Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

I have officially downsized.  My Georgia house sold Friday so I'm a one-house granny again.  But oh, the 6 1/2 weeks it took for that sale to be over were something else.  The only comparison that comes to mind is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

First, there was the day the house went on the market.  Within hours I had TWO offers on it, both good but one was for my full asking price.  That was a SHOCK - a good one, but still a shock.  I thought the real estate market was supposed to be slow.  PANIC soon followed because when I listed the house I learned that I had to go through Probate Court.  What?  I had asked if I needed to do something after Jimmie died and been assured that I didn't.  Now I learned that just because the magic phrase "with rights of survivorship" was not included in all that legal jargon in my house deed technically it wasn't all mine, at least not until a judge said so.  I had to hire a lawyer since I was living in another state by now - but honestly that was a good thing.  What do I know about probate court?  I quickly learned that it normally takes five weeks to get through it - but I only had four before the closing date. Suddenly everything was in RUSH mode.

Then the buyer ran into problems with FHA and we went into weeks of SILENT mode. I made numerous trips to the local library to fax contract extensions without knowing if my house was really about to be sold or not.   So when my real estate agent called last Thursday morning to say that everything was finally approved and the closing was going to be the very next afternoon - well, I may not have been shocked but I was definitely startled.  And then we were back to RUSH mode.

But Thursday night my agent called again with more news.  It seems a wind storm went through Georgia that day blowing over a tree in my backyard and taking out part of my fence.  She learned this when the buyers went to the house for their final walk through, so we were right back into PANIC.  Panic from the buyers because even though I am fully aware that the cleanup is my responsibility they are afraid I won't do it.  Panic from me because I'm 400 miles away and what on earth can I accomplish in the 18 hours before the closing time?

Thankfully, a wonderful friend in Georgia, William Howard, came to my rescue.  William went to my house early the next morning to survey the damage, calling me from my backyard while he stood in the heavy rain that had followed the wind.  Then he called an arborist to get a quote on removing the offending tree - and stood in the rain with him as well.  William also assured me that once there isn't a tree sticking through the wooden privacy fence that he can repair it.  Of course, nothing can be done until the rain clears next week, but William was able to put together a repair plan that pacified the buyer and salvaged the closing.

And then suddenly it was over.  The house is sold and an important phase of my life is over.  I have very mixed feelings about that.  But one thing I am very sure of - William Howard was the hero of Friday.  If you know William, please give him a standing ovation from me the next time you see him.

Birthday

It has been months since I have been on this blog, months filled with numerous trips between Georgia and Mississippi overseeing house renovations, firing a contractor, hiring a real estate agent, lawyer and painter, dealing with shingles (the sick kind), sorting through 39 years of memories, packing what was going with me, discarding what was not, going through probate court, and moving . . . just to mention a few of the highlights. The one constant during these months was keeping the Internet mission work going whether I was at home or on the road and sitting in McDonald's with my laptop.  But all this activity just drained away any thought of writing.

Yet today would have been Jimmie's birthday so here I am, blogging once more.

My daughter, Julie, wanted us to celebrate the day and it turned out to be a wonderful idea.  She fixed a birthday dinner of Jimmie's favorite foods, decorated with numerous pictures of Jimmie, and we all told our favorite story about him. She also asked us to write a short note to Jimmie which we then attached to helium balloons that Cole released into the sky.  I must admit that watching that brightly colored bouquet of balloons drift upwards into the heavens was an awesome sight.  We all stood gazing until they completely disappeared.  Still, this was certainly not a custom I would have ever thought of doing.

But Cole loved it.  He loved doing something special for Grandad and he had decorated his heart-felt message with a drawing of the two of them fishing.  Of course Jasper was just excited to scribble on paper and I enjoyed watching him.  Then as I began my own note I realized there were quite a lot of things I wish I could tell Jimmie.  I wish I could tell him how well Julie and Bronson are doing in their new home.  I wish I could tell him how Cole is leading prayers so easily now, and that Jasper is not only walking but trying to run. I wish I could tell him that he did make it back to Africa one more time after all because the IBTM campaign team took some of his ashes with them to Zambia.  

I think Jimmie would be pleased by knowing all of these things.  But as Julie said so truly earlier today, the thing that would please Jimmie the most would be knowing that the mission work he loved was still saving lost souls.

House

Did I mention that I have bought a house?  I can't really call it a new home since it was built in 1902.  I can't call it my dream home either, but with some renovations it is getting better.  And I can't call it a second home since it is the one I will move to when all the construction jobs are done.  Then I will have the delightful fun of trying to sell my present home.  But this will be my home when I am able to move, hopefully before the summer.

