Catching up and more misc. stuff

It has been a while since I really had a chance to sit down and write something. I have tried several times, but always seem to get inturrupted. So, while sitting in the peacefulness of my parent's back porch I am going to try to get you caught up.

PACKING

I thought it was going to be easy. We had several garage sales and the more we sifted through the belongings we had accumliated over 17 years of marriage the easier it was to throw things away. During our month at the San Jose Mission House I would often look around and think (and even say to Kellye and Ken) that we would have room left over to take whatever we wanted. Well, I was wrong. (Gosh, that is hard to say, especially in print.) The week before we left we would pack, and then repack, and then weigh, and then reorganize, and then repack and when we were finished with that we would repack again. You see, getting all of our things into 14 suitcases is not really the issue. The biggest problem is that no one bag can weigh more than 50 pounds without forcing us to pay an extra fee for each bag that is overweight. So, while we had plenty of room we were wayyyyyy overweight. If you have read Kellye's blog then you have heard about us standing on the sidewalk of San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville with suitcases open, moving clothes and other things from one bag to another while I stood on a set of scales with my arms out. It had to have been a pretty strange sight. We never could have even come close to getting ready without the help of Kellye's parents. They worked tirelessly every day to make sure that we had everything we needed when it came time to go. And, as usual, Barb and Troy Johnson came to our rescue. Not only did they make it possible for us to finish on time, we had lots of laughs along the way. "Are you my Daddy?" They will be missed. And, did I mention that we STILL did not get to take everything that we needed to bring (my pillows included.) So Ken boxed up the remaining things and sent them to Baltimore via UPS. Our largest challenge with packing is that we will be at the International Learning Center in Virginia for 8 weeks before we leave for Moscow. So the clothes we need for there will be quite different that what we will need when we arrive in Russia in October. Thankfully, we are driving from here to ILC, so weight will not be an issue again until we load up to head for the airport again. So, the packing and repacking continues.

MOVING DAY

I was pretty proud of us, actually. We had been dreading the day we had to say goodbye for some time and none of us were looking forward to the tears that would be shed. However, all things considered we did pretty well. Saying "until later" to Kellye's family was difficult. Florida has been our home for 10 years and our family has become very close. I don't think that a day went by without us talking to one another and knowing that we would be seperated by time and distance made saying goodbye even harder.

Friday was interesting. We got to church at 6am and nobody had the keys to the office, so we could not get to our luggage. Joe Hutchinson had to call Tim Martin and wake him up. Finally, Joe Puhl showed with and unlocked for us. We managed to get off on time and were doing pretty well until we got to airport security. Then, for reasons unclear to me, our WHOLE family was tagged for extra security screening. When we arrived in Baltimore we discovered that the airline totally destroyed one of the new suitcases that you guys bought for us. I have never seen a suitcase damaged to this extent. So, Monday we boxed it up and sent it off so Delta could figure out what they are going to do about it. Fun, fun.

17 YEARS, AND STILL GOING

Saturday was our anniversary. I am a lucky man. I have a wonderful, beautiful and Godly wife. She is my treasure and I adore her. I could never write all of the things that I should to express to her how I feel about her, but know that I could not be the man I am today without her. ILYBC!

WHERE I COME FROM

It has been nice for me to spend time in the place where I grew up. I love Maryland and frankly I had forgotten how pretty it is here. There are rolling hills, lots of farms, old farm buildings, and quaint little towns. It is so peaceful.

Anybody who really knows me knows that I love to eat and that I plan my vacations around what and where I am going to eat. This trip is no different. I have had my favorite ice cream and pizza. Tonight we are having steamed crabs and Kellye has requested a crabcake dinner for her 40th birthday on Saturday. (Did I mention that Saturday was her birthday??)

I was invited to preach at my home church on Sunday. It was good to be back with the church folks that I grew up with. They are special folks to me and many have places in Marc's "Hall of Fame of Faith." If time permits (you see, I am writing this instead of working on the final paper for my Systematic Theology class) I am going to post recordings of my sermon and a few other things on our podcast. I will post a note here when I get that done.

We spent yesterday evening with Greg and Terri Miller. Greg and I grew up in church together and we had a delightful time with them and their children. Tonight my Aunt Lee has come over to spend the day with us and eat crabs. It is good to spend time with her as well. We are running out of days to squeeze things in, so hopefully we can get everything in.

Well, I better get going. I have a million things to do today and am also helping Dad set up his new iPod. Who knows, I may even make a Mac covert of him before too long!

Thanks for reading and keeping up with our family. We love and pray for each of you.

Blessings,
Marc