Crisis at Christmas

Christmas for Joe and I might always be the busiest time of our lives. A year ago, we moved from Montevideo, Uruguay to Sao Paulo, Brazil at the end of November, 2007. We found an apartment, checked out some great places to buy furniture and enjoyed the summer weather a little and then made a mad dash for the airport to join family and friends in North Carolina for Christmas. This year knowing we still had some follow-up left in Brazil and would be returning, we headed to NC thinking this is the year we are going to relax and enjoy the snow! Well, relaxing is a very relative term when we are home. Their are always a thousand things we have to do once in the states. We have to do all our doctors and dentist appointments, catch up on all our mail that has been sitting in a box for months and months. Plus all the holiday stuff, like running to William-Sonoma at 7:45 on Saturday night without anyone knowing your gone(it is much more impossible then it sounds). This Christmas was joined with the celebrations of my younger sister getting engaged in November so of course we had to go dress shopping. I don't know if this sounds busy yet, but it is. We alot of times we feel like we are srinting through an entire marathon. But we really wouldn't have it any other way. While we were home, we were able to do what I love, do it yourself projects! No, seriously I really enjoy them. Joe's aunt and uncle hosted a painting party the day after Christmas to get his grandparents house ready to sell. While there we had the discussio of "did you take your ring off" "yes"(melissa), "did you" "yes, I put it in my jacket pocket"(joe), so after a wonderful evening with family and celebrating Christmas on the Mott side of the family, we drove to joe's parents house all stuffed and cozy riding back in the farm truck. When we got to Davidson, we unloaded everything and started getting ready for bed, when Joe asked me if I knew where his jacket was, and my response was No, the last time I saw it was on the porch at his grandparents, on top of some trashbags. So we go ask all other members of the family if they had see it or if their were any other bags that had come from the house. When the No's started piling up I started getting really frustrated, we searched the inside of the truck, inside the house. And Joe isn't quite at the hysterical point of driving back to High Point that I was at. (it's an hour and twenty minute drive). So I said he had a choice he could call his uncle, or we could drive back up (and we were both exhausted). So he called his uncle and rolled his eyes while doing it. Casey promised to go back by the house and see if he sees it or look through the giant trash heep we had created that day. The next morning Casey goes by but doesn't find it. After Joe got the cold shoulder from me all day. Casey calls back and says that after all the scavengers had taken alot of the trash during the day, he noticed several black trashbags on the ground at the very bottom of the heep. Inside one is Joe's jacket, with his wedding ring inside. THANK YOU, CASEY! To some of you, you might be thinking, what is the big deal? Well until that day I didn't realize how much these circular pieced of metal meant to me (and Joe). They symbolize so much more than just metal. They mean an endless trust, and commitment to each other, a choosing to love one another everyday! And know that no matter what, HE will always be the man God chose for me!