Melancholia

As the days grow shorter and the leaves drop from the trees, it is my natural tendency to become sad. With all of the changes we've experienced this year it's especially difficult to live up to my name...We are very blessed in so many ways, yet there are so many friends and family members going through various trials and tribulations that it makes my heart ache for them: a sweet family dealing with chemo for their daughter (who is Matthew's age), Matthew's move back to Abilene, two sons dealing with disintegrated marriages, friends facing changes and challenges that keep them up at night , a husband whose health is a continuous concern... Satan doesn't have to work too hard in times like these to cause despair and doubt.

My friend Mark at the V A hospital is going downhill quickly. When I went to his room to take him downstairs, he was sitting in his wheelchair facing the door with the phone against his ear and he was asleep. He didn't hear me come in, so I greeted him at which point he woke up and hung up the phone. After checking to make sure he had everything he needed and turning out the light, we went to the elevator and headed down four floors and through the emergency room waiting area to go outside. At that point Mark told me to stop, we needed to go back upstairs to get money for newspapers. We went back up to his room to retrieve his wallet, and headed back down the elevator and towards the ER waiting room. Mark then started asking people in the waiting room if they had change for a $20 bill, but no one did. We then went to the Starbucks down the hall to get his change and headed back to the ER waiting room exit. Once again Mark stopped me to go back to Starbucks and get quarters, the newspaper machines didn't accept dollar bills. By the time we finally got his two newspapers and got to the "smoking hut" outside, a nurse was looking for him to take him to have a CT scan and didn't let him light up. Bless his heart. I noticed in his room the staff had positioned his bed to prop the door open, so he no longer can close his door. There was also an oxygen tube plugged into the wall and lying on his bed. I pray that Mark can go peacefully and painlessly. I hope he finds peace in the Lord, but I'm not allowed to talk about such things to him. It is all in God's hands...

The Fall

It finally has cooled down and the rainy season has settled in. The leaves are just beginning to turn and the hollies and other such plants are producing berries for the winter. It seems impossible that we've been here nine months, yet in other ways it seems much longer. We are really beginning to feel at home in Murfreesboro.

Last weekend we went to Memphis for the arrival of Mendy's first grandson, Miles Shilling Breeden. He weighed a whopping 10 lbs 4 oz and was 21.5 inches long. He's going to be tall like his mom and dad. It will be nice living close enough to watch him grow up. Hopefully he'll be able to see his second cousins a lot and they'll be great friends.

On Mondays and Wednesdays I help the director of the Child Development Center at MTSU with paperwork and bookkeeping. She's quite a character and I enjoy the time I spend there, but my Tuesday and Thursday mornings are my favorites. I volunteer at the Alvin C. York VA Hospital a mile from my house. I have two wheelchair bound friends that I take out on the grounds.

Mr H came to the VA after a stroke several years ago. At that time he was bedridden and extremely obese. He's now able to get around in a wheelchair and is of average size, but his speech and vision are still affected. We have learned how to communicate and enjoy just sitting and watching the world go by on our outings. His smile is worth more than any paycheck!

Mark moved to Murfreesboro from Fort Lauderdale to help his mom with his dad who was suffering from Alzheimer's. Not long after he moved here Mark starting having health problems. He is now in the hospice wing of the VA with an inoperable brain tumor. I take him outside to smoke and to tour the grounds in good weather. His balance and memory are affected by the tumor and he can no longer get around by himself. He went to his parents for a visit over the weekend and had not returned as of this morning, so I hope he's okay. He seems to have been noticeably declining over the past couple of weeks.

Revival

It has been awhile since my last post. I had a meltdown after my Paxil stop working. It was kind of like a DieHard car battery: it just stopped working with no warning. After days of ceaseless praying and worrying David sick, I made an appointment with my doctor, who prescribed Cymbalta. Within a few days I was beginning to feel better, and now I'm back to my old self, with a little more energy than I had with Paxil. I even drove to Midlothian, Texas by myself for sweet Ellyse' first birthday. 20 kids and 40 adults shared in the celebration. There are lots of pictures here: http://dyersdaily.blogspot.com/

I am very blessed and very thankful for God's grace (and for antidepressants). The house is feeling more like home every day. I've been volunteering at the Alvin C York V A Medical Center two mornings a week, and at the MTSU Child Development Office two mornings a week helping the director with bookkeeping and office work. We are making friends and loving our worship services at church, we just need to get involved in a small group. We have had incredible weather and an abundance of rain without flooding. Life in the Boro is very good!

