Meet and Greet

Have you ever anxiously awaited your opportunity to meet some one with a little or a lot of clout?  A person who's leadership or abilities has granted them a position of power or prominence.  It can be a bit nerve wracking, hoping that the reality of the personality does not disappoint the trumped up ideal.

As I've been reading through various passages of the gospel in preparation for Easter, I realized again that one day I will meet Jesus.  Face to face, in nervous expectation I will meet Him.  Wouldn't it be heart breaking if that first encounter was awkward? 

What if He didn't know what to say.  Or if he was so busy and distracted, He could only muster a half-smile and a handshake before moving on.  Imagine if He could only talk about Himself, forgetting I was even in His presence.  What if He was too important to even make eye contact with me.  On earth we've all experienced people like this.  It can be hard to recover the love and respect someone is due once the shine has been knocked off.

As all of these thoughts washed over me, I remembered again all of the passages I've been reading about the Savior I love so much.  Think of all of His recorded encounters:

• The little children who He rearranged His schedule just to hold and bless.  

• A desperate, awkward, social outcast of a woman who could only muster enough courage to reach out and touch Jesus' coat as He walked by.  He stopped everything to find and show love to her.  

• Then there was the famous "wee little man" hiding in a tree, who even in his lofty perch, could not escape Christ's notice. Zaccheus ended up with a visit to his very home from the hero of whom he had hoped to merely catch a glimpse.

He loves us!  Oh how He loves us! 

And then there's The Book of Revelation, with it's beautiful pictures of our heavenly encounters with the Son.  I am going to be a mess.  A world weary, crying mess; He is going to wipe away my tears.  I will be under-dressed;  He will give me a perfectly clean robe.  I will be overwhelmed;  He will call me His child. 

Jesus has asked me to follow Him, to obey His words.  Why?  Because life on earth is hard.  He knows it.  He lived it long before I did.  And as I read through Revelation today, I was amazed to think He is also excited for the day we meet. 

He is hoping that I do not reject Him; He wants me to live with Him forever.  He wants me to see his face, to experience life free from sadness and death.  There is no way He is going to disappoint me.  And even though there will be many reasons I have disappointed Him, that's not what He'll be thinking about.  Instead like the father of the lost son, He'll run to embrace his child who has finally made it home.

What a beautiful thought!

Visit from Grampa!

Had to turn at least one of the moving boxes into a vehicle!  This is supposed to be a firetruck.

Marc had a business trip to Ohio scheduled, so he got to stay a few days with us!

Some people need glasses to read or drive.  Blake's needs are mainly for potato head assembly.

The beautiful tulips from Whole Foods that Marc bought for me.  I LOVE tulips!

Grampa's whiskers are scratchy!

Sneaking a bite of Blake's burger.

Life is settling down a bit, so hopefully I'll be able to post more regularly!  We've been exploring the area and unpacking in our new home.  Blake has been a real trooper through all of this, although sometimes he still asks to go "home."

The Big Move

Last Saturday was the official moving day.  It was a busy day full of firsts and lasts. 

The Wooster moving crew: Carrie, Justin and Brian! 

Blake had lots of fun following Carrie around...

...and "driving" the Big Truck!

All packed up and ready to roll!

The Columbus moving crew: Matt, Rebbecca, Renee and Josh.  Notice the empty truck, I think they're smiling because we were done!  Josh's wife Brittany also sent us a yummy, big bowl of chili, cornbread and fruit salad for dinner.  How awesome is that?!

Big thanks goes out to everyone who helped us move.  We are glad to be settling into our new home!

Snap, Crackle, POP!

Bubble Wrap!  Love this stuff, and these are the BIG bubbles!

POP!!!!!

Stomp it!

The hyacinth bulbs I planted a few weeks ago are blooming so beautifully!

 

Dad is on Spring Break this week, so we had a rare mid-day Skype session.  Blake wanted Papaw to see his room.  Then he asked me to go away so they could be by themselves.  Funny!

How Many Bachelor's Degrees Does It Take to Hang A Door?

We are moving on Saturday.  The plan is to rent our home, so with the idea of being good landlords in mind, we tackled a few projects around the house this weekend.

We decided to replace the busted screen door on the back of the house.  Just getting the rusty old screws out of the frame was a job, and Steve tackled it yesterday afternoon.

While he finished removing the old hardware, I pulled out the directions for the new door.  These directions kicked our collective butt.

Getting the hinges attached so that the door swings open in the right direction was our main source of frustration, confusion and silliness.  We are both oldest children, who think that we can do anything as long as we follow the instructions.  You know, if we read them one more time; and if we just stare at them long enough; and if we attempt to recreate the perfect environment as pictured on said directions, and if we impose upon the directions our utmost belief in their ability to solve the problem...This never fails to lead to a moment when we're in too deep to turn back, and we look at each other like, "What in this world made us think this was a good idea?"

After much effort (and aforementioned blaming of the directions for our problems) we finally got the door hung squarely.  It opens the right direction and even has a handle installed.  It still needs a few more tweaks, but we were too annoyed to even look at it any longer.  The finished product pictures will just have to come later.

It Has Begun

We are planning our move to Columbus for March 19!  This means it's time to start the packing machine in motion.  I've got my system down at this point.  It's transitioning from a 3 bedroom home with a basement to a two bedroom apartment that's making this move more "interesting." 

So I've been going through all of the tubs of "storage" and ruthlessly tossing items whose sentimental value is not enough to make the cut.  The jury is still out on the Jack and Jill dolls pictured above.  They hung in my room as a child, but have been sitting in a box for the last 20 years.  Is it time to let them go?

Of course I'm keeping several of my favorite books for my children.  The Chronicles of Narnia, the Anne of Green Gables series, Charlotte's Web, Tom Sawyer, Sarah Plain and Tall - they all made the cut.  It is hard for me to part with books, but we did pare down our non-fiction collection.

Found tons of encouraging notes from college.  Some were from friends and made me smile and laugh.  The pile above is just a sampling of the cards I received from my mom.  She sent me so many sweet notes, especially when I was dealing with health problems.  Love you, Momma, and I am keeping these!

I have most of the poems Steve wrote for me saved in a special box, but I found a few more letters like this one mixed in with other notes.  During the two summers we were dating, he was on CBC's traveling drama team.  This letter was sent from the Southern Missouri camp ground.  Sweet memories.  It's hard to believe this would have been sent 8 years ago.

And finally, it's not all work just yet.  We did stop to play with the neighbor kids for a bit.  Getting some good use out of the dress up box, as you can tell!

Man Stuff

You should see the gleam in Blake's eyes each time Steve busts out his tool kit.  Tonight he was installing a new smoke detector in the hallway, and his little apprentice was at his side.

 

 

Dutifully handing Dad the supplies.  Apparently Blake takes his role very seriously.

Trying to convince me to let him cut my hair.  No way I was gonna play that game.

Such a great little helper.

Right now everything takes so much longer with Blake's help, but I try to remember that someday I will want him to work.  So for the most part we find something the little guy can do to feel like he's been part of the accomplishment.