Does It Really Take An Elephant?

Springtime in heaven?

Good morning son! It's been a very interesting and busy week. How about you? I'll bet things are really a hummin' in heaven this time a year with Spring popping out all over and preparations for Easter and Passover. We're having an early Spring this year. Everything is blossoming out, I hope not too early. The daffodils are blooming already. We've been having 70-75 degree weather the last couple of weeks. And now, tomorrow night, it's suppose to be 17 degrees.I'm going to put a sheet over our daffodil bed tonight in hopes that they won't freeze. I've been in cropped pants and t-shirts for a couple of weeks now. Today I'm back to long pants, sweat shirt and socks! I don't like like it. I don't like it one bit!

(L-R) Dylan, Josie, Trey cuddling on the couch

Dad and I were really busy last week, busier than usual. We filled in for Diane at Jon and Corey's! One week, seven kids. "Nuff said?" (I know you're laughing. And I know it's happy laughter knowing we were surrounded by kids and knowing we loved it.) It was fun.  We are totally pooped but we had a great time. It takes both of us to get everything done. But just like we have always done our entire marriage, when we do it together we have this way of being able to see what needs to be done and each of us doing a piece to make it all come together. It doesn't matter if it's taking care of a household full of kids, working at a business or working in the kitchen. We have this way of just flowing together to get the job done. Years ago, when dad was working with Tony and Tony found out dad and I worked together in the office Tony told dad that was the quickest way to end in divorce court. Husbands and wives just couldn't work together. Dad and I had never given it a second thought. We'd always worked together...and we still do.

You remember last week when I was telling you I needed to do something in my studio to increase storage but I wasn't willing to give up my natural light in order to do it. Well, I had to eat my words this last week. I went through dozens of scenarios. Well, actually not dozens. In my 7x9 space, one of those walls is 4'. One entire wall, the longest wall, has a baseboard heater on it. The walls are plaster and lathe and it's a pain in the neck to hang things on them if they're hang at all,  you're options aren't great. But, I had to do something.


In an email to Rita, I told her this morning, I never every thought I'd say the words again, "this weekend I'll...". When I retired last year I didn't think I'd ever have to say those words. But, I hear myself saying them more and more often. Anyway, yesterday, Saturday, dad and I took the opportunity to go to Habitat for Humanity and take a look to see if they had any cheap options. Sometimes just looking around I can find something that will fit the need. I have been thinking, for quite some time about a nine drawer dresser. There really are plenty of them out there, but sometimes they're all dresser and really no drawer space to speak of. I mean the lumber is really thick and beautiful but very little content space. As I was roaming around I found a 6' long dresser. It had three large drawers on either end and a set of doors in the middle. As I took hold of the door handle to open it, I was hoping I would find three additional drawers behind the doors, I really needed more drawers, not just a big open space. And there they were. Three more beautiful drawers.  I took my measuring tape from my purse; 6' long. Perfect, it would fit right against the back wall of my studio.  I knew I could get everything I had in the 7' paper sorter into the drawers of the dresser and the shelving I already had. It was made by Thomasville so I knew it was going to take three men and an elephant to move and load it, but it was perfect. I had set a $35 budget. I know, I'm cheap. Not really. I had been shopping on Craigslist for a month and knew I could find things that would work for that price, but it would have probably been additional mileage to pick it up and dad and I would have had to load it. We could have done it but I would have rather not. Unloading is enough for both of us. So now there was just one thing left to do. I said a quick prayer and looked over at that tiny white 1" square sticker right in the middle of the top of the dresser. I mean really, who would put something sticky right in the middle of a nice piece of furniture. Never mind, I won't go there. Anyway, I eased my eyes slowly over to the sticker and took a look. $25? That couldn't be right. I mean, this was a really nice piece. It was missing one drawer handle but I didn't want to embarrass myself and ask for a discount for a missing drawer handle, or did I? No, just kidding. I did have to take a second look though. $25? Yup, there it was, right in front on me, $25. SOLD! Now we come to the part of three men and an elephant. I lifted on one end. Well, I reached down and thought I was lifting one end. Rather than me lifting the end of the dresser the dresser stayed right where it was and I dropped down. Uh, if Habitat couldn't provide the three men and I couldn't find an elephant, that dresser wasn't going anywhere!

Not really!