Reflections

The series on the Holy Spirit has caused me to reflect a lot on my walk. I am convicted by the Spirit daily on all of my shortcomings. I am wrestling with the physical as I am seeking to allow the Spirit to rule in my life.

These are very troubling times we live in. The economy stinks, thanks in large part to excesses and greed. Political upheaval is taking place around the world. The media seems to feed on bad news and everything looks dark and grim. Darkness is nothing new, we just have cable and internet to remind us of it from every corner of the globe 24/7. But we are called to be light. May we reflect the light of the One who came to redeem us in this dark and troubled world.

There's a Stirring

Last week David Young started an awesome series of 6 lessons on the Holy Spirit at North Boulevard. Our tradition has skirted around the Holy Spirit alot, and we have missed out on the greatest benefit of our conversion in the process. Grieving and quenching the Spirit are not seen as relevant in these times in a lot of our brotherhood, and that may very well be the reason for our decline. The Spirit can breathe new life into the body of Christ if we allow Him to. The Spirit can and does breathe new life into us when we allow Him to! Holy Spirit, come!

http://www.northboulevardfamily.com/worship/audio/2009_6_14_1.mp3.mp3

http://www.northboulevardfamily.com/worship/audio/2009_6_14_2.mp3.mp3

Lessons from the Garden

Our house has professional landscaping. The previous owners had three small children, so the flower gardens were pretty neglected. I got out last Thursday with my cotton gardening gloves and tore out miles of crab grass and other weeds. Since the black mulch had not been "added to" in the four years the house has been here, only the thickest chunks remained as mulch, the rest had decomposed into a very rich looking top soil. The crab grass was really going crazy with all of the rain we've had this spring. After an hour of working in the garden, the black mulch/soil and moisture soaked through to my skin so the gloves came off. (I still have stains on my right hand 8 days later, but they get a little lighter every day). Wednesday we purchased herbs and more mulch to fill in the bare spots but it rained and stormed most of today; I'll get out and plant and mulch tomorrow, weather permitting.

As I was laboring in the initial assault on the weeds (four hours) it occurred to me that the church is very much like a garden. A little crabgrass, if left unattended, can take over a garden. It can choke out the good (plants) and create all kinds of problems. Hmmm, I've known people like that...But, lest I become to judgemental, my hands are stained...Hmmm, sins of commission and omission...

We bow our Hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
And Oh Lord we cast out our idols

So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
And oh God let us be
A generation that seeks
Seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
And oh God let us be
A generation that seeks
Seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob

Showers of Blessings

It's been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We're getting settled in our new house and count our blessings every day. The Gotcher side of the family and Mendy came to help with the heavy lifting and some unpacking; then Sarah, Jarrod and the kids came for a visit. Logan loved the play fort in the back yard and all of Matthew's musical "toys" and asked that it be a "short time" until they could come visit again. He was a hoot at Cannonsburgh Village and had to tell Matthew and I what each of the buildings were from the "old times". Elly just keeps getting more adorable and she's already displaying a very opinionated personality. She just consumes everything with those huge blue eyes: it will be very interesting when she starts talking. Logan is a very loving big brother, so the boys had better watch out when she gets a little older!

We were blessed with a visit from Charles and Judy Wilhelm Friday night, along with their son Barry and his family from Spring Hill, Tennessee. Charles and Judy had kept Barry's girls for a week in Decatur, and brought them back to Tennessee on Thursday. It was good to see them and to meet Barry's wife, Tara, and his two sweet daughters. Tara is a teacher in Franklin, and Barry works for a Health Insurance Group in Nashville. We initiated David's new grill and ate out on the patio. It was absolutely perfect weather and no mosquitoes. When the sun went down it got so cool we went in the house to finish visiting.

Matthew spent Wednesday through yesterday in Atlanta visiting Chris and applying for jobs down there. He's in Memphis tonight at an "Invitation Only" hiring event at the Apple store his cousin Michael works for. We should hear from him in a bit about how that went. If it went well, he'll be staying in Memphis for training and then will be moving to Memphis next weekend. He's feeling much better about things than he did a month ago!

We have opportunities to feast on any type of music we want within an hours drive either way this week: www.cmafest.com and www.bonnaroo.com. Since we don't like crowds, we'll just watch news coverage of the events and maybe plan to go next year....

