Where We Once Lived And Called Home

On June 24th, we visited a place we once lived and called home.  Rob was the pastor there from June 2004-June 2007.  When we moved there, Anna was 7, almost 8; Wesley was 4 and cried the entire way there on moving day because he did not want to move; Luke was 18 months old.  None of us have been back to that town since June 2007.  It's just not in an area that is on the way to any places that we have been in the last 6 years - that is until this June when we went to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA in Williamsburg, VA.

Since I knew that the pastor there now has his own house and does not live in the parsonage that is directly across the street from the church, I felt like it would be okay to call and ask if the children and I could walk through the parsonage (there was a UMC mission work team bunking there but they were gracious enough to let us look around).  Getting to reminisce inside a parsonage you once lived in is such a rare opportunity for Methodist preacher's kids and I am grateful it worked out for us to do so!  We also walked through the church.

We arrived early so we could go eat at a restaurant that Rob and I both loved.  The kids and I all enjoyed Ralph's.  And then we rode around town.  

We saw where Wesley went to preschool...

where Anna took dance lessons...

where her dance recitals were and where she was in The Nutcracker...

and where a lot of the furniture came from for the house we live in now.

I found this thrift store one day when I was looking for a coffee table for one of Crystol's college apartments.    So I knew it was the place to go when we got this house.  We got this house that I am living in now when we lived there.  Rob's salary was a modest salary and we had 4 children - 1 in college.  We didn't have a lot of extra money to furnish an entire house so I went shopping at the Union Mission.  It almost became a game of challenge.  The store manager knew what was going on and, although he wasn't my personal shopper, he would keep his eyes out for me when he was purchasing pieces from other places or if something came in as a donation.  That's how I got 3 dressers that are here, a TV table, bedside tables, an antique lamp table, and every TV that was in this house until we moved here from the parsonage last June.  The futon frame (that we used until very recently) also came from there.  I spent many days with my mini-van parked in front of that store trying to fit furniture inside! 

Then we headed to meet a friend at the parsonage.  It is much the same as when we were there.  They have added a carport and a ramp.  A lot of the furniture was the same.  Some was new.

I did not know this until AFTER we moved away from this parsonage but an older child or youth at that church told my then 7 year old Anna that the mound of dirt in this photo was covering a dead body buried behind the heat pump/ac unit which was directly behind Anna's room.  She later told me that she was afraid in her room the entire time we lived there.

I loved this laundry room.  

Wesley and Luke in their room.

Anna in her room.

This living room was Crystol's room for a short while after graduate school and before her next step in life.  We put her bed, nightstand, and dresser right in the middle of the room.  Since Crystol was already 20 years old and in college when Luke was born, the short time she lived with us in this parsonage was the only time we all 6 lived together full time as a family.  Her siblings were so happy to have her there.  And I remember feeling so complete when she was there yet sad at the same time because I knew it would never happen again.

 I spent a lot of time telling my boys (and Anna sometimes) not to run up and down this hallway.

It's amazing how a simple thing like a door knob can evoke such vivid memories of a life once lived in a place I once called home with my Rob.

We then made the short, familiar walk to the church across the street.  

This was Rob's view from the pulpit.

On our very first visit to this church - our introductory PPR meeting - I used this bathroom and I remember thinking that this was a pretty bathroom with the prettiest table.  Funny how I remember certain things. 

This was the church that was robbed of their sound system the Saturday night before Rob was supposed to record his sermon for the ordination process.  That was a rough morning scrambling around to find a way to record everything without microphones, etc.

All 3 of my children were baptized by their father at this altar.

Home...

...and church.

We also visited with our next door neighbors and I cannot believe that I forgot to take a photo.  And then later that evening, we crashed a board meeting and got to see lots of folks (well, semi-crashed since Velna is the one who told me about the meeting and said I should stop by). It was good to see them all.

We then went to visit a good friend of Anna's and her family.  It has been 6 years since we have seen Savannah and her family.  We stayed until after 10 p.m.  The kids were having a blast!  And I was enjoying talking with friends I had not seen in such a long while.  This family, although I did not know them at the time, also lived in another area where I have lived.  In fact, Savannah's dad graduated from the same high school that I did.  I had forgotten that.

We arrived home after midnight.

And Velna, the moon was shining brilliantly at my house that night when we arrived home so I took a couple of photos for you!

It was a great week at Williamsburg and then it was a great ending by getting reacquainted with church members and neighbors.  We look forward to seeing you again before another 6 years pass!