Comforts of Home (Week Three)

"Eric?! What are you doing here?! Ahhhhh!!! Shutup! You jerk! So dumb!" Hahaha these were some of the exclamations as a result of my surprise early-return home Sunday, May 27th.  Everyone was happy, except, Hunter.

Hunter who is my arch-nemesis.  He and I have been competing for Gabby's love for the past two years or so and she calls him, "Her Little Boyfriend," haha.  So when I walked into the Hearn's backyard (family from Gabby's church, where she was at when I got back to town), he was livid!  The surprise was a success on all accounts!

After having dinner at Charles and Denise's (the Hearn's) house, Gabby and I went to my house to surprise my mom and had a fun night of Scattergories with her and Kevin (my step-dad).  Everyone was happy :)  The next day (Monday), my mom and I went to the mall to do some shopping.  I got my outfit for the wedding of the year (Emma and Caleb Knighten's!!)

Then we surprised Gabby AGAIN! by eating at Chick-Fil-A Suffolk where she is working for the summer.  When she got off work, we went with her dad and Evan (her brother) to North Carolina to see her Aunt, Uncle, Granny, and Grandpa.  It was a really fun time (as always).

Tuesday, I had a dentist appoint.

((Sidenote:  The dentist had almost spoiled my surprise because I made the appointment and then they called my house to confirm my appointment for Tuesday (everyone thought I was coming home Thursday) and so my mom called me and was like, "You better get it changed," so I made her believe that I was but I kept it on Tuesday obviously haha.))

I had a cavity which sucked but was no big deal.

Gabby was off work that day and my mom and Kevin were watching Scarlet (my step-niece) so Gabby and I both spent the day at the house with them baby-sitting and chilling.  Spaghetti for dinner, good times!

Tuesday night, I did my first blog post and have loved hearing everyone's responses ever since.  It helps me know that I'm not writing to myself but that people are actually reading it and following along on my journey.  Thank you!

Wednesday, my Grammy and I grabbed lunch at Chick-Fil-A and surprised Gabby on-the-job (again).  My Gastrointestinal Doctor appointment had been moved to that afternoon so I sped over to Harborview for that in the rain and made it in plenty of time!  No changes, I still have Acid Reflux and need my medicine everyday, no big deal.

I went over to Gabby's when she got off work and we both went to youth group together which we hadn't been able to do since last summer.  David Pace (pastor living in Wilroy Baptist's parsonage looking for work) gave an awesome message on a breakdown of the Gospels and compared it to New York (totally a God-wink considering how I'm going there next week on mission) and it got me really stoked about reading the Gospels more and thinking about his illustration.

He talked about how each apostle was, "standing on a different building" and different foci.  For example, Matthew was watching the entire parade of Jesus' life on earth but focused more on His birth and lineage (Matthew 1) or, "the beginning of the parade", and how in the Macy's parade, when Snoopy stops in front of Macy's and is the big deal, Calvary is the big deal, but the parade wasn't over.  In three days time, Jesus rose again- the parade continued!

Thursday, my mom left for the Outer Banks with her friends so I spent the next four days staying at my Grammy and Papa's house.  I had dinner with Papa that night who is a beast at cooking and Gabby came over for awhile.

Friday, my Grammy, Taylor, and I all went to Game 1 of the AHL Calder Cup Finals at Scope (the Norfolk Admirals are in a best-of-7 series to win the championship).  On the way, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A and surprised Gabby again!  ;) At the game, a fight broke out right in front of us (not in the rink as you would think- but in the crowd!) the two guys got escorted out and the game continued!  The Admirals won 3-1 and we high-tailed it out of there to beat the traffic.

Saturday, was the weddingggggggg!!!!! Gabby. Ericka (a girl in Gabby's Small Group, SBL), and myself all drove four hours to Martinsville to see Emma Dollings (one of Gabby's housemates) become Mrs. Caleb Knighten.  It was a really awesome ceremony and reception.

Gabby and I accidentally interrupted one of Emma and Caleb's first dates on Reddish Knob.  This past semester, I got to watch "Say Yes to the Dress" with Emma and Caleb and they made me dinner one time (Easter weekend when all of my friends were gone and I was waiting for Gabby to get off work haha).  Basically, they are great!

Sunday, was my Grammy's birthday and my dad, aunt, and uncle all came for breakfast.  I got to spend some time with my dad putting together a generator.  Then, I went to church with Gabby, lunch with our friends Jake and Beth, and to Thomas Westfall's Eagle Court of Honor!

Thomas and I were tent mates on my 130-mile canoe trek at the Northern Tier High Adventure Base in Canada, summer after my ninth grade year and he was the Master of Ceremonies (MC) at my Court of Honor and he asked me to be the same for his.  It was great!  I got to see a lot of my Scout friends and was honored to be such a big part of the ceremony.

Monday, Gabby had off work and we were either going to go canoeing (inspired from the previous days events) or to the beach (she loves the beach).  We were all set to go canoeing and then she found out that her Harrisonburg Chick-Fil-A friends were at Virginia Beach so we went there instead and spent the day. I went home after that and had a good night hanging out with my mom who filled my gas tank and helped me pack some to leave Tuesday.

Tuesday (yesterday) I packed the rest of my things and headed for Gabby's house.  I made her French Toast for breakfast and when she left for work, I left for Harrisonburg!

It was an awesome week and God was totally with me every step of the way.  He is growing me right now for sure and it is crazy how much He has done so in only a few short weeks.  I'm getting ready to face many decisions- more academic decisions, church memberships, etc. and am seeking His path for me every step of the way!


Jeremiah 1:5

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you,
    before you were born I set you apart; 
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ”