Friday, June 26, 2015

Gratitude Friday...

Howdy, y'all!

Today, Praise the Lord, I am writing while sitting on my back deck.  Listening to the water and feeling the warm Texas breeze.

Y'all.  It's everything I could have ever hoped for.

The story of our new house is coming.  Promise.  

But right now, it's filled with STUFF.  

Almost 1/3 of it is actually put somewhere.  I mean, like outside of a box, put somewhere.  In no way does that "where" mean it will be said item's permanent home.  It's simply out of the middle of the floor.  So we can walk and stuff.

Another third of it is still in a POD.  

And the last third has just been unloaded into the house by a group of young, healthy, zero-back-troubles high school band students.

That was the second group of students.  The first group came yesterday and unloaded in under an hour what had taken Chris and a friend 4 hours to load.

Because YOUNG.  Did I mention young?

I directed traffic.  Whilst cleaning kitchen cabinets.

Because EWE.

So I'm gonna keep my list short and sweet this week.  Truthfully, I'd rather sit here and write for the next two hours but I'd also like to be able to get INTO our bedroom.  And for that to happen, boxes must be emptied.

This week, I am grateful for:

1.  Those young band kids.  A couple of them tried to impress me with their ability to sing all the lyrics to "Hotel California" and "Barracuda."  And I totally would have been impressed if I didn't assume their parents, likely 80's teenagers, had tortured them with the music of their glory days.  Just as my parents did with me.  Next time, I'll hit them with some Simon and Garfunkel and see what happens.  

2.  Successful downsizing.  After all as said and done, we bought only one additional box to pack.  We'd thrown several away last time.  I mean, boxes can only make it through so many moves before they need to be sent to the big recycler in the sky.  So we were proud/happy/surprised to see we had gotten rid of enough stuff that even though we added a whole new person (that would be Rhys), we didn't add anything to our haul.  

(SIDE NOTE:  We're still gonna have to have a garage sale to get rid of the extra stuff we won't be able to use in the new house.  I just haven't figured out exactly what that will be yet.  I have to unpack all those boxes first.)

3.  The Ice Cream Truck comes through our new neighborhood.  We didn't have that in our last place. I'll need to keep a stack of one dollar bills on hand but what a treat for my kiddos!  I kinda adore that they'll have those memories.  Good stuff.

4.  My back deck.  Y'all.  The entire past six months while we've been hunting and praying and waiting and searching, through the unknowns about cities and jobs and finances, I have been dreaming for a back deck.  Somewhere I could sit outside and write.  When I was a kid, we had a big swing on the front porch of our house.  On Sunday afternoons, I would sometimes sit out on that swing and read.  I remember doing that often.  My parents probably remember me doing that all of three times.  But it's my memory so I'll go with it.  Anyway.  I am simply in awe of how God provided.  I dared not even ask for this.  Because I felt like it was too much.  Too big of a dream.  But my Father, in His great love, gave me what I never asked for.  A place outside to write and dream and pray.  

This house.  This move.  This new chapter.  It feels like a reward, y'all.  Not the punishment I was expecting.  But a reward.  

I am grateful, Father.

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