Big Week Ahead!

Tomorrow David and his dean meet with Tennessee Board of Regents in Nashville. We then go to the new house for our final walk-through tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. If all is in order we will close on the house Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. It's a little daunting to sign a 30 mortgage at this stage of our lives, but it's a leap of faith like every other part of this move. The Lord will provide, we have experienced that in amazing ways the last several months!

Friday the Gotcher half of the family will be coming in from Memphis, Atlanta, and Mississippi. Chris G. is in Sweden but will be flying back to Atlanta Thursday. He plans to leave no later than noon his time (11:00 our time) to drive up in his new Toyota Tundra. It will come in handy for moving furniture.

We were officially announced as new members at church this morning with a picture I had sent in from the Vow Renewal shown on the screen. Several people came up to welcome us after service, and as we were heading from the balcony to the main floor for class a man came up to us and said, "Are you David? Are you Bubba Gotcher?" It turns out he was Don Garrett from Grapevine, ACU alum and former Kinsmen. He was here to "call" the track meet at MTSU. He remembered David from Kinsmen breakfasts. It is a small world!

Rainy Days and Mondays, Tuesdays...

Well, it would seem that Spring is the rainy season here.:-) It's not a constant thing so you can get in and out without being drenched if you watch weather channel religiously: they even have a Nashville channel that is 24/7 Middle Tennessee weather! (Another thing I love about living in the Boro)!  I had to turn the air on in the apartment yesterday, not because of heat, but the humidity in the still air of the apartment was nearly suffocating. After 10+ years in West Texas t it's going to take some time to get used to moisture:-) 

Last weekend we went to Fall Creek Falls with the Boyles. We ate at the Inn Friday night: they had an all you can eat seafood buffet which Mike and Connie indulged in: David had grilled salmon from the menu (to keep from binging on the buffet) and I had a rather flavorless grilled chicken breast. It was interesting watching the Boyles pick the tiny bits of (opilio) crabmeat from their stacks of the "Deadliest Catch" . That's a lot of danger and a lot of work for something so labor-intensive and stinky:-) 

Fall Creek Falls is a beautiful park, rivaling any we've seen in all of our travels. There are miles of hiking trails, incredible waterfalls, 4 suspension bridges, (make sure you never walk on one when David's around), trees, trees, and more trees. We were blessed with a break in the rain for our outdoors adventure. We all were sore the next day from using all those climbing muscles. http://fallcreekfalls.ning.com/photo

 We ate dinner Saturday night at a Bed and Breakfast/Restaurant just outside of the park. The meal was very good and the owner/cook twisted our arms to make us try some fresh fried pies for dessert. Mike and Connie shared a peach pie and David and I shared a coconut cream fried pie. They were warm and came with homemade vanilla ice cream...a perfect ending to a great day of fun. We then went back to the Inn and played Mexican Train dominoes with Mike and Connie until we all ran out of steam at about 8:30.  Did I mention we love it here?

Fun with Friends

Saturday we went to Opry Mills mall with the Boyles. They have stores for everyone: tools, knives, Bass Pro, Gibson showcase for the guys and everything else for gals. (The Apple Barn store is one of everyone's favorites). 

They have two carousels and a train (trackless and no loud whistle) for kids to ride around in the mall. There's a sting ray exhibit, and an Aquarium restaurant as well as a Rainforest Cafe. It's a great family friendly place! 

We went to Cock of the Walk for a great dinner served in pie tins and iced tea in tin cups. It reminded me of visits to my great aunts an d drinking fresh drawn icy cold well water from a dipper. Kids today have no idea what that means....okay, I'm old....

On the way back to the Boro we stopped to walk across a pedestrian bridge Mike and Connie had noticed several times during recent trips to Nashville. http://www.yelp.com/biz/cumberland-river-pedestrian-bridge-nashville Very nice!

Sunday after church and nap we went walking around Fortress Rosecrans here in the Boro. There is so much to do and see right here in town it's amazing. Greenways are big here in Middle Tennessee, maybe we'll tackle part of the Stone's River Greenway next weekend:http://www.traillink.com/ViewTrail.aspx?AcctID=6032144

A Texan No Longer

Well, today I made it official and got my Tennessee Driver's License. In Tennessee you get your license immediately and they don't make you look like you're in a line-up at the police station. I'm not sure what's up with the DPS in Texas....

