Earthly Anticipations ~ Pictures of What Our Longing Should Be

As the time for us to move into the townhome nears, Matt and I are finding that our desires to be there are ever increasing in intensity. Throughout my day as I do the normal tasks of home life, I am always thinking "In the townhome..." Here is a list of things we've thought of that will be such a blessing:

~No more apartment number in our address!
~A QUIET DISHWASHER...one that does not drown out conversation or make it hard to hear the TV
~No more people above us
~No more parking "miles" away from our door :-P
~No more walking around an apartment complex for outdoor play -- we'll actually have our own backyard!!!
~No more weird bathroom layout
~SEPARATE ROOMS for the boys which means afternoon naptime for Judah, Elijah, and Lakota will involve separate rooms for each...and hopefully more restful, lengthy sleep times...and a more sane Dawn
~No more issues with the volume of a movie/TV when the boys are asleep. Right now the TV and Judah's crib share a wall. In the townhome, we'll be downstairs while the boys are upstairs and NOT even above the living room. ::sigh of relief::
~No more drafty windows and doors
~No more dingy looking beige European cabinetry and walls. It'll be white and oak, baby!
~No more highway noise -- the quietness will be deafening to me for a while, but it is welcome!
~We'll actually have room for a real desk (if/when we get one that is...)
~NO MORE TOYS IN THE LIVING ROOM save for a small bucket
~No more being one in hundreds of tenants and therefore lost in the cracks

I could probably think of more if I just sat here. But all of this to say that it is reminding me of how much we should be longing for Christ's return. I can't even put into words how much better life will be in heaven. It wouldn't be possible.

My friend Alicia and her husband are waiting for a phone call to tell them there is a baby available for them to adopt. This also reminds me of the thrill of waiting for Christ -- no one knows when it will happen, just as Alicia and Nathaniel must be ready every day to receive that phone call and become parents!

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On a slightly different topic, I'm reading through Solomon's building of the temple and his palace. Oh. my. word. I've decided that if there is one thing in the whole history of the world I'd want to see, it would be the structures God gave specific instructions for and the ones that Solomon built. I knew things were covered in gold and were ornate, but have you ever read through it all??? The ENTIRE inside of the temple was covered in pure gold. And just the description of the fountain in Solomon's palace is flat out crazy! The basin held 48,000 gallons of water and sat on several metal oxen -- can you imagine how hefty those oxen had to be to hold that much weight? Scripture takes one chapter to describe the temple and one to describe the palace. The reading time makes it seem like a lot was done in a little bit of time. But making 400 pomegranates out of bronze is no quick job when you think about it. Solomon's palace took 13 years to build, not just one chapter. :-P If you get a few minutes, read I Kings 6 & 7.