Busy Week...

It's been a few days since I blogged. 


For those of you who read regularly, I apologize.


I have failed you. 


In my defense, I pretty much told you in my very first blog that I would fail you. 


Why did I fail you? Good question.


It has been a very busy week for us:


1. We have put together a crib and a dresser for our second child - who is due on June 7th. 


Let me clarify...when I say "we", I mean "me". My wife is highly pregnant and asking her to help me put a crib together would just be cruel. No, while I was doing that, she was pressure-washing the roof (don't freak out, it's a one-story house and I took my headphones off to listen for "thuds" every 25 minutes). She's fine. 


I'm going to be honest, though...I'm not a very good craftsman when it comes to putting furniture together. I had just about finished the dresser - and was ready to put the drawers in - when I realized that the middle section had been installed upside-down. 30 minutes (and several deep breaths) later, I had corrected the problem.


I also made the boneheaded decision to put the crib together in our bedroom (so that I wouldn't wake Ava up), only to realize that I couldn't get it out of the room once it was built. 


After a futile plea for Brooke to allow our child to just live in our room with us, I just had to disassemble that thing and take it out one piece at a time...Johnny Cash-style. 


2. I installed shelves in Ava's closet, so that we have more room for Greta's inevitable mountain of belongings. 


I had never done this before, but I will have to say that I did a pretty good job with this task. Those shelves are pretty sturdy. I took a nap on one of them while I was supposed to be working. 


3. I made a trip to TN for my Grandmother's surgery. She had a shunt put in to drain fluid from her brain. She is recovering in a nursing home and we hope that she will be able to go back home soon. Time will tell. Please keep her in your prayers.


4. I went to the midnight showing of The Avengers on Thursday night with my friend (and fellow Avenger-wanna-be) Drew Taylor. 


We went very early and I drew sketches of super heroes for 3 hours while we waited for the movie to start. I gave them away to various people and they seemed pleased. 


By the way, the movie was awesome and I would highly recommend it. I'm actually going to see it again tonight with another friend. Plus, Disney really needs my money. They're struggling. 


5. My parents visited this weekend for Greta's baby shower on Sunday. 


We had a great visit. They brought Ava a little shopping cart and some plastic groceries (which almost match the texture of the ones we buy at Wal-Mart, ironically) and she has been crashing it into the walls and furniture ever since. I think we'll wait a few more years before we let her start driving the car. 


I know what you're thinking: "You will be waiting 16 years before Ava drives!" 


Yeah, right. Like anybody actually follows that rule. The child can open my phone already...she'll be driving by the time she's 8. 


6. We had a Senior recognition banquet after worship last night to honor two of our Seniors who are graduating this year (congratulations Emma & Rachael:); I was in charge of making the video for that.


There are so many things that I could focus on, but I think I'll focus on something that all of the above seem to have in common. 


We need to get ready.


Of all the things in this life that we need to prepare for - babies, death, movie premieres, visits from parents, graduation, etc. - eternity is certainly the most important.


How much time have we spent in the past week getting ready for that? 


The tricky thing about eternity is that it could begin at any time. 


- We waited 8 months to get our child's crib & dresser built because we knew we had 9 months.


- I waited until the day of the surgery to visit my Grandmother because I knew when the surgery was going to be.


- I put off doing the Senior video for several weeks because I knew that I had time to wait.


- I didn't clean the guest room for my parents until Saturday, because I knew they weren't coming until then.


- I went to the theater on the day of the movie premier because Brooke wouldn't let me go a week early (I realize that this one doesn't help me prove my point, but I'm just keepin' it real). 


My point is that we usually procrastinate, don't we? And it doesn't usually get us into too much trouble. 


Eternity is different. We could be in LOTS of trouble if we aren't prepared for that. 


So pick up your Bible, read the instructions, and make sure that you're following them as closely as possible...


And if you've put something together upside-down, it's not too late to fix it:)