Monday, April 29, 2013

Moving Day!

By Mary

It was moving day in our neck of the woods last Saturday--my fourth since our wedding, just under three years ago. You'd think I'd be an expert on it by now but I still feel like a beginner. Of course it didn't help that we didn't get boxes to start packing up until just three days before we planned to move everything. I don't recommend that at all. I had a half a week just crammed with nothing but packing.

But somehow we managed it, thanks to a lot of good friends. And as everything is settling down more and more, I think I really like it here. We only moved about 15 minutes away from our apartment...now we live in a townhouse with a little bitty fenced in yard (and Allie-dog couldn't be happier. She seems like a different animal altogether and sooo much more enjoyable)

I like getting to experiment with different kinds of homes to see what we might really like to have whenever we truly settle down somewhere someday. But then who knows? Maybe we won't ever end up finding our little dream house "someday". Maybe it'll just be a little something, somewhere, even in the middle of nowhere, doing something God gave us a passion to do. The future outside the Marine Corps seems so wide and open when we get to dreaming about it. A little exciting, a little scary.

Anyway, I'm leaving you with the beginnings of my moving checklist that I'm starting and adding to with every move. Little things like...

Having paper towels, plates, cups, and plastic utensils on hand, as well as extra toilet paper and trash bags.Which is an essential step towards my plan to

Pack the kitchen first (or at least early on). Everything in the kitchen was a wreck toward the end of my packing anyway, even though I saved it for last. And it all ended up packed way more disorganized than anything else due to the fact that it was last. I think I'd rather live off cold or microwaveable foods for several days and have it all organized.

Deep clean the place you're leaving just before you start packing at all. Then when everything is out you'll just have to do some touch-up work.

Pack an essentials box or bag with things like towels and handsoap and whatever else you'll be wanting for sure the first couple of days. Pack suitcases for your family like you would if you were going on a vacation. Then no matter what comes up right after the move, you'll be able to make it through a few days without scrambling through boxes. (The day after our move was shot as far as unpacking or organizing was concerned since we had a funeral to go to a couple hours away in Virginia)

Last little thought for the day is to have bottled water and snacks already on hand, especially if you have friends helping you do the moving. Keep the masses happy!




Sunday, April 7, 2013

missing with expectation

by Alanna

  My fiancee flew away again, to finish his last term at school. Call me crazy but it's been a long week so far without him. I do miss him everyday. I'm counting down the days til I see him again, and the weeks until we get to be married. It's something new to me- this missing with a fairly sure certainty that I'll see him again. For a long time I missed my son with so much unknown. The goodbyes I said on that continent were full of uncertainty, and I had no foreseeable future with my little one other than a blind hope, and trust in a good God. So now, as God brings me into a new chapter of the story, I'm thankful for weeks to count, thankful for a sure date printed on a wedding invitation, thankful that I don't have to wonder if that goodbye was our last. In this world there are no guarantees, so I pray that every time I speak to him it ends in love. But still, this is definitely a different kind of ache in my heart. One that is mixed with much expectation.  
   I'm thankful that as we wait for the return of our Savior, we wait with a sure hope. There's a bigger ache because this world is not our home, but there is a guarantee and a certainty that He is coming back for us. And for that I am most thankful.