Thank you.

This afternoon on our way into the neighborhood, I pulled over reluctantly and turned off the ignition. Our mailbox is one of 16 small, locked boxes at the front of the development and it always seems that its the last thing I want to do as my kids are tired and restless and we all just want to be home... I can usually hear the sigh or groan come from the back seat of the van as I slow and pull to the right.

I hear ya, kids. I hear ya.

Today I opened our little box and leaned over to peek in and gauge how likely it would be that things would fall out of my hands, catch wind and sail off down the sidewalk... its subconscious but its routine. And during that thoughtful moment, I sometimes get a glimpse of a pink or Hallmark looking card and suddenly am motivated to grab everything haphazardly and sift through the mess whilst walking around the front of the van. Today was one of those days... there were THREE Hallmarkish things in the box along with bills and coupons.

With sound judgment I held tight to all the mail in my hand as I walked seeing that the wind had picked up... but I walked with a bit of a skip to my step! I hopped in the driver's seat and begin leafing through the pile... the first was a thick, cream-colored package from the HERB FARM RESTAURANT with a handwritten address on the front... I felt myself begin to believe for a minute that it looked like a Gift Certificate - yet I took a deep breath and with only half of my thoughts accounted for began looking through the rest of the pile... one was a birthday card for Katie and the other was a birthday invite for Katie. I smiled a big smile as I gave her the news that she had mail and turned on the ignition... the 100 yards to our house was a bit of a blur as I continued hypothesizing about what would be in that HERB FARM envelope.

I parked, opened the sliding doors, unbuckled Ben and went around back to open the hitch and grab the hideously yellow Grocery Outlet sacks out of the back of the van. I set them all against the long white wall in the entryway and went back for the mail -- trying to contain my deepest wishes from overtaking my rational decision making I ordered the kids to put their shoes in the shoe closet and make their way upstairs for naps and quiet time... it was then that I sat down and opened the taco shell of newspaper ads, revealing my exciting cream-colored HERB FARM envelope. I reached in, picked it up and flipped it over and tore the top open...

I started shaking as I read -- and then I started crying. You may think that its silly, you may think I'm a bit emotional and all that is fine -- but for me, this was more than a generous gift. This was well-thought through, it was extravagant, it was time alone with my husband of 10 YEARS this month... and it was from my oldest friend who will be with me until the day I die. This gift said more than 'here's a lovely dinner at one of Seattle's most elegant restaurants and an evening in a Suite with Kyle' -- it said, 'Krista, I love you and cherish you. Kyle and Krista, you mean more to us than you will ever know and we are happy to serve the Lord alongside you in this life. God bless you.'

Thank you so much. Thank you so so so much.

God bless you.