Signs of spring have been popping up for weeks now. One thing I keep forgetting to mention is the onion grass. I had forgotten that fragrance in the 10 years we lived in Abilene, but it was sweet to smell it several weeks ago when the first mowing of the season was taking place. It sure beats that first smell of spring in Abilene: skunk! I haven't smelled a skunk since I left!

We are still waiting on the photographer's CD of our Vow Renewal. We can't wait to see all of the pictures of the family and friends and make copies for everyone. It was such a great time and we are so blessed to have such sweet and funny family and friends. God is so good!

The Eye of the Storm

We had an incredible time in Memphis with all of the kids for our renewal. Eddie Sharp made it in Thursday night after an afternoon of delays caused by high winds in Austin and Dallas. It was great to have him be a part of the weekend, although we missed having his better half, Annette, with us. Matthew had to stay for classes on Friday, and had to be evacuated to the basement at MTSU during his 11:30 class because a tornado was hitting Murfreesboro. He got on the road just as it was being closed down as a tornado was crossing I24. Thankfully he was able to get through the hail storm in tact (his car, though battered, had no damage) and made it to Memphis just in time for the last pictures and the renewal ceremony.

One of our ministers at North Boulevard was jogging and was caught in the tornado: http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=10199271

It was such an awesome display of the power of the mighty God we serve!

Blessings upon blessings

We are now in the process of buying a house. If all goes well, we should be able to move out from under the Sumo wrestlers upstairs on May 15th. We will have to keep the apartment and utilities turned on until the end of July, but that will give us 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, just on opposite sides of Murfreesboro....We'll find out soon enough if I need to go back to work!

We are loving our new church home. North Boulevard has great talent and they are known throughout the brotherhood for their small group ministry. We see our new house as an opportunity to engage in a small group and one of the secretaries wants us to start a singles ministry for college students/young professionals. We aren't so sure about our talents in that ministry, but we will get involved as soon as we get settled in our new house. 

Today's class and service were led by David Young. Class was very good, and the "sermon" was David Y acting out the book of James. He brought the ancient words to life; it was incredible! It will be posted on the website in the next day or two, I'll post the link when I notice it's online. 

Home, Sweet Home (?)

We found a house that we fell in love with. It is in move-in condition and is only 4 years old. We made an offer last night and should know by 4:00 today if it's been accepted or if the sellers will counter. The good news for us is that it's been on the market for 245 days and the sellers are relocating: the bad news is they were supposed to get another offer yesterday. If this is the house we are meant to make our home it will work out. If not, the Lord will provide!

March "Madness"

Notice I changed the title of this blog. I'm no longer upset about the move: Murfreesboro is a great place to live, unless you park somewhere you shouldn't. Mendy and Matthew can both tell you about that....

We had a busy month with company from Abilene the second week of March and Mendy's visit during her spring break the week after that. We actually had a realtor show us through two houses that were quite a way out. They looked good on paper but had some structural issues besides needing the occupants to be in top physical condition to get around in either of the yards. We found out what we didn't want in a hurry!

We looked at four houses this past Friday afternoon that were in four different directions. They were a bit more promising but still not exactly what we're looking for. One came really close, but it had a very small Master closet and vinyl flooring in the Master bathroom. Every house we looked at had the plastic one-piece tub/shower surrounds in the second bathrooms. The separate showers in the Master baths were  plastic as well....guess it was a cost and time saving measure when housing was booming here. The new construction homes have tile but much smaller rooms or less living space...We'll keep looking...

Eating our Way Around Middle Tennessee

Mike and Connie picked us up today at 11:00 to go to Franklin. One of Mike's hobbies is woodworking and his favorite woodcraft store in Franklin is having a sale. After shopping, we drove through Leiper's Fork, an historical area south of Nashville. Evidently a lot of the Nashville C/W stars live in the area since it's remote. It was pretty with the rolling hills and small country road winding through it and the miles and miles of fences. We can't wait to see it in spring when everything is in bloom. We also drove on the northernmost 6 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Loveless Cafe. http://www.lovelesscafe.com/If you want to experience Southern cooking, this is the place! The biscuits are to die for, and their blackberry jam is incredible. I had the country fried steak (no gravy) squash casserole and fried okra. It was worth every calorie. I'll fast tomorrow to make up for it, or maybe all next week...

We reconnected with old friends, Wayne and Judy Harvell,  who live just this side of the Alabama border last week. Wayne is semi-retired from preaching and owns a contracting business called Mr. Goodhammer. They have a house on 7 acres and with Wayne's carpentry skills and Judy's decorating talent, we can't wait to see their home. Depending on the weather, that may be next weekend's jaunt.

