animals are people, too!

well into my 4th load of laundry, 2nd dishwasher load and fresh out of nails for the pictures, i figured i'd sit down and regale you with our moving adventures!

the biggest moments both center around satchmo, kyra's beloved cat, who vanished during the move. grown men were nearly moved to tears watching my daughters persistent, gut-wrenching search...it was horrible. the worst was that we weren't coming back to the house that night - so even if he came home, we'd be gone. suddenly, one of the men helping us moved pulled up to the curb in his car (i hadn't noticed he'd left), hauls a huge black & white long hair cat out of his car and says, "PLEASE tell me this is your cat?" all of us were on the driveway, and kyra burst out laughing and said, "no!" he refused to believe her. "seriously? this is NOT your cat?" "no!" by now the whole driveway is laughing as he turned back to his car sighing, "i have to go put this cat back now." he drove off leaving the only smile i had seen all day on kyra's face - so to me, it was a mistake well worth it.

we sat on the porch long after the sunset - kyra, meg, sarah & i - while curtis (God love him) vacuumed up the house. despite many tearful calls and whistles, he never showed. kyra went to bed with a heavy heart, and so did i. there was some talk that he had gotten nervous and hidden in the dresser drawer, so she was holding out hope that he was locked in our u-haul. i didn't have the heart to tell her that she was betting on a long shot.

late the next afternoon, after closing both the sale & purchase of our homes, (with heavy hearts and no joy at all - kyra quietly crying the entire time), we finally pulled the uhaul up to the new house and flung open the back door. suddenly, screams of "I HEAR HIM! I HEAR HIM! MOM! MOMOMOMOM! SATCHMO IS IN THE TRUCK!" rent the air. immediately my heart leapt! i couldn't believe he was actually in the truck! kyra had not lost her best friend!

of course, he was in the last drawer we opened, wide eyed and numb - not even meowing by the end of it! and miraculously, he hadn't soiled the drawer in any way - bladder of steel, that cat!

now, 2 and a half days in, we are pretty much unpacked. pictures are on the walls, plates are in the cupboards, clothes are on the shelves... but most importantly our family is together. ALL of us. :)

cynthia, this one's for you.

you got a smile so bright! you know you could've been a candle

i'm holding you so tight...you know you could've been a handle

the way you swept me off my feet, you know you could've been a broom..

and babe you smell so sweet, you know you could've been some perfume...

you could have been anything that you wanted to, i can tell....

the way you do the things you do -

i like the way you do the things you do!

finally moving on

i feel like charles dickens.... "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." because it was, you know, a time when some of the best things and best people came into our lives. but it also had some of the worst things and hardest things we've ever endured. and next week it truly comes to a close when we walk away from the house and city that contained it all to continue our story in a new home and a not-so-new city.

this new life is crazy beautiful ... the kind of life you don't usually get to live. following an adventurous call alongside some of the most unbelievable people you could imagine. people with heart and spunk and laughter and love - people who are excited about who God might actually be, and what He might actually do.

this is not a fearful future...it is a wide open future waiting with open arms for us to fling ourselves into.... look out! here we come!

farewell, old friend...

I had an interesting conversation this morning, one that left me feeling rather maudlin. As we stood around talking about our impending move, a couple of my friends said things along the lines of, "I want to come say good-bye to your house", "I have so many good memories of your place" and "We've had so much fun there". As I reflected on that, it's true. This house has seen a lot of good times - parties, dinners, games, sporting events, deep conversations & raucus laughter, family chaos... all the stuff of genuine friendship and community. It really does have a lot of happy ghosts in it.

But...

The thing that made all those things great and beautiful and memorable was the people who shared them with us. YOU made those things ... not the house. Rob's shock at winning the Golden Head for 'most encouraging', Simpson & Steve being inappropriate with window writing markers, Vinny teaching The Girls about the civil war, Mark & Tina watching their daughters make me fat, hours of eucher, catan and some games i hate with Josh & Mamie, new year's eves, Christine winning best dressed at my 80's birthday, Sabrina's glorious cakes at said birthday party, wine tastings with Shanna & Andrew, JJ & Angela's first date, dozens of smaller groups, everyone meeting Mark, tearful conversations, ekklesia's first steps... none of them mean anything without you guys... the people who we love.

So here is what I would ask from you as we leave Morningside Drive. Come and fill our new home with happy ghosts. Come and sit, and play and drink and laugh. Continue to fill our lives with yourselves... your beautiful, complex, funny, sad and true selves. Our lives are empty without you... a house is just sticks and stones, but a home is where our lives intersect in a million little ways. The new place is just a hop, skip and a jump away, and it needs you even more than it needs furniture. Consider this my standing invitation to you to make our house our home.

Oh, and if you could come help us move, that'd be great, too :) I love you guys. Deeply & truly.