O.U.T.

I just re-read my last blog and laughed at my naive enthusiasm. I thought we were going to be completely moved out by Sunday....I underestimated the clutter. Jeremiah and the girls carried not one but TWO U-haul loads and three cars full of stuff down to Dothan Saturday, but I remained and de-cluttered, cleaned and loaded ANOTHER U-haul size trailer full of crap yesterday. I have, as always, had lots of help. Caroline and Ashley helped me tirelessly and did a lot of jobs that nobody would ever want to do (especially Jeremiah and me who actually made the mess :)). Does it take anybody else a solid month to move out of their house? It was grueling, but by 2:30 yesterday afternoon, we were officially O.U.T. Somebody strike up the band and give me a top hat and baton. I'm ready to dance down main street!

As I was putting putty in picture holes and wiping 6-inch dust off the walls where my furniture had been, I thought a lot about moving and the emotional roller-coaster it has been so far. It seems like the hardest things I've faced in life, God has made me take take in long, drawn-out doses. Having a baby--there were the nine months of discomfort and pain of labor. Losing Mom--there was the drawn out sickness and agony. And now, moving away from the home and life we love--there's been a month filled with laborious tasks and aggravating problems. While the pain is not fun to endure, it makes the actual moment possible to bear. It's like He brings me to a place where I have no desire but to surrender my will for His. Not that there haven't still been tears and sadness in the big moments, but the sadness has always been tempered by the knowledge that I serve a God who is going to carry me forward. I'm not trying to be dramatic. I know we're moving on to wonderful things, and moving is nothing to be compared with losing a parent...but a lot of the feelings have been similar.

As left, I walked around and took a picture of each room. I've developed the annoying habit of writing blogs in my head. This was one time when the blog post screamed at me and made me cry.

I feel like your walls have absorbed our beginning:

Our first memories of books read aloud by a fire...

My fledgling attempts at writing books...and meeting all of you out there

Our first sweetly over-ambitious dinner parties with friends who are now permanent fixtures in our lives

All those breakfasts we shared "Side by side in the morning light/As we looked out at the future together." And where we met God over a morning cup of coffee.

Where we tucked our babies in to sleep

And watched them learn to play pretend.

You watched me learn to bake our bread (literally :))

Learn to sing harmony together


And enjoy each other in our hidden tree-house.

And now, we say good-bye...

Because we're O.U.T.