To Memphis, To Memphis, to Buy a Fat Pig

Okay, actually it's to eat some good Memphis pork barbecue while we're taking care of the arrangements for our Vow Renewal in April. We're also taking our washer and dryer to Mendy to get it out of our storage garage. Mendy is giving her old set to a friend's newly wed son and daughter-in-law.

Going to Memphis only takes as long as the trip from Abilene to Sarah and Jarrod's so that's a blessing. Unfortunately it now takes 13 1/2 hours to get to Sarah and Jarrod's from Murfreesboro...

End of Week Two

It is so cool to drive in any direction and see historical markers in some cases predating the Civil War. There is such an aura of history here, especially in the area around the oldest part of MTSU. The MTSU President's House on campus is a beautiful antebellum mansion. The courthouse square is so quaint, it is reminiscent of small town squares in Texas. We have heard Murfreesboro described as a growing modern city with a small town feel. There's no better way to describe it. We are blessed to be here.

We took a drive to Watertown yesterday to see a nearly completed log home. The builder comes highly recommended from one of the ladies in David's office and with good reason. He is a master at his craft and does wonderful work. The drive out there was beautiful, even with the bare trees and a slight mist and fog in the hills.

I think David has finally realized that with all he wants in land and square footage, a newly built log home does not fit in our budget. The house alone would be around $290,000, and the land would be at least $40,000 on top of that. It makes a lot more sense to buy an existing home with more square footage and a half-acre or so lot. There are a lot of new homes that haven't "bottomed out" in price yet.

We had a great time at Mike and Connie Boyle's last night. David and Lisa Foster and their 15 year old daughter were there as well. The Fosters moved from Abilene to Murfreesboro in 2002. David was the founder of Leapfrog Technologies in Abilene and taught in the Bible Department at ACU. Lisa is from the Nashville area originally. She went to ACU for college and thought she had "fallen off the edge of the earth" when she got to Abilene. She's ecstatic to be back home, but does miss the people and the sunsets and sunrises.

Nesting in Tennessee

Our furniture arrived Friday and Mendy came from Memphis to help us unpack and decorate our new temporary home. The upstairs neighbors must be Sumo wrestlers who play drums and do Wii Fit in the living room. We can't hear conversations or even voices, but we sure hear a lot of thumping and dropping up there. David was ready to move the first night he spent here. Now that we have everything arranged and comfy cozy, I feel almost at home.

We went to Bell Buckle Saturday night for dinner. It's a cute little town about 25 miles out in the country with little shops and a great restaurant called the Bell Buckle Cafe. They serve comfort food and oh is it good! I had the vegetable plate but Mendy had meatloaf and David had a smoked pork chop plate. It was as good as a steak from Perini's! They are known for their blueberry (congealed) salad but they were out of it, so it looks like we'll have to go back another time to try it. They have live music on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and even though I'm not much of a country or bluegrass fan, it was very good.

We went to North Boulevard church this morning. We went to John Risse's class in the auditorium (he's good but talks really fast and it takes some getting used to). He came by to talk to us during the "meet and greet" at the beginning of the worship service and is really a nice man. The pulpit minister, David Young, is incredible. There is a lot of talent in that congregation, and even in these difficult times their contribution exceeds their budget. I think we've found our church home.

I think I'll call it a night. The thumping upstairs has ceased, so maybe I can get to sleep!

Chilling in The 'Boro

It's been an interesting couple of days here in Murfreesboro. David's work is very exciting for him and new opportunities are opening up almost on a daily basis. He loves being a part of something so vital and in which the administration and even the governor give a lot of support. I'm still trying to get my bearings and recuperate from all of the chaos of the last couple of months. Hopefully the movers will get here Friday. The weather has been pretty cold but should be in the 50's and 60's later in the week, so having the front door open Friday won't be too uncomfortable.

There's a new shopping center on the north side of town that everyone here is very proud of. It's called The Avenue and is a large outdoor shopping venue much like you would see in Houston or the Metroplex. Considering that Mboro is only around 146,000 in population, it's pretty impressive. With the economy and the number of retailers that have gone under in the last couple of months there are still a lot of vacant storefronts though. I'm excited that they do have a World Market. There's a Kohl's within easy walking distance of our apartment, too. Sarah will feel right at home here!

