Dining room and a desk...

This morning came early for a Saturday. It was our first Visitation Day of the semester - and I had the opportunity to talk to dozens of bright-eyed, overwhelmed, and searching high school students. Some were ready to come to Campbell today, some didn't seem so sure. But they all bless me in different ways. More than that, our current students constantly uplift me and impress me with their willingness to go the extra mile.

After work, exhausted and ready to curl up and take a nap, I headed home to meet Derrick. The plan was to pick up the truck, go to Fuquay and pick up a desk from Derrick's old job, and then go to our home - to set up our dining room table, move in the desk, and clean up a bit.

We got to Fuquay, and we realized that we had forgotten the keys to the office. Where the desk was. It wasn't a total wasted trip, though, because we dropped off a donation at the Gaurdian Angel. Then headed toward our beautiful little home in the middle of wide-open spaces.

For the next couple of hours, I worked on organizing CDs, cleaning up, adding some homey touches, while Derrick began putting together our dining room table. I enjoy working on different things together. I enjoy knowing that he's right through the doorway. I enjoy having him there. Music played in the background as we enjoyed our peaceful solitude.

After I had done all that I could, I helped him put together our last two chairs. He taught me how on the first chair. And then he wanted me to show him on the second chair. I got it right for the most part...except that I forgot two of the screws that were supposed to go in the back of the chair. (I don't think they were really that important anyway). I got better at tightening the screws as we went along...so if you come over for supper, you should feel fairly safe sitting down at the table.

After this, we sat on our couch for a little while - and took it all in. Enjoying the moment. Enjoying the memory. Being thankful for each blessing.

Then it was time to load the plastic and boxes on the back of the truck and take them back to my parent's house. That seven minute drive was quiet an adventure - and I dutifully watched the back to warn Derrick if anything was going to fly up. I couldn't really tell though beforehand, so we had to stop several times, pull over, and make sure that everything was secure. We finally made it though.

Finally, we picked up the desk.

It was a large L-shaped desk that came in two pieces. It wasn't too heavy, so we got it into the house with no problems - thanks to Derrick's mad backing-up skills. And then it was time to get it into Derrick's office. If you were to go towards are two extra bedrooms in the house, you would first walk through another doorway - and then go three feet to your left, and you're in Derrick's office. Three feet to your right, and you're in our guest bedroom. Straight is the guest bathroom. This set-up proves to be tricky when trying to get a giant desk through both doorways and around the corners.

It wasn't going to fit straight in. We tried. It wasn't going to fit if we put it on it's side. We tried. It had more potential and looked promising if we slanted it, but no success. Finally, I suggested putting it straight up - long ways. This wouldn't work either when we were trying to fit the bottom through the door first. And then Derrick suggested that we put the top through first - so that the lip of the desk that juts out the furtherest can get through the doorway, before pushing the smaller part the rest of the way. Brilliant! After thirty minutes of maneuvering, we finally had it. And a happy dance ensued. Success! We did it - and we did it together.

I've still got two weeks to go, and I already like being a newlywed. Figuring out life together. Making a home together. Making mistakes together. Making memories together.

(Home photos and details with be forthcoming - probably after the wedding and updated blog!)