My grandson, Cole, has been complaining for years about me living 7 hours away (not remembering, of course, that is was he that moved.)  After his Grandad died he was asking me almost daily when was I going to move close to him.  So, I thought that when I actually picked a house 3 minutes away from his that he would be thrilled.

Not so!  When I told him which house I was buying suddenly he was mad.  He quickly informed me that I was not moving close enough!  He had decided that I needed to live in the same house as him, or at least on the same street.  So for the month I was waiting to close all I got was black scowls and frowns every time my new house was mentioned.

Then after the closing we drove over to take a look at what I had bought . . . with Cole grumbling the whole way.  But that's when we discovered that the sellers had left the swing set and play fort in the back yard, and there were lego pieces littering the front walk.

Suddenly, Cole LOVED my new house!

Don't you just love it when kids prefer the simple things?  Give them an empty cardboard box . . .

. . . or a tree to climb . . .

and you would think you had bought them an expensive gift.

Positive Things

I started this blog almost 5 years ago in 2008, but Jimmie and I had been writing newsletters long before that.  When we went to Ghana on our first foreign campaign together in 1983  Jimmie reported to the congregation that sent us.  When Jimmie went back alone in 1985, he reported again.  But after our move to American Samoa in early 1987 we began a monthly newsletter together.  Those newsletters started again when Jimmie and I  joined Truth for the World.  When I became office manager there I also wrote the monthly news blurb on the donation receipts plus started a quarterly newsletter from the TFTW secretaries to our supporters.  Now I provide a portion of the monthly IBTM newsletter, The Seeker.  So in the last 26 years I estimate that I have written more than 500 articles.

And with every one of them there was a constant  rule from Jimmie to always keep it positive.

Positive.  Jimmie always believed that newsletters and blogs were no place to complain.  Therefore, we didn't write about the really hard times unless we could do it with a smile, like when the hurricane in Samoa left us without power for a month and we had to take showers in the rain.  We didn't mention the super scary times - such as when a man stuck a shotgun in Jimmie's face demanding he stop teaching the Gospel - until long after when we could do so calmly.  We didn't talk about the heartache of seeing good works destroyed, or the frustration of dealing with deceitful people.  And we didn't mention the personal attacks that seem to come just because you are trying hard to stay firm on God's Word or the nasty emails even as Jimmie was dying.

Perhaps that is why writing on this blog has been so difficult lately.  Especially today.  Today it has been 6 months since Jimmie died.

But even as hard as these last 6 months have been, there have still been bright spots, things I can be positive about.  I have been able to continue the Internet portion of the mission work with IBTM that Jimmie did not want to die with him, and it continues to grow at an amazing rate.  In the days since his death almost 40,000 visits have been made to the websites for folks to read the materials there.  Approximately 2,500 new students have enrolled in the Bible correspondence courses to study God's Word.  And at least 5 of our students became New Testament Christians.  Per Jimmie's wishes, I am working on relocating closer to my 2 adorable grandsons, and their parents, of course.  And those grandsons continue to be a delight.  Cole is climbing trees and making new friends, while Jasper is crawling and laughing and trying to talk.

I wish Jimmie could enjoy these things with me, but I will have to be content in the knowledge that he is an important reason why they are happening.

Quick Hello!

I can't believe it has been more than a month since I chatted on this blog.  I guess time flies whether you are having fun or not.  Life has been busy, and just getting busier, so I don't have time to stay long today.  The past two weeks I have been enjoying watching my two grandsons get into mischief (Cole) and discovering new things (Jasper) and that is always a joy.  Not so much fun is working on plans to relocate closer to them - the woes of house renovations!

I just posted the latest IBTM newsletter on here, so take a look.

Linda

Happy 2013!

Is it really another year already?  2012 ended with a whirlwind tour of the South since I traveled from Georgia all the way to Texas and back.  I got to spend time with some very special people and learned to appreciate the free Wi-Fi at McDonald's, even if I did get tired of the menu.  I would tell you about it, but I think I need a few pictures.

Of course, there were lots of presents.  Jasper quickly mastered the art of
ripping the gift wrap.

Bronson and Cole practiced their Grinch look before passing out more.

The first few days in Texas was gorgeous so the "kids" enjoyed the playground.

Then on Christmas Day the snow started.

It was Jasper's first.

The playground soon looked quite different.

But the play continued.

And so did the snow.  We soon had 6 inches.

 Naturally, the best part of any holiday is being with family.  It's also nice to have the memories captured for later.  Here are a few of my favorites.