The house is ours! We have a closing date! Excitement abounds, but panic lurks at the door. Suddenly we are thrown into rush mode, right as we are headed into the holidays. When you are thrown into rush mode, but there is absolutely no time to physically do what needs to be done, then the head rushes along without the body. For me, that equals no sleep. There were so many nights I lay awake thinking that I should just get up and let my body join what my head was already doing. Still, I thought it was probably best for me to at least allow my body down time, even if the mind was not in agreement. I have learned that it is possible to go many nights with little sleep and survive. Grumpiness is a side-effect, however.
Finally we arrive to Dec 27, and I am able to draw a breath and begin to pack. Fortunately, the office is closed giving me extra hours to concentrate on the home stuff. Closing day is two days away and we have scheduled the following Friday and Saturday as move days. It will land on a holiday, but we have some very gracious friends and family who agree to help. (Bless you all!) The Tazmanian Devil had nothing on me as I whirled around packing in a fury. We had decided to leave most of the major furniture to stage the old house, but everything that could fit in a box and all the extra furniture was headed to the new house.
I gave the shout out for boxes and friends were kind enough to oblige. Every box that arrived was filled, taped shut and stacked in the dining room and living room.
Closing day arrived cold and rainy, but it couldn't damper our spirits. We headed off to sign the papers. Once every line was signed or initialed and dated we made our way to the our new home. We grabbed lunch to go on the way, so we could celebrate with a first meal in our new, yet empty kitchen. It wasn't until I stood in the kitchen that I was overwhelmed with emotion. The house was really ours...a gift from God's hand alone. "It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever." (Ps 44: 3, 8)
Perhaps I will blog later about how we came to purchase this home, but for now I will leave us in the kitchen, amazed and filled with gratitude! It wasn't the Extreme Makeover Ty Pennington's voice I heard that day, but a whisper of the Spirit saying "Welcome home, Drissell family, welcome home!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Moving Saga, Part 1
Hello, Blog! I've moved, but you are still easy to find, unlike almost everything else I own. It has been nearly 24 years since my last move and perhaps I had forgotten how tough moving can be, even across town and even when you choose to do it. Here are some things I am learning anew with this move.
It is stressful and there is no way around it. I feel so blessed to have this house and feel God's hand was in the whole thing, so somewhere in the back of my head full of denial, I must have thought it would be a wholly blissful occasion. Wrong. Let's set the scene a bit.
The circumstances surrounding the purchase of this home left us in the world of possibility, maybe an inkling of probability and absolutely no promise. We had no idea if we would actually acquire it or when until about 10 days before we signed the papers and even then were not 100% certain until those documents were autographed. We did not want to sell the home we presently owned until we knew for sure either as we did not have to move and did not want to be without a place to live.
Second point of stress: It is December. That statement alone probably says enough, but let me expound. I work for a church. The busiest days of the year are in December. One aspect of my job is that I help plan services, so I had an integral role for putting together a Christmas Eve service as well as the Sunday that followed two short days later. The weekend prior to Christmas, our sons graduated from college and needed to be moved out of their apartment and to their new residences. This was the week we got word the house indeed would be ours and we would close on Dec. 29th. Let me remind you that in the midst of all this there is still shopping to be done, meals to prepare, gifts to wrap, etc. and the family and other holiday celebrations.
Packing was delayed on two counts. I didn't know for sure if I was moving AND there was absolutely no time. So, following Dec. 26th service, the frantic move preparations began.
I am feeling a bit stressed just relaying all this and am up to my eyeballs in boxes, so stayed tuned for Part 2.
It is stressful and there is no way around it. I feel so blessed to have this house and feel God's hand was in the whole thing, so somewhere in the back of my head full of denial, I must have thought it would be a wholly blissful occasion. Wrong. Let's set the scene a bit.
The circumstances surrounding the purchase of this home left us in the world of possibility, maybe an inkling of probability and absolutely no promise. We had no idea if we would actually acquire it or when until about 10 days before we signed the papers and even then were not 100% certain until those documents were autographed. We did not want to sell the home we presently owned until we knew for sure either as we did not have to move and did not want to be without a place to live.
Second point of stress: It is December. That statement alone probably says enough, but let me expound. I work for a church. The busiest days of the year are in December. One aspect of my job is that I help plan services, so I had an integral role for putting together a Christmas Eve service as well as the Sunday that followed two short days later. The weekend prior to Christmas, our sons graduated from college and needed to be moved out of their apartment and to their new residences. This was the week we got word the house indeed would be ours and we would close on Dec. 29th. Let me remind you that in the midst of all this there is still shopping to be done, meals to prepare, gifts to wrap, etc. and the family and other holiday celebrations.
Packing was delayed on two counts. I didn't know for sure if I was moving AND there was absolutely no time. So, following Dec. 26th service, the frantic move preparations began.
I am feeling a bit stressed just relaying all this and am up to my eyeballs in boxes, so stayed tuned for Part 2.
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