Spring Brings Changes!

Whew … can you believe it? I think we’re finally done with ol’ man winter!! Before this year, I’d not heard the words ‘Arctic Vortex’… boy, do I know what that means now! Could we possibly have had a colder, longer winter and what was up with the wind?? It seemed like just about every day, we were living in blustery white-out conditions. Some days it was so bad, I didn’t leave the house, not even to walk across the yard to my studio.

But, it appears winter is just a memory now. Funny how quick it can happen … no more need to curse the weather, right? Warming weather brings puddles to our house, making walking and driving through our yard somewhat of a challenge. Winter boots are doubling as water gear as we try to navigate our way around, sloshing and sliding through the gooey, muddy riverlets produced by the melting snowbanks. And, there’s the retraining of our dog, who now sits on the walk-off rug as soon as she comes in the house and patiently waits as we wipe her feet dry. Now, don’t think I’m complaining … spring is my favorite time of year. I’ll save the complaining until July/August when the humidity matches the air temp!!!

Things are a little crazy around our house right now. Some of you may know that we have our hobby farm up for sale and that we will be relocating to the Emily, MN area (I talked about that area in an earlier post … Cross The World will be moving too! ). All winter, we’ve been having conversations with God about picking and sending us just the right family who will love our farm as much as we do. And so, in the meantime while He’s choosing, He told us to get busy and do our part … let the repainting, purging, tidying up, purging, redecorating begin … did I mention purging? Where did all this stuff come from? And, if I didn’t know I even had it, how come it was taking so much valuable space in my closet? I truly think someone else placed it there when I was at the grocery store … it surely wasn’t me!!! What a life lesson learned … letting go of material things that occupied too much space and really weren’t necessary in our lives. And, all this purging actually FEELS GOOD, ALMOST CLEANSING!! Should have done this years ago … but, then, maybe I wouldn’t have so much stuff?!?

Anyway, we are on our way to a new chapter in our lives. We have already purchased a small lake home (both the lake and the house fit the category of ‘smaller’) and are working diligently to get that ready for our move. The CTW woodshop is almost finished and my work space has a good start so, when the move comes, neither of us will skip a beat. I’ll keep you informed when that move is going to be a reality. Again, did I say things are crazy around here? We are really too old for shenanigans like this!

Also, I wanted to let you know of some changes I’ve made to this website, spurred by suggestions from some of you:

1. There’s a new page that talks about our ‘Pass It On’ cross, as well as its accompanying message tag. Sometimes, especially if this is your first introduction to our crosses, it’s hard to imagine what they look like or their actual size. We always tell people they are 4” tall, by 2 ½” wide, by 3/8” thick, about the size of a business card, but it can still be difficult to visualize so we hope this helps. In the near future, our brochure will be updated and a photo of our cross, with its message tag, will also appear on its front cover.

2. I have added our mailing address to the bottom of the Order Form page. That will be more convenient when you want to order crosses, using the form from the website … no more searching the site when addressing the envelope.

Thank you for these suggestions! Because we live CTW every day, we forget we need to be more descriptive about what we’re doing and/or talking about so it’s good to hear from you. If there is anything else we should be addressing, just let us know!

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February brought new and old friends together at Cross The World. We are pleased to acknowledge the following Friends in Christ:

New Salem Lutheran Church, Turtle River, MN

Dean & Joyce – MN

Mary – MN

Carla – MN

Agape Singers, Dawson, MN

Justin – MN

St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Crofton, NE

St. Andrew Catholic Church, Crofton, NE

Marvie – MN

Kindle Community Church, Schoolcroft, MI