"I'm having an old friend for dinner."

It is good to see friends and loved ones.  After being at FUPC for 13 years, and having friends and loved ones so close, we are finding it very hard to start over in a place where we no virtually no one.  That's not to say that people aren't being great to us.  They are.  We are getting to know people every day here.  And they go out of their way to welcome us and get to know us.  It's just not the same as spending time with long-time friends.  

Matt, Laura, Hannah, Emma, Grant, and Liam Williams came and spent the 4th of July with us.  Actually, I started ribbing Matt to come down a day early, and since Laura already had their stuff all packed and ready, they actually left Thursday night and got here around midnight.  

Matt fed Esther breakfast and off we headed to the City Museum, which is one of the coolest museums on the planet.  

With a generous gift from a loved one (who paid for the entire Williams and Terwilleger tribes to go), we went straight to the roof of the museum (11th or 12th floor) to hit the Ferris wheel and other slides.  

I got to take Gideo and Hope while Kathee sat below with Esther (I'm the one in the middle, looking like I'm all alone.  Actually, I am sitting in the middle, with Gideon on my left, and Hope on my right.  I had a death grib on her ankle as she kept trying to see over, and back, and above, and down, and any other way she could unknowingly fall out.

When we lived in Moline, Hannah babysat our kids a lot.  We love having Hannah in our kids' lives and were pumped that she was able to come along before she heads off to college in the fall.  

Also on the roof is an old school bus that dangles off the side.  You climb in the back, walk up the aisle, and can sit in the driver's seat.  You can also open and close the door (which is surrounded by a cage so no one falls out).  

A view from the door of the bus.

On the 4th, we drove out to the Chesterfield Mall to watch fireworks.  

The fireworks that made it completely over the mall roof were great to watch.  

We also attempted to go to Grant's Farm.  It's a farm that President Grant used to own back in the day.  There are apparently over 100 species of animals inside the fence that you can see as they take you around in a tram.  We didn't actually get in to the farm (this is also where the Budweiser Clydesdales are) due to the traffic line.  After waiting for almost an hour to get to the turn where we had another hour's wait, we headed to a park nearby, had a picnic and headed home.  

Also during their time with us, we went to St Louis Bubble Tea a couple of times.  It's, by far, my favorite thing in St Louis.  Thankfully, the Williams' enjoy it, too, so we "had" to go there twice.  

We did our fair share of hanging out, too.  The kids watched some Disney movies while Matt and I went for a 25 mile bike ride.  They attended church with us at New City Fellowship on Sunday, and we did a whole bunch of other things.  

And here's what's nice about their visit.  Yesterday a guy on campus came and asked me to join him outside to chat.  So I went.  He and I have hit it off (he's the guy from Minnesota who was serving at a church in Nebraska and is a HUGE Husker fan).  His wife Gina and Kathee have somewhat hit it off, too.  He just graduated with his MDiv and he's completing a master's in counseling this year (so they leave next year).  He and I were chatting and the kids were outside playing.  Kathee brought out Esther and was sitting on the sidewalk where all the kids were playing.  Gina was standing a ways away talking to some other women.  She was calling out to Kathee, but kept calling her Karen.  

It was unintentionally hurtful to Kathee.  Here we are, new people, in a new place, trying to get our sea legs about us.  We are trying to make friends and get to know people.  And saying this, I know that this will pass.  I know it's not the end of the world.  But in the immediate it's hard.  It's hard when you think you connect with someone, only to find out they thought your name was something else the whole time.  Or maybe she just forgot.  Or maybe it was because we met them, they went on vacation for 10 days, and in that time, Kathee's name slipped her mind.  Either way, life here continues to be a transition for us.  Each day it becomes more and more home.  In no time we will have people with whom we enjoy spending time, or at least, people who know our names.  But I'll tell you, it sure is nice having best friends come and visit and spend time.  It was a drink at an oasis for us.  It was so good to have them come.  It ministered to our souls.