Luckily, the elephant wasn't necessary after all. Habitat provided two men and a cart and away they went to the loading dock. Dad backed the car up to the loading dock, we made room for the dresser and they slid it into the car on it's back. It hung out the back just enough so we couldn't get the hatch closed so dad pulled out his trusty length of rope we never go without, tied it down and we headed home. We had an uneventful trip home. Dad and I did have a good laugh on the way home as we pictured ourselves in a VW Beetle that I had wanted when be bought the Subaru. So many times we've had a good laugh when we think about trying to do all the things I want to do in a VW Beetle. I mean I REALLY WANTED that VW. We can always hear your grandma saying though, "It's not your needs that get you into trouble, it's your wants and desires". What a mess we would be in these days if we had not listened to that still small voice telling us that a VW Beetle was the wrong choice. Was it an easy choice? Heck no! I wanted that beetle. Was it the right choice to buy the Subaru? We've never been sorry about the decision a single day. Anyway, We get to the house and then it hits us, no two men and a cart and no elephant. Just us. This dresser is 6' long and has to weigh at least 175 - 200 pounds. I say 300 but dad is a better judge than me. Sure felt like 300 as we both got hold of an end and tried to lift it. Dad was smart though. He backed the car right up to the porch which was the same height. We slid the dresser right out of the back of the car, grabbed hold and just eased it up onto it's legs. You'd think we'd move it right into the house right. Not! We left it on the porch and headed to Pancho's for a Diet Pepsi and lunch! We needed a breather. 

An hour later we were back at the house. Dad sat down to watch NCAA Basketball and I set about to get ready to make room for the dresser. I took one look at the space and realized. I was going to have to move my L-shaped work table away from the window. I didn't like that option at all. As I stood and pondered I realized there just wasn't any other way. If I moved my work table forward I couldn't reach my shelves. If I left it where it was I wouldn't be able to get the drawers of the dresser open all the way.So, rather than just empty the 7' paper sorter, I had to rearrange the space. I slid the sorter out of the space and began. (Luckily I was smart enough to put all large or heavy pieces on sliders when we moved into this house!) Dad came in and helped me turn the work table around. We were actually able to do that without emptying the work table and without standing it on end. We just rotated it in the center of the room. It always amazes dad and I at what we can accomplish when we work together...and without an elephant! We headed to the porch to get the dresser. The most difficult was lifting it about 5" over the door sill but we did it. We just slid it down the hall, lifted it over the door sill into the dining room, put sliders under the legs and slid it right into the studio and put it underneath the bookshelves and the window sill. All without a hitch...or two men, a cart or an elephant. I sent dad on his way to watch his basketball game and I began the transition. By 8 o'clock last night I had a new space and everything was organized. All with only adding one nail to the wall. To rehang my calendar over my work table.

During the entire process I kept thinking about how great God has been throughout our entire lives. There have been some really, really rough times. (I should write a book.) But it has always been a great life. I've learned so much through life experiences. I know that for most people probably, finding this dresser means nothing. But to me, it's like God knowing my heart, the deepest part of my heart. Knowing my desires and helping me fulfill them. I have no expectation that God fulfills my desires or gives me everything I want. But for me, when I find exactly what I want for $25, it's like God, my heavenly Father, looking down and smiling and telling me, okay, you've done your research, you've waited patiently, you're wiling to work to get it, here's a surprise for you.  When I see or experience things like this happening and when they happen for me it's like, wow! With all the creatures in the world having wants and needs, God answered mine. How amazing is that!

You know me and painting. Around our house you guys use to say, "the only thing that doesn't get painted is what or who is moving". It's getting warmer all the time so my mind naturally goes to, let's get painting. I thought I had decided I wanted yellow in the kitchen. But, you know how it is with me. I always have in mind what I want, but I'm very versatile. It's really about finding the first right piece and then going with that. For the kitchen here it was the wallpaper border. I found exactly what I wanted. It has many of my favorite color AND chickens.. I was going to paint next but before I could get that done, I found the curtains I wanted. Once I put the curtains up I decided I didn't want yellow at all. It would have totally looked washed out. I was still undecided when we were at Habitat yesterday. I decided to browse their paint section. I walked to the end of the first aisle and there was a can of Valspar paint, a full gallon, in the exact color to match the trim on my kitchen curtains. One gallon of an excellent paint in the perfect color for $4. Now I mean really, coincidence?  You've got to be kidding me. Remember, it's the small things. I was also undecided about the paint color in our bedroom. I have the quilt Aunt Lena made, on our bed. I've tried others but I always come back to this quilt. It has reds, blues, greens, yellows, taupes and browns and some others in it. At first I had decided on taupe and red. But the more I got to thinking about it, I didn't want that much red. So, I hadn't made any decision except for the fact I didn't want blue. It just sounded to boring. Everyone has blue. Until yesterday. As I rounded the corner of the paint aisle I spotted this can of Sherwin Williams paint. It was an awesome color of blue. Again, a full gallon for $4. So for $35 yesterday I found the paint for the kitchen, not just any paint, but Valspar. I found the paint for our bedroom AND, I found the storage for my studio. I'd say God sees the little things. How about you?


Until next week, I love you. Be Aaron. Love mom