"You complete me."

The quote is from Ice Age, and is the common saying of the wonderful, the amazing, the one-and-only Ashlie Mae Keimig.  There's a lot of situations I could apply to that statement, but in this post, we're going shallow... the loveseat and chair complete the newly purchased sofa!

For those of you who don't know, my parents offered to buy us a couch back in September.  Well, being the ridiculously frugal and picky people that we are, it took us 7 1/2 months to decide on which one to purchase.  On Wednesday we finally landed on this Pompeii-Natuzzi, dark brown ("llama" to be official)  Italisofa from The Inkwell.  It was on a close-out sale and we got a killer deal for my parents.  

Well of course, I am never content (it's something I need to work on), and when I saw the WHOLE set, I wanted it.  We wrestled with the best option, whether or not to purchase it and eventually (3 days later) decided to go ahead and get it.  So now, our little living room is all set and the sofa is happy with it's friendly counterparts.  You complete me.

C.M.

I just needed to take a moment to tell everyone something... I absolutely adore these people! Josh & Krissa Dorfner are amazing, wonderful people and I love them so much. They bring wonderful joy to my life. Okay, now I'm done saying "they". Yes, I love Joshy very much, but really, I just want everyone to know how much I love the lovely lady in this picture! (I'm cut and dry, brutally honest)... So, Josh, enough about you...

... Krissa Jeanne Stephens Dorfner. Cookie Monster. My best friend. Going on 12 years of friendship. Sisterhood. She's been with me through thick and thin, and taught me so much about life and God's love and grace. I had the immense privilege to be used by the Lord to tell her about His salvation in 2002, 8 years ago.... I'm so happy she let me be part of her decision to follow Christ, and allowed me to help baptize her. She reminds me everyday of the power of prayer. When I cry, she cries with me and then makes me laugh. She rejoices with me when I'm happy, and always brings me back to reality. Honesty is always in her words. Basically, I just really love this girl to death! And I thought everyone should know. Enough Said.

The Wonderful Cross

Candy. For children especially, that's the first that comes to mind when they hear "Easter". The "Easter Bunny" (usually grandma) gives a basket full of fake grass and plastic eggs that contain chocolate, jelly beans, cheap toys, and marshmallow chicks. After church, there's always a big Easter Egg Hunt where some kids feel left out because they didn't find the golden egg. And then everyone sits down and eats lots of food... usually some deviled eggs and ham are involved. Thus concludes Easter in the average American home.

I don't want to lose sight of what this day is really about. It's easy to get caught up in even the simplest parts... I treasure the family time, and definitely enjoy all the good food. But, why exactly do we celebrate? Is it because of the candy? The Bunny? The eggs? No. We celebrate because one Man took the weight of the world on His shoulders. How deep the Father's love for us, that He would allow His only Son to die. And He didn't die just any death. Can you imagine bearing a cross? Christ carried His on His bleeding back, up a hill to the spot where he would die. For you, for me. Can you imagine having a rod driven through your arms and your legs, attaching you to that cross? Christ bore the pain. For you, for me. He died, hanging on that cross, suffocating because it hurt too much to push himself up to fill his lungs with air. And when He died, everything was shaken... it changed, for you, for me. And the most amazing part - He rose again! On that first Easter Sunday, Christ was resurrected from the dead, and gave us the promise of freedom that came from His dying breath. How amazing, how wonderful the Cross of my Savior.