Miss Emily Klop

I am not sure that I have ever seen a picture capture someone's soul so well.

Worth the Wait

The sign read "Customs/ U.S. Citizens". My gaze was not fixed in the enormous line that stood below the sign, backed up into the istle way, looped around the back of the airport, and trailed off down the runway. Alright, it wasn't really that long. But to a girl who hadn't seen her parents in a month...it seems liked it would take an eternity to get to them. (I was only supposed to be in the Czech for three weeks but due to terrorist threats we were there for another week.)

I tapped my foot, shifted back and forth, wiggled, sighed, and inched my way through that line. Finally! I was free! The officer welcomes me back into the United States and informed me that I appeared to be no threat to the country (Thank you kindly sir). I then turned the corner to see yet ANOTHER line. Baggage!? Now I had to wait for my luggage and then stand in another line where I would be questioned about what was in my bags. Didn’t they know that I was not threat to the country? Obviously not. I gathered my wits and endured through yet another LONG line.

By the time I was through it I was literally running to the exit. At this point I think they were questioning if I possibly was a threat to the United States : ). I stammered around the corner and as soon as only an inch of me was visible to the crowd waiting there I head a very loud and enthusiastic “ANNA!”. My eyes filled with tears at the sound of my Dad’s voice and I saw the sea of people part as my Dad and Mom pushed everyone out of their way. (Ok, that was dramatic too.) I hugged them both as tightly as possible and was so thankful to be home and with them. I had missed them and been missed. The mere 200 feet of walls, lines, dividers, officers, baggage, and crowds that had separated us were now conquered and I was finally with them.

There are so many ideas in my head, lessons learned, and illustrations I could make out of this instance. I could now break it down analytically : ) and talk about anticipation, patience, joy, endurance, God’s timing, ect… But I just wanted to share this story with you to let you into a beautiful moment in my life. I hope that you all have someone that will be there anxiously awaiting your company. Thank you Dad for your shouts, you can yell at me (like that ha ha) anytime. Thank you Mom for your great hugs that speak volumes. I love you both and I cannot wait to see you again.

What a mess!

I am a mess...really. I was thinking the other day about how much of a mess (past and current) I am. You know this. My room and car are rarely clean, I can be far too sarcastic, I don't always return phone calls (sometimes do to my lame phone and sometimes by choice), I will flake, I will break down, I will forget something very important, my hair is rarely brushed, outfit thrown together, I always see how long I can go without having to shave my legs : ), I don't stop singing, I assume that everyone wants to talk to me, I don't always take responsibility, I am lazy, I run late, I laugh too loud, and I generally lack self control. I am a mess.

I love the line in the Beth song "Change Me" that says "I used to think, you couldn't love a mess like me...then you came in close."

There is this man I know (who has plenty of boy in him too)who happens to see all these things. Well, he is still finding some of them out. And do you know what he told me? That I am the one he has been waiting for. That it was worth waiting for me. Me? A mess like me? It is so hard to believe that I am lovely and beautiful. That I am desirable. That I am someone worthy of being "in love" with.

I look into the the face of this mess in the mirror each day and have to just laugh. I do. I laugh about it. I know all my faults and so do you, I wear them on my sleeve. The good Lord knows all these things too and somewhere in His merciful heart he decided to make me into something glorious. I am His, ha ha I am His mess. And He LOVES me so passionately. And He gave me this overflowing gift in allowing David Matthew Quinn to see the art in me.

On a lighter note...

This is for Erinnnn. She gets extra "n"s because she is so neat and nifty. And very nice. I am going to take a brief break from my usual deepness : ) to bring a few shallower, but very important thoughts.

Erin and I discussed our vocabularies and determined that since David says "Making up words is a sign of genius"...we are going to create some words and use them frequently. So far we have added the "ed" suffix to just about anything we desire to add a sort of "intelligent" quality to our words.

For example. If Erin looked at the stars last night I would say that she look-ed at the stars. Friends, please do not be confused. This is not the word "looked", as your most likely suspected at first. It is two syllables (look)(ed)...not blending the d into the root word. For added emphasis (and special occasion) we with add "eth" to the word. But not as an ending...for that has been done. We will add it into the middle and still keep our other suffix. Example: Erin lookethed at the stars. Pronounced (look)(eth)(ed). Three wonderful syllables making one fancy little word that is not needed at all and serves no other purpose than our delight.

You may join us in our quest for elegance if you wish.

I would also like to take the time to point out that Erin and I drive the same car (hers is white for "good" and mine is black for "evil"...no need to fear, I am not defined by my car but by the Lord alone), we are the same size, look good in the same kinds of shoes, do the same curls, think lots of the same things, and say things at the same time. We drove past a warehouse for sale yesterday and both said, "We should buy it." We laughed and then at the same time said, "What would we do with it?". This is just one example of the sameness. Or I suppose we are sam-ed. And on special days we are sam-eth-ed.

Oh Erinnnn, how I lov-eth-ed thee.