Saying Goodbye to our Small Group & Faith Community Church

Well, we already miss these dear people sooo much but here are some pictures of our beloved Small Group at Faith Community Church before we left. Even now we are praying that the Lord would provide for us a body of believers in Cincinnati that we can be a part of. We are so thankful that the Lord allowed us to grow with this group for nearly 2 years.




We have been visiting a few churches in the area but are still praying for wisdom to know what body to be a part of- that is one of our big prayer requests right now in Cincinnati.

We also were privileged to have dinner with our pastor and his wife- Aaron & Stephanie Wojnicki. We miss them so much and realize being away from Faith how thankful we were the Lord led us to go with that church plant. The first Sunday we were going, I wanted to go grab some children to sit on my lap as Kate Wojnicki would always sit on my lap or sit beside me at church and I miss her.

Back in Time

As we are unpacking and getting settled I feel like I have not blogged so much of our moving adventure.  So I am attempting to go back in time to when we moved and even before in Louisville- the friends that were so gracious to us.  We had 2 different work teams- one was co-workers from the Seminary and others was our small group from church- how thankful we are for these people!  Both teams helped us paint and clean and get the apartment ready to move in!  After moving all our boxes, I am so glad we do not have to paint now!  We sure do miss these precious friends in Louisville!!!

Thanks to co-workers Matt & Erin Joiner, Jessica Gardner, Anne Marrs & Ken & Mary Jo O'Barr & Jim & Susan Williamson!!

You guys are sooo great and worked so hard and every day I am so thankful for all your help!

Packing Up the Old Apartment

I am hoping to post some pictures from our last several weeks as I have been very behind on the blogging world.  Here are some pictures of our packing before we left...

A Few Things Friday...

We have almost lived in Cincinnati for one week now and I wake up each morning thinking what I am doing in this city.  My mom spent Sunday to Thursday visiting and helping me unload all the things we have collected in a one bedroom apartment.  She was a great help and I enjoyed her company.

A few things I have noticed about my new home...
1.  Trash seems to find itself everywhere.  I am continually picking up Cheetos wrappers and other items off our front lawn- how oh how do they get there?
2.  The other morning I went walking with my weights and a woman stopped me on the street and insisted on trying my weights- I hesitantly held onto them thinking she might steal them and then slowly let her hold them- very interesting experience.
3.  There ar eso many different areas of Cincinnati- I just can't keep track of all the different "communities" in this city.
4.  We had our first experience with the Jews- Hebrew Unionites- most being rabbis.  They all were very nice and have quite a community there but have interesting cookout options- Hebrew National hotdogs and Kosher hamburgers.  Thankfully Michael did not bring any ham sandwiches with him to lunch- he does not want to offend them. 
5.  Michael passed his Hebrew exam today!!!  I am so proud of him- it was by a professor that is very intimidating- the downside is when Michael told some graduate students the four language classes he was taking this semester- their expressiosn were not too positive- oh I hope I get to see my husband this semester!  :)  Or will I loose him to the world of the Jews. 

I'm hoping to pick up the blog again soon and will post more pictures of our move and our new place. 

Moving Week

It is moving week here in the Lyons' Den and that means we are packing up our little one bedroom apartment and headed to Cincinnati (across the river) on Friday, August 13th.  It is hard to believe we only have 2 more nights in our dear little home.  We will miss our apartment and Louisville so much. Erin is busy finishing up and training her replacement at work and helping with Orientation one last time and Michael is headed up on Thursday for some interviews to Hebrew Union.  Friday we will pack the truck- anyone in Louisville is welcome to help at 10am.  And Saturday we will unload at the same time in our destination- Cincinnati.  Move pictures to come but our apartment is a mess. 

Crazy Week

The Lord is stretching us this week as it is the last full week of work for both Michael & I. As we try to finish at our jobs, the Lord gave us some other things this week that have been stretching us and exposing our hearts very quickly. Poor Michael has poison ivy from head to toe and is in a wedding in a week so after getting some steroids and much itch relief cream, we are hopeful it will clear up. Not only that, but Wednesday night our air went out in our apartment. Our apartment is on the second floor and gets literally full sun and no circulation. I think it was 90 degrees in our apartment as I was packing the kitchen that night. Needless to say at 10:30pm, laying in bed, I couldn’t take it anymore so we went to the Legacy Center to spend the night and the air felt so good. We had always wanted to stay at the Legacy Center but not for this particular occasion. The air was still off when Michael got home Thursday so I called and asked about the status of our air conditioner and tried to see if we could get some reimbursement for our overnight stay. Sandy then proceeded to tell me that they do not give anything because air is a luxury and we had a roof under her head. While I did somewhat agree with her, I told her that the sign on our building says that they are the “Luxury one bedroom apartments” so I think the air is included. Don’t worry I said it kinda laughing but she really did not laugh back. They also had closed our laundry facility this week too. I think the Lord is preparing us to leave our little Hilltop House.
We are excited and ready to leave for Branson, Missouri on Sunday to spend a few days relaxing by the pool in my aunt’s condo before we head to Dallas for the wedding of Joseph Proctor and Amber Smith August 7th. We are hoping to spend time with Josh and Amy Jensen while in Dallas & little Becca & Jeremy & Bethany Williamson. We will then head back to Louisville via Memphis to see our dear David & Laura and baby Jude.

Eithiopian Dinner!!!

A week ago, our dear friend and neighbor Manny who is studying to be a doctor at U of L took a break from his studies and cooked an authentic Ethiopian meal for a few neighbors.  It was soooo good! He had this bread that was made from a coriander seed and looked like a sponge and we had lamb and potatoes and lentils that we put on the bread. He told us that we then had to use the bread in our hands to pick up the items. He even cut us some watermelon and cantaloupe! Manny was so proud that he found this lady in Louisville to make the Ethiopian bread as it is hard to make! It was a great celebration and we also joined our Bulgarian neighbor Krasmir as well as Micah & Heather who live downstairs and are growing the hugest garden outside their window that I have ever seen! We have been so blessed particularly to know Manny as he has been a great friend and neighbor and we will sure miss living upstairs from him!!!

Jane Austen Festival

This Saturday I went with a friend to a Jane Austen festival- needless to say it was an interesting group of people as many women were dressed in clothing from that time period. There were even a few brave gentlemen that dressed the part. We saw everything from a dual to a ladies fashion show and went through some shops. It was fun to think of the time of Jane Austen. I have to admit though I need to read the books- I have only watched the movies but I sure do love them!

Farewell

This week we said goodbye to one of our dearest friends at Seminary- David & Laura ! Throughout our time at Seminary, the Lord has brought some amazingly faithful friends that have pointed us to be more like Christ and we are thankful for how the they have encouraged us and pointed us to Christ! We are sad to see them go as they move back near family awaiting the day they go overseas. We will miss their presence so much in Louisville but as the Seminary hymn goes at Southern- “We meet to part and part to meet.” We know the Lord will use this family mightily  and we feel privileged that God would allow them to cross our paths for a season! We love you David & Laura and miss you guys already!

My little sister is getting married!

My sister, Rachel, is getting married in 4 months to Mike Santoro.  She is busy planning and getting ready for the big day while she is off from teaching this summer.  I on the other hand have been busy planning her shower for August 28th.  I never realized how much work it is to coordinate a shower from a distance (my fam is in PA) and also to coordinate her 10- yes 10 bridesmaids!  As you can see Mike is an avid baseball fam- my sister, never the sports player, has been to more baseball in the past year than she has in her whole life.  I'm excited to see how the Lord is growing them both and will bring them together to use them for His glory!  Needless to say- there will be 2 Mikes in the family very soon!