Thar She Blows.

We're about T minus two weeks to calling this place home. It's like a war zone in there....a wonderful exciting labor-of-love war zone.

And I can't wait. To raise our kids here. To make good memories. To grow and change here. To find ways we can use this blessing to somehow bless others, all by God's grace.

We found this place right after the new year. It was a locally-owned foreclosure and the process went pretty quickly and smoothly. We were pretty pumped to find a place that needed some tlc in a great little spot, especially considering how different of a move this will be for us. I'm totally anticipating that living in an urban environment will be an adjustment. It's been pretty apparent already how people interact on a whole different level here. There are loads of pedestrians around, and last sunday when we showed up to do some work, we met five neighbors in less than an hour....they're that friendly. When we drive through the streets, folks have all the window shades open for you to see them eating around their tables and doing their dishes and sitting in their living rooms. There are no garages out front to hide behind. There are no big backyards to "keep to yourself" in. Our first neighborhood was not very suburban, but it certainly held to suburban values compared to what this will be like.

So it'll be new, especially for this introvert.....but it all sounds kind of lovely, & humbling, & gratitude-inducing....which might explain why I can't get this refrain out of my head.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen. May it be so.