It's Now or Never

I can't say this for certain, but this may be the last entry I'm able to write for quite some time. Let's all pause for a moment to mourn . . . sniff sniff . . . okay, moment's over. So, let me try to wrap up everything that's outstanding and bring you all up to speed. I'll start with Part 2 of the potluck/going away party, which seems fairly anticlimactic at this point. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how special it was because it was such a humbling experience. Let me pick up from the "presentation" in the auditorium . . .

After we'd received our gifts, a big deal was made out of the fact that, as the preacher and the last to arrive at any potluck, Randy had never had a full plate of food (and certainly not a warm one!). Chuckle chuckle. So, after the prayer, we were instructed to go through the line first. The prayer was then offered and church was officially over. So we started visiting with those closest to us, and naturally Grandma Phyllis was one of the first people I saw. I gave her a big hug and we talked for a few minutes, when suddenly I was descended upon by Phyllis Hardy, who told me she nearly croaked when Peyton dropped the camera box (did I already mention that?), but whose job it also was to point me toward the Fellowship Hall because "they won't let anybody go through the line until YOU get there!" Whoops!

After we'd served ourselves hot, heaping plates of the most delicious Thanksgiving fare you've ever seen, we enjoyed a great time of fellowship and caught up with old friends. Yes, Burt and Heather were there for their annual Thanksgiving visit to see family in and around Grove City and they had precious Baby Will who is growing by leaps and bounds and LOVES dangling things, judging by his death grip on my earrings a couple of times! We are so excited because we'll be just a few hours down the road from them (they both work at Harding University in Searcy) and fully intend to take advantage of that fact!

After that, Audry called everyone to order and said that a few people had some parting words for us, and we spent some humbling, gratifying time hearing people tell us about the impact Randy's ministry has had on their lives and how worshipping at Southwestern for the last 11 years has meant so much to them. I think a couple of people even mentioned how "well-behaved" our children are--imagine that! [I'm sure these same people missed Sawyer head-banging my hip, saying, "Mom, let's go home!" :-)]

After the potluck we hung around talking some more (it was great to get to see Tom, Missy and Casie one last time--for now) and we finally closed the building down around 3:30 p.m. with the Bakers (Jonathan, Erin and Deklan). I couldn't believe how late it had gotten! Jonathan and I had gotten into a discussion about RSS feeds and how you can consolidate everything you read regularly on the Internet into one place, so of course I could not rest until I'd tried it for myself. Unfortunately, because we got our computer about the time the last dinosaur died out (you don't really believe dinosaurs existed MILLIONS of years ago, do you???), it has not kept up with the times and will not support my preferred Reader (although I did get it to work in iGoogle). But I'm sure that's information you're not the least bit interested in . . .
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The rest of the week has been a bit of a blur, for obvious reasons. I've spent my days pulling out, dusting off, throwing away, packing--you get the idea. I took a few things to Once Upon a Child and suffered through the humiliation of watching them circle around my items like vultures, looking at every ding and scratch, assessing their worth and finally setting a price. Not so bad when I walked out with cash in hand, but not an experience I'd want to go through again!
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Tuesday's highlight was my night out with Teresa Blackwood (and Cooper!). We went to The Mohawk which, of course, I had never heard of because I'm so boring. JP and Teresa know all the great places to eat! Cooper is the sweetest baby you have ever seen and was a wonderful dinner companion . . . right up until Teresa was served her food. Naturally. Suddenly his dry crackers didn't seem so appealing! She ended up holding him on her lap where he alternately devoured and then choked up untold numbers of her steak fries!
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On Wednesday, since all the kids were out of school for the holiday, Austin and Grant's mom, Tina, invited Tyler over to play for the day. She was here by 9:30 a.m. to pick him up and we made arrangements to go to their house for dinner before Bible study that night. Going to Cam and Tina's house is always a good time--Cam is a great storyteller, Tina is the sort of hostess who puts me to shame (and no, I'm not just saying that because you're reading this!) and they are just wonderful people who've become even better friends. We got over there around 4:30 p.m. for dinner so Darcy, Peyton and Sawyer got in on the tail-end of the action with Austin, Grant and Tyler, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as Tina observed (more on that in a minute).
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Thursday was a quiet day for us, and an emotional one for me. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which the kids really enjoyed (Ashley Tisdale AND Corbin Bleu--GET OUT!). We then dined on an unorthodox feast of Pork Loin Country-Style Ribs (hey, we've got to use up the food in our freezer!), mashed potatoes, Jalapeno Corn, Green Bean Casserole (you knew that was coming, didn't you?), deviled eggs and rolls. Seems like something is missing, but that's enough, isn't it? We attempted to do the round-robin thing where everybody talks about what he/she is grateful for, and through a lot of laughter and a few tears we gave thanks to God for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our health, our family and friends, and our upcoming move to TX where we've already made new friends. Peyton's thanks made my heart ache--she mentioned some of the people at Southwestern that she is close to (not just kids) and it made me realize once again how grateful I am for the many adults who took my kids in and loved on them in the absence of their biological grandparents, and how much they're going to be missed.