It Is Finished

Whew! What a wild ride the last few weeks have been! The country bumpkin inspector failed to notice that the disclosure form stated the irrigation system was inoperable and tried to turn the sprinklers on. When we had the new sewer line put in 2 years ago the plumbers just tied the line to the sprinkler system back into the sewer. The valve the inspector opened would not close so he had to turn the water off. Then it was up to me to find someone to repair it and have the water turned back on. I called the man who had done our bathroom remodel (there was an issue with the new bathtub he had installed) and he fixed the tub issue and cut the irrigation pipe and installed a temporary cap in case the buyer wanted to repair it later. When I got up at 2:45 in the morning with a splitting headache and took some Tylenol I eventually went back to our master bath and heard waterworks outside. I looked out the window and saw the backdoor neighbors porch light reflecting off the pond in our back yard. The problem was, we didn't put a pond in our back yard! I had to call the city to come out and turn the water off. The next morning I had to arrange for Bill to come back to fix his temporary cap. He installed a permanent one and I was able to shower and get to work a little after 11:00. Not a good time to miss 3 hours of work!

This week started off okay, but Monday night,Tuesday, and Wednesday morning we had an ice storm, so I missed another day and a half at the office. The lady who is replacing me could only train mornings Monday through Wednesday, so she only got two mornings worth of training since she was out of town the first two days of last week. I'm going to be spending a lot of time on the phone with her, I'm afraid!

The closing went off without a hitch yesterday, and it seems ACU decided to give David two months severance on his final paycheck. We should have a good down payment for a new house when we decide what we want to do in Murfreesboro. It's a God thing that this has all worked out this way.

"Lasting" Week

Today was my "last" Sunday at University Church of Christ. This has been home for 10 year and 5 months, more than half of our married life. The dear Christians here have been our family and I will miss them very much. Yesterday I packed my "last" box (and also removed the last piece of skin from my fingertips lol). This week I have to have some loose tile repaired, a lock on the barn repaired, have insurance adjuster come look at the roof, and an electrician come to check our wiring and put another bolt in our circuit box. I have about 108 more contribution receipt letters to print out and some 1099s, then a self-audit for our Worker's Comp Insurance Company, then I should be good to go. I'll not post again until I'm in Tennessee. David flies in to DFW this Friday night to help me make the drive. We'll spend the night with Sarah, Ellyse, Logan, and Jarrod, then on "home" to Tennessee on Saturday. I think I'm ready, but I will sure miss my beloved Texas and her beautiful sunsets!

God Has Smiled on Me

We sold the house Saturday to our neighbor's sweet father. He's been widowed for several years and is starting to have some health problems. It is a blessing for everyone concerned, and such a load off our shoulders! God is very good, a clear and present help! Gotta run and do a hundred errands on my extra day "off"....

In Transition

Well, David had to turn his laptop back into ACU and Matthew took his MacBook with him, so I have to post after hours at work. I won't be posting much during this time: too much to do here and at home.

David, Matthew, and Matthew's friend Mitch made it into Murfreesboro just fine Monday morning. They got the deposits made and got all of the stuff they had packed in the truck, Matthew's car, and the trailer unloaded and unpacked. They've been busy ever since, and had to take Mitch to the Nashville airport this afternoon, so now it's just the two of them "baching". It will be good bonding time for them.

David starts work tomorrow and Matthew is supposed to start classes, but he's been unable to register online. He was accepted for admission but every new student everywhere seems to have problems like this! It's nice to know it's not just ACU, and A & M.

A crew from church is going to help me get things done this weekend. Praise God for the family He provided for us through His beloved son!

New Year Blessings

The bookcases are empty, the cabinets are down to the bare necessities, our master bath is half-way through a remodel, and we have clutter covering nearly every surface. The garage and garden room are filling with boxes and storage tubs of various sizes. There's grit from the scraped ceiling/bathroom walls covering everything in our bedroom. There's a toilet sitting in our back yard (gives us that hillbilly ambience). Mendy has been tireless in packing and taking care of details. We would be in real trouble if she hadn't come to help us! Our contractor is going above and beyond in helping us get the house ready and disposing of old paint/garden chemicals, etc.

Our neighbor 's dad is really interested in our house. As soon as the bathroom is finished and we get the grit and clutter cleaned up we'll let him see it on the inside. It would be such a blessing to have it sold before we all get moved to Tennessee!