Beep-beep
We’ve settled into our new home—barely.
Saturday evening, after two tiring days on the road, we pulled into the gravel yard of a plain concrete house surrounded by concrete fence and tall evergreens, a few miles north of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico. I hadn’t felt what it’s like to move into a new home since Helen and I returned from our honeymoon nearly six years ago. That night, we wheeled a couple suitcases down our walk to the freshly-painted red door with a hand-written sign taped to it reading, “Welcome Home!” Our friends had renovated the small house, moved all our gifts and furniture in, and set it all up. I’ll never forget that feeling, like our life had just begun.
There’s something about a new home.
We stretched our sore legs, unbuckled our two boys, and made our way inside. Our friends David & Lisa had left a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a little candle burning brightly on the table. After surveying the rooms—one purple, one blue, and one cream—we went back to start unloading our belongings. A bit more luggage than that October night six years ago, yes.
After unloading everything, we got back in the car (much to Ezra’s dismay) and drove half an hour north to our friends’ Jake & Ahavah’s. They invited us into their cozy home for dinner. The boys had reached their car seat survival range, and their cramped legs ran free in the huge yard outside with their friends.
I wanted to stay up all night rearranging furniture and unpacking everything, but we knew we had to be up at 7:00 the following morning to prepare and drive to church, half an hour away. The service was wonderful, full of faith, testimony, worship, and the Word. Our friends Benny & Erna invited us to lunch at their home with another couple we know, John & Amelia. Benny is the one who restored the 100-year-old home I told you about last year. He just finished it and is now putting the garden in. Every little detail has been perfectly restored—he even saved some of the original mud bricks and left them exposed behind glass in one of the wall cavities. I’ll make a video for you soon.
Later in the afternoon, we resumed the process of making the house our own. Helen’s 36-weeks-pregnant nesting instincts are strong, and together we unpacked the suitcases, rearranged the furniture, and she made our room beautiful. We finally dropped into bed a little before midnight, just as the rain began steadily, lasting nearly all night.
I walked outside this morning to the gravel yard several inches deep in water. This much rain in the desert is rare this early in the season. After family time together, Helen and I ran several errands, and later in the afternoon, drove to the city to grocery shop. As I write this, we just finished stocking the kitchen. My wallet is significantly lighter than it was this morning.
But we are ready now—ready for our baby, ready to start cooking meals, ready to have people over and show hospitality. We’re ready to call it home, and welcome others in. That’s a great feeling.
Lucas & Ezra are pleased as ever with their new surroundings. Lucas spends much of his day riding his little red strider back and forth through the house down the slick gray tiles. I’m glad I thought to bring it. Ezra spends much of his day bent over in his baggy overalls driving everything from toy tractors to packing boxes and wheeled luggage down the hallways, singing “beep-beep” and distributing small toys wherever he goes. Between the two motorists, we’ve had a few traffic incidents already, but nothing serious. Thank you for your prayers. We hope we can love and serve others well. But so far, we’re the ones who’ve been loved and served.