Finally, we decided to put aside the chaos of packing for one day and hit the dollar theater in true Thanksgiving Day fashion! We took the kids to see Underdog and came away pleasantly surprised that it was actually pretty good! Way more laughs than I expected and the kids all gave it two thumbs up, which is all that matters when you come right down to it. (That's Sawyer's new thing--when I put something on his plate that he doesn't like he'll say, "Thumbs down, Mom." Isn't he just an angel??!)
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Friday was a day for giving even more thanks. Tina called again, but this time she wasn't calling to invite Tyler over; this time she invited the whole mob! Hallelujah! If you could see how the kids have been rattling around here lately in the midst of all the packing and mess . . . they have been adrift. And I had another busy day planned for myself, so it was such a blessing to know the kids were being taken care of, fussed over and entertained all day. Tina had a day of chores planned for herself, including scrubbing her kitchen grout and working through the laundry, and apparently (but not surprisingly) Peyton shadowed her most of the day, asking what could be done and helping where she could, which led Tina to fear that I would criticize her for making Peyton work all day! I, in turn, worried that Peyton might have been more of a hindrance than a help--she can be quite the talker!

Cam came home from work and was preparing to take a deer he'd shot last year to a taxidermist to have it stuffed and mounted. Before he went, he asked Sawyer if he'd like to see the deer out in the garage. Evidently, Sawyer was engrossed in his Webkinz game but when he heard the word "antlers," his curiosity was piqued. He told me later that he'd gotten to touch the deer and that he was "asleep." Cam's eyes met mine over the top of Sawyer's head and he made a sort of a grimace, and I just laughed. Then Sawyer said, "Grant told me the deer was DEAD but he wasn't--he was just asleep." Whatever you say, buddy.

A longtime member at Southwestern passed away on Wednesday so Randy and I went to the visitation at the church building for about an hour last night and then headed back over to Cam and Tina's house to get the kids. Randy became mesmerized watching the LSU/Arkansas football game in high-def on their big-screen TV, so we ended up ordering pizza and hanging out until 9:00 p.m. I told you, they're great people!
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And that brings us to today, and back to the sad revelation that this may be my last post for a while. I already know what tomorrow looks like and "Computer Time" is not on the agenda, and Monday is THE BIG DAY! The movers will be here first thing in the morning and my time will no longer be my own. And I was informed by Randy on Thanksgiving Day that we may not have Internet access at our house for a few months (or at least until we sell this house)--I have to say, I did not give thanks for that little piece of information! Please pray that this house sells soon!!! Or better yet, call or e-mail Randy (HE will have daily Internet access at the church building, of course) and demand that he let me sign up. What will I do without my blog?? Tina suggested that I charge my readers a dollar each (hee hee) but I don't even think my blood relatives would pay to read this drivel!
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I might surprise you--I might surprise myself--by finding a chance to sneak on and say hello, but I'm just saying the chances are slim for a while. But I WILL BE BACK! Don't delete me from your bookmarks! I will be back just as soon as is humanly possible! I may even try to get back on today if I get a chance to download some of the pictures I've taken with my new camera. (I say that to keep you coming back!) But for now, I'll catch you on the flip side!