Moving is hard- it's one of the hardest things many people do. Friendships aren't developed in 2 months and it's not easy when people are asking the same surface-level questions. Again, I recognize that this is how things start out, but nonetheless it doesn't make it easier or faster.

Although I know that most people aren't moving to a new state and changing jobs, we all have some kind of yuck in our life that we would like to hide and put on our happy face all the time. It's a great reminder to me to get more involved in the details of the lives around me even when it is messy and ask hard questions about how things are REALLY going.

So if you're wondering- we do like living here. We are settled in our house, ie no visible boxes around. We are adjusting to life in a different city. But it's a process, not a completed task.

It's no coincidence that after it rained tonight Nathan looked outside and saw this rainbow. While we were out there, another rainbow appeared. Wow- a double rainbow and it was a complete arch. God's promise that He is always with us- through our tears and triumphs.