The "heavy lifting" started last Saturday with the "staging" event. We anticipated have trouble rounding up help during the work week, so we asked folks to come over on Saturday to help us move furniture into our garage. This was "hedging our bets"; if Heather and I were going to have to load the truck ourselves, we wanted everything to be a straight shot onto the truck. Heather can lift and load, but navigating the house would have been nearly impossible for the two of us alone.
Thank you to Jamie Ellor, John Frankhouser, Jim Kent and Steve Xeller. Steve Xeller also showed up when he has said he would, but he was able to turn right back around and return to his Saturday errands because things had gone so much faster than we expected. (Once again, I failed to break out the camera - so we do not have pictures to immortalize these mens' Herculean efforts on our behalf!)
We also really appreciate the help of Cynthia Priolet, Jody Wolfe and her family and Elizabeth Huang for watching our kids while we were packing on Friday, Saturday, and Monday, respectively! David and Emily got "just enough" of the packing experience when they were around, but it eased our way to not have to wonder "where are the kids and what are they getting into"?
Another thank you goes out to Jessica Cullen (and Hannah Susan!) for a delicious chicken pot pie dinner on Tuesday night, complete with yummy cupcakes and throw-away plastic dishes. A great help when all our dishes were in assorted boxes!
Wednesday was "throw it all on the truck" day. Our old house went from disaster area to empty in the space of a day. It was quite a transformation!A great big thank you to Alice Burwell, Arlissa Ferrara, Lisa Fournier, Jose Gonzalez, Dan Rubin and Cal Stone! Each helped in different ways and at different times. It was a very long day, and it would have been unworkable without their help!
Thank you to Hanif, Mike and Logan Drzal, who watched Emily during the day!
After a very confusing period of time on Wednesday night while we were getting my car relocated to Brian Herzog's house, we spent the night at Suburban Extended Stay in Sterling before running out to Ashburn for our closing on Thursday morning. (Who is Brian Herzog, you ask? I will be staying with Brian for the next two weeks while I wrap things up at work in Virginia. I suspect I will mention him in a subsequent post; however, "thank you" is definitely in order to Brian for being willing to open his home to me for such a long visit!)
"Thank you so much" to Shauna Kent, who watched David and Emily during the closing. Thank you also to Sylvia Haefer-Rose and Toni Macintire for guiding us through the process of selling our home and seeing us through the "legalese" of the settlement.
Many of this blogs' readers know that my parents-in-law, Tom and Sarah Clark, have offered space in their attic and basement to house much of our furniture and other "stuff" while we are at seminary. (Although the apartments at Concordia are nice and come with a healthy storage area underground, my family has accumulated enough things over the past ten years that we needed an alternative storage solution. Many thanks to Dad and Mom Clark for providing one!)
So after closing on the house on Thursday morning, we started our drive out the Noblesville with our truck load of household goods. We made the trip in two half days and arrived in the early afternoon on Friday. From the time of our arrival with only a break for lunch, we pulled off all of the things that were to stay in Noblesville, reloaded the boxes that had to come off to "make way" for those staying in Noblesville, and loaded a bunch of boxes that had already been staying there while we were selling our house.
We are thankful to the "moving party" for excellent help: Dad and Mom Clark, Jim Howe (there's a joker in every crowd), Austin Murray, Aaron Murray and Adam Murray.
Many, many thanks to Dad and Mom Clark, who opened their house for us to stay Friday night and are hosting my "homeless" family for the next several weeks! (We do not know how long it will be before we are able to move into our seminary housing. Although we plan to take a week and a half to visit my parents in Rogersville, Missouri, Mom and Dad Clark have opened their house to us for the duration.)
Although there was a light at the end of the tunnel, the work was not yet done. Leaving Heather, David and Emily in Noblesville, I drove the truck the last leg to St. Louis.
Thanks to the St. Louis lifters-haulers for giving up a Saturday to help out: Jaimie Miller, Jeff and Julie Miller, my Uncle Marvin Rosenkoetter (see, there really is a joker in every crowd!), and my Dad and Mom Rosenkoetter.
Many, many thanks also to Jeff and Julie Miller, who graciously opened their house last night. I was wiped out, so I was not especially lively company. Hopefully we will have many opportunities in the coming year to enjoy one anothers' company when we haven't been worn out lifting large, heavy furniture and boxes!
Sounds like a tiring week, no? Well, please note this very important point: our gracious God showers blessings on us all the time. And this big, tiring, long week was no exception. We received a lot of help! Did you read all of those names? Our Lord works through "means" to deliver His good gifts! Moved by the Spirit, many people were Creator's hands and feet as they lightened our load and lavished hospitality upon us. We are thankful for them all; we are thankful for the God who gives them life!
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