Here . . . sort of
(We almost got Emily and Ethan to move with us, but I’m not sure her husband would’ve liked that too much!!)
I’m sure everyone knows what it’s like to move, either from one house in the same city to another, or to a whole new part of the world. We’re finally in SC, although we stayed in a hotel room last night due to our water and power being turned on today. Our kids are with our family, we’re going back to our house today, and Eric is going to try to get settled into his new job as well this afternoon. Closing on our house in FL was nothing less than a headache (the buyer kept trying to negotiate more money from us until the absolute last minute – 5:00 pm on Monday), and I was proud of my husband for sticking to the terms of our contract. It would have been naive for us to simply hand out more money to someone who was just trying to be greedy. Our closing here in SC was great, and we look forward to being settled into the house within the next several days.
Many of you probably read about some of our family losing their house in a fire last week. I know that God is proving Himself ever-faithful and the source of their comfort and joy. The joy of the Lord is truly the strength of God’s children. Please continue to pray for them as they go forward with God in their lives after this trial.
Well, I’m a pregnant woman with a roll of paper towels on a mission . . . will write later this weekend!
The "throw-away" game
Well, we are finally getting our stuff together and physically moving. The packers and movers are coming tomorrow and Saturday, and I am excited and exhausted. My husband fussed at me for trying to pack everything because I’m slightly compulsive about these kinds of things, and I don’t like to give up my “control.” He said he’s worried about me wearing myself out and that I just need to give it up and go to sleep. 
It’s a good thing that being 7 months pregnant makes you sort of “out of control,” so I can’t really do much and get in everyone’s way anyway. Our whole house pretty much looks like that picture of books – times 25. That is probably 1/10 of the books we have to pack; we are slightly OBSESSIVE when it comes to books and cd’s. When Eric and I got married, we took the cd’s that we had duplicates of in our collections and made over $400 at a pawn shop. (Thankful now for i tunes!) I am glad we don’t have a whole bunch of junk, but we definitely have our share of books and cd’s. I am too tired to finish sorting through things tonight, so I will just have a big mess for the packers to organize tomorrow. I hate that, but oh well, there are more important things in life.
I don’t mind the mess so much as the thought of taking a bunch of things to a new house with us that we don’t need or want – like shoes from 4 years ago, papers from college chemistry, or our all the phone books from the last three years. I love to throw things away and de-clutter. I just hate having stuff everywhere, and I seriously get overwhelmed and not-so-fun to be around when I’m in a house / school / office / restaurant with lots of decorative and useless junk everywhere (I guess it’s ironic that I like to go to Cracker Barrell then). I feel trapped and want to just snap my fingers like Mary Poppins and clean it up. My mood mostly depends on the clutter or lack thereof that I see around me when I wake up in the morning, which can make a cheery disposition an elusive attainment at times …. so the last few days have been very hard for me to stay content and patient. I must have said, “No, no, don’t touch” a thousand times already to poor little Steven! However going through most of our things has allowed me to throw away so many things we don’t need. I love doing that; there’s something really liberating about it. I say, “Home is where the heart is, and I don’t need any clogged arteries!”
I stayed up ALL NIGHT last night. I guess it’s pregnancy-related or moving-related, but I really did stay up the entire night without sleeping. I tried to sleep, but I co
uldn’t. So I worked on painting a baby crib for Lydia’s dolls, which my friend Emily helped start with me last night, and I finished it this morning. It belonged to one of my mother’s friends when she was a little girl, and I’m excited about Lydia having it in her new room. I made a little blanket and pillow for her dolls that matches her quilt. I was so excited
to surprise Lydia with it after her nap this afternoon. One temper-tantrum later (Steven got way to close for her liking), I took this picture of Lydia with her new baby crib. I thought, “fast-forward three months!” This is how it’s going to be with a newborn and two little ones fighting over the baby in the crib. I did manage to get a cute picture of them kissing the baby doll before they got into it again…..
I’m su
re this will be the last post I write until we are in our new place. I am very thrilled about this change in our lives, but I am also tired and wanting it to be over so we can feel somewhat settled. I know I will probably be crying a lot in the next few days as we leave a place we have called home and people we have known as a second family for three years. Tonight was probably the last night we’ll eat dinner with our friends Brian and Emily for a long time. We actually went out to eat and left our kids with Gram and Aunt Jenn Jenn, so we could just talk more and enjoy a quiet evening. I’m going to miss Emily so much; she has been a truly wonderful friend to me here, and I thank God for her. I seriously believe, though, that we will keep in touch. After all, it’s rare to find someone else in the world who has almost all the same quirks you do, and weird-0′s like us really stick together. My husband is working away in the garage, and I’m going to turn out the light for the night. I haven’t slept in a long time, and I have a feeling sleep will be a shortage in the next few days!
Psalm 86
. . . There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol . . .
Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father’s Day to the wonderful fathers in my life.
To my daddy, Steve, who works so hard all the time, who raised three daughters to love God and others, who epitomizes the phrase “faithful dependability…”
To my husband, Eric, who amazes me more every single day with his God-given gift to be a great daddy, who brings me joy as he leads in humility, who epitomizes the phrase “tireless devotion…”
To my father-in-law, Tommy, who brings God’s Word to our family and the church, who counsels and cheers with eyes towards Christ, who epitomizes the phrase “timely encouragement…”
Finished!
I finished the last few stitches of Lydia’s quilt today during the kids’ naps. Although I decided late one evening to make it easy on myself and just make plain blocks instead of the complicated ohio-star/applique butterflies that I envisioned in my mind, I am very happy with it and can’t wait to put it on her white bed in a few weeks. I hope it is a blanket that she treasures for many years. Now I want to make a couple of shams and pillows to dress it up a little. The fun never ends (what’s a woman without a project?)!!!
Last Youth Group
We had the last meeting with our youth group tonight, and it was a great time. I don’t know what to say about all of those wonderful students except that they are amazing. God’s love is evident in their lives, and we will miss them. I still want to post some choir tour pictures, but here are a few from tonight.
Eric with DAVE
Writing notes for each other
Eric and I were blown away by all the encouraging words that each of them shared with us tonight. They sat us down in chairs in front of them and lavished us with affirmation! It was hard not to cry, but we truly are full of joy and confident that these students are going to do just fine without us. We are excited to see how God will continue to work in their lives.
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