I remember the old Michael W. Smith song word for word. It was our theme song senior year of high school.

Friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
’cause the welcome will not end
Though it’s hard to let you go
In the Father’s hands we know
That a lifetime’s not too long to live as friends.

Sometimes, when I’m prepping this house to sell or packing things up to move, I’m excited as all get out. Sometimes it hits me hard I’m leaving everything I know.

Now, let me start out by saying, I don’t have many friends. Wow, that sounds so sad, doesn’t it? But it’s a fact. My life, for so many years, has revolved around kids. My “friends” were the mothers of my kids’ friends. There was no time to squeeze in my own socialization. My life revolved around socializing them. And I was ok with that for a long time.

And then we met a family who we clicked with. The kids got along famously. And the mom and I could chat for hours and still not feel like we had covered all the topics. We bounced ideas off of each other, shared horror stories about parenting, and did whatever we could to support one another. As the mother of two herself, she is as busy as I am so we only pulled off a visit 3 or 4 times a year. But they were good visits!!

Just last week we had one of those visits, and I must tell you–it hit me hard we’re moving away. Because Tina did about the nicest thing anyone (outside of family) has done for me in a long time (possibly ever.)

Just before her visit I had several KA-razy days. Mike and I flew to Florida for the job interview. We got home Friday night and then early the next day we had scavengers family descend on us for the weekend. First thing Monday morning we had a realtor at our door to go over the house and list it. So I’m not even sure “KA-razy” covers it adequately.

Tina and I had planned to get together that day. The kids were all anxious to play together, and we were anxious to catch up with all of the happenings going on in both of our lives. I was bound and determined not to cancel this visit. Tina emailed me and asked me if she could bring anything. I was fresh out of bread and I asked her if she had any she could bring.

Tina came with bread–both regular sliced bread and a loaf of french. She also came with ham and cheese. And some snacks. And two rotisserie chickens. She knew I hadn’t had time to grocery shop and she wanted to help me out.

How awesome is that? She sensed a need and filled it. I stretched that food out with a few staples we had in the pantry and we ate well for days! Every time I ate ham, or sliced off a piece of chicken, or buttered a piece of bread, I remembered how wonderful it is to have Tina in my life. And it hit me hard I’m leaving.

Thank you, Tina, for being such a good friend and for showing God’s love in such a real way. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.

(Did I mention Tina was skinny?*)

*Sorry, had to add that. Two deep, philosophical posts in a row might give people the idea I’ve lost my sense of humor!

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I just had to share that. Some of the stuff they tackle and accomplish amazes me. Up until this move, I was happy with just the status quo. Stick to what I know and life will be easier. This move has really challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. Of course, I know full well if I hate it, I can come back to what I know. But I look at my kids and see some of the challenges they’ve overcome and hurdles they’ve leapt, and that challenges me to tackle this one.

How scary it is to dive in head first…..

How much easier it is when someone is holding on…..


How much safer it is to “watch” instead of to “DO!”


KT and Nick, you guys are stinkin’ amazing!

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Yeah, that’s right. Some realty rule. I can’t be in the house while they are showing it. Now just how am I going to convince someone they have to buy this house if I can’t be here gushing about its many features?

We had a showing Friday evening. And yes, we left the house as instructed. But we didn’t go far. Just one street over. And we spied on people as they were going into the house. They stayed 40 minutes. I think that’s a good thing. But I’m sure they were not aware of certain features that are must-haves. I told our realtor all of the upgrades, but did their realtor know them all?

I racked my brain for a solution. And, as usually happens when I rack my brain, I got a headache. But I persisted because this house needs to sell.

It paid off. I came up with a brilliant idea. And my realtor agreed it was a good idea. Check these out….

These are hung strategically throughout the house to alert potential buyers of things they may not know. Things that will make them sit up in bed at 2:00 a.m. and yell, “I simply must have the house with the tilt-in Krypton-filled windows!”

Features that are obvious are not touted on signs. No point in hanging one that says “6 person hot tub” when they can clearly see there is a 6 person hot tub right there in front of them. I’d say there are about a dozen of them scattered through the house.

I’m really hoping the strategy works. And who knows, maybe my idea will catch on, and in a year realtors across the world will share a home’s features on cardstock.

KT, as a typical teenager, thinks the signs are “cheesy.” What say you?

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When you give things away, people come out of the woodwork to snag them up. Seriously, if you ever want to quickly get rid of things, give them away. I also found out feeding the people who come to take your stuff keeps their energy levels up and they can scavenge for longer periods. (grin)

My parents came back down with their Suburban and trailer to pick up the last of their stuff, my brother’s stuff, my sister’s stuff, and my niece’s stuff. And some other stuff that I threw into the pile just because I needed to get rid of it quickly. Did I say that out loud?

So here is the Suburban with its load. That big TV fit in the empty spot and we were able to squeeze in a slightly smaller TV too!

And the trailer. Stuffed to the gills.


The result? A van in the garage!!!


Ta-da…..


Oops, sorry, that was the before picture (actually, it was before I got all of the cra….treasures in there!)

Oh, yes, here is the correct picture!

For some clarification……


Pile A is the pile of bins and storage containers I reclaimed by giving away what was inside of them.
Pile B is the pile of things ready to pack up as soon as we get some moving boxes.
Pile C is a pile of things that need to go to Play It Again Sports–kid’s ice skates, roller skates, ski helmets.
Pile D is a pile of things that either need donated or freecycled.

We’re definitely getting there.

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This week’s theme is “What is that?”

Sure, I could show you some strange stuff. Some took me awhile to figure out what it was, some I still don’t know what it is was.

Like this little mouse. I had to get pretty up close and personal with him to figure out what it was.

Or this mouse….

Then there is this. Up until that point, I didn’t know cashews came in girl versions and boy versions.

But this is a true “What is that?” picture. Because I have no idea. There were two of them roaming around my backyard one day.

Any ideas what it is???

To see more Photo Hunt pictures, click here: PhotoHunt

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