the couch

Three years ago we moved out of our house and in with a friend.  We didn't bring our couch, but instead asked some other friends to "babysit" it for us. (which they did - again big thanks to the Pietzolds!)  We sort of assumed it would be too big to fit in a European apartment and wouldn't be able to come with us to Germany.  However, a European friend advised us differently.  The thing is, when our shipment arrived in December, our stairwell proved too small to fit the couch through.  So, it's been sitting at the Art Factory since December (thank you Holladays!) while we debated how to get it through our window.  Honestly, it wasn't very high on the priority list for a long time.  We finally decided to hire a company to bring this contraption:

an aufzug (lift) to get it through the window.  This is pretty customary in Europe... old buildings and moving aren't the easiest combo.  They came this morning at 7:30 am and set to work. They had to pull the trailer by hand from the nearby street to get to our windows. (That's a church you see in the background). 

 After they extended the lift and lined it up, they unfolded the platform, put our couch on it (it looked awfully wobbly) and started the lift.

 The guy on the inside scared me - he climbed up, stood on the window ledge and started tugging at the couch, eventually standing on the wobbly platform with the couch.  I could imagine either he or the couch falling...

 But all was well, and the couch is now in our living room!!!!!!  Just in case you haven't done the math, that's three years since we've been able to sit on our own couch..... we're a little excited.  It's just a couch.  It doesn't have any kind of eternal value, and we'd be just fine if we could never sit on it again, but it does bring us joy - like a really fun present.  So I've been thanking the Lord for it today, and for all the people that it brings to mind who have had some part in it being here as I rearrange and make our living room "home." (This also means that I will finally post the before and after pictures of our apartment soon.  I know some have wondered what our place is like.)

all done and heading back down