John arrived on Friday evening just in time for our loading day on Sunday, October 14th.
We started at 9am. There were last minute boxes to fill of the things that we needed up until the last minute, furniture to wrap, floors to sweep, counters to wipe and then the obvious, loading everything into the truck.
We rented a 28' truck and thought we might use about 24'. But, we ended up using EVERY square inch of the truck. Our truck and suburban were filled to the brim also. And thanks to some careful organizing by the loaders, we didn't have to rent a U-haul and nothing got left behind. Well, almost nothing. I wanted to take our plants, but in the end, they got divied (sp?) out to the last remaining souls that stayed to the bitter end.
I say bitter end, but from the very first arrival (9am) to the very last thing on the truck, we were finished at 2pm (5 hours). And that included a wonderful lunch that the Kerley family prepared for us! We had BBQ beef sandwiches, homemade slaw, chips, drinks, and several homemade desserts from both the Kerley and Cook families including my favorite, brownies!
Melissa made a comment during the day that watching all the people that came to help us load the truck was a testament to how much we are loved. And, while it didn't come to the forefront of my mind, she is exactly right! We had friends from Morristown, Knoxville, Crossville, Livingston, and even one friend was moving his father in Lewisburg and came after he finished there to share a meal with us that evening. Altogether, we had 23 adults and children that helped move, yes the children helped move also. And even more came by to say farewell!
So, yes, we are truly blessed with the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for.
We will miss all of you so very much! We have lived here for 9 1/2 years and it seems like our friendships blossomed so much more in the last 1 1/2 years.
My husband said something to me while I was crying and saying the last farewells, "You have been touched by so many lives and they have been touched by you. Now you will go and touch and be touched by some more lives." He's right. I have been touched by so many lives. And I hope they have been touched by me.
Thank ya'll for your friendship and continued prayers for God's will in our lives.
So, yes, we are truly blessed with the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for.
We will miss all of you so very much! We have lived here for 9 1/2 years and it seems like our friendships blossomed so much more in the last 1 1/2 years.
My husband said something to me while I was crying and saying the last farewells, "You have been touched by so many lives and they have been touched by you. Now you will go and touch and be touched by some more lives." He's right. I have been touched by so many lives. And I hope they have been touched by me.
Thank ya'll for your friendship and continued prayers for God's will in our lives.
Thanks to:
Kerley family: Anthony, Melissa, Miranda, Will & Andrew (we missed you!)
Cook family: Earnie, Leila, Hannah, Casey, Sophia, Taylor
Klett family: Reinhard, Emilee, David, Daniel
Fleming family: Glenn, Noni
Hinds family: Pat, Jeannie, Hannah, Abigail, Eli
Wade family: Tracey, Dominic
Blackwood family: Victoria, Jett, Raven
Brad Dunn and Tyree
