Away from Home.. and Home Again

In a not-quite-24-hour visit to Virginia, I helped to clean a church for a few minutes. Not my own--but a church that would almost be like mine if we had like 450 more people. :) Cleaning the church is pleasantly familiar. The Youth Group and I even have special "clean up" music. No joke! Every Wednesday night, when the opening chords of the Supertones' Jury Duty hit the speakers, chairs, vacuums and other such things start to fly around. But I'm getting off-topic... I played with babies in the nursery, delivered a pie, made pretty music with a new digital piano, oooohed and aaaahed over Christmas decorations and pretty painted walls, experienced the weirdness of the Wii, talked while sitting in front of a fireless fireplace, laughed at a not-so-scary movie, smiled at old friends' faces, didn't get enough sleep, prayed for someone's healing, studied The Book in my favorite chair, rejoiced like crazy to see my family again, gripped the steering wheel 'til my pinky hurt from the scary city traffic... And went to a classy baby shower. (the purpose of my short visit).

My Theme Music:
May Your voice be louder
May Your voice be clearer
Than all the others
Than all the others
And may Your face be dearer
And may Your words be sweeter
Than all the others
Than all the others in my life

This is the first verse of a song by Jeremy Riddle. Since that happened to be the only CD I played for the entire drive, it became my theme music. Its message keeps ringing in my heart.

I was only back home again for a night, only long enough to pack and sleep. After church on Sunday, I headed to The Sis' house for quality time with her and my favoritest sweet nieces *smile* The Bro-In-Law left for a hunting trip that afternoon. The crazy snow and freezing rain kept us home that evening, and the day and the next evening were ones of rest and relaxation. I spent so much time holding, rocking and cuddling the newly cooing and smiling The Little Lady Baby. And chasing The Papoose around the house. "Gawwup, Auntie ____, gawwup!" That's "gallop" for all you non-small-person-language speakers. She'd run, I'd chase, she'd hide and I'd seek, and when I couldn't find her (or so she thought), she'd giggle helplessly and then say, "Turn on the light!!" and giggle some more.... The Sis and I do manage to have many conversations through it all. We philosophize, theorize and otherwise solve the problems of the world. Haha. If you were there, all you'd hear was a strange scraping noise. No worries - that's simply iron sharpening iron. :)

Back home again last night. Nothing extraordinary happening. Just making food for the family, laughing, talking, joking, weird storytelling.... normal life on the mountain.

God is good to me.