Labor, a Roller Coaster and Camping and how they Relate to Moving

A couple of months ago I was using the comparison of this "move" season to being pregnant. No one looks forward to labor, but by the time it's about time for the baby to be due, the pregnant woman is ready for it... she'll take it pain and all:) Sorta;) Well that's what I was feeling like with this upcoming move... I HATE packing, but I've been waiting to move for over 11 months now... I've was beginning to look forward to packing:)

But this week the comparison to our "move" season is more like a rollercoaster!!!

And honestly, I'm ready to get off the ride.... to be done!!

My heart has been unsettled for too long. I'm emotionally drained from all the highs and lows. I'm looking forward to the end of the ride when my heart isn't pumping sooo fast waiting for the next "low".

It seems like the whole process has been highs and lows.... times of excitement and then feelings of dispair/frustration at a new "situation" with the house. Like when we were just about to close on the loan a few days before Christmas only to find out from the bank that our lot was in a flood zone. That status took a MONTH to work out... surveys, statement to the bank....

yes, that took a MONTH!

Then there was the rain that prevented the foundation. The plumber that quit due to the distance to the job. And the special order door made backwards:/

I've been frustrated... shedded tears. Prayed with friends for peace and joy through the crazy times:) It's been a hard 11 months.

This week finally broke me though... I was angry, frustrated..... emotionally exhausted!!

After spending two weeks (3 of those days while my husband was a time zone away) busting my tail and dragging along my kids, spending HOURS cleaning the house and bringing over 9 loads of stuff (clothing, toys, books, kitchen stuff) to the house... I was really looking forward to getting "the green light" to move in.

The green light for us is a document from our county stating that our house passed an inspection!


On Monday, the inspector when through and the house didn't pass. We had some minor issues... insulation not thick enough and ventilation needed to the schoolroom. Early Wednesday afternoon the crew came in... sweated their tails off in our attic and got everything ready for the "final" inspection. Our contractor even showed up to be sure the house was ready :)

Looking forward to the possibility to move in this weekend, we began to arrange for a moving van. It was stress city trying to get a van for our use this weekend, in fact the company called with apologies and a credit since they couldn't find anything for us.

On Thursday, I packed what I thought would be our "final" load before the "big" move... Brian had secured a private van from a local company. I loaded all our dishes and most used cookware:) While I knew our house was no where close to being packed and ready, I was ready for the "green light"... at least saying we could "live" at our house.

And I was very excited with the possibility that we could spend the next night (Friday) in the house:) So fun!

You can imagine the shock when I got the kids in our l.o.a.d.e.d. mini-van and read a text from Brian saying that the inspector wasn't going to make it to the house until Monday afternoon... maybe!!!

WHAT!!!????!!

Anyway, I didn't handle it well.... not at all!! But it was all the emotions and frustrations coming to a head. I just thought of all rushing and late nights I had had with the kids. And the things we had let pass us by this spring and early summer because we were thinking the move was going to happen more quickly.... like Anna's 8th birthday, our 10th wedding anniversary (nope, we didn't do anything, no dinner, no date.... nothing... just packed and ran errands with the kids to get the house ready), Mother's Day, Father's Day and we almost didn't go to Wesley's 1st Birthday!!!

it was a "low" :/

Sometime that night (Thursday) Brian contacted a church member asking to borrow his truck and trailer to run a few bigger things to the house to at least start the moving process so when we'd get the documentation to move in we could and would have less to move with a moving van.

Our sweet friend agreed!!

What started as a few things turned  into... 2 days of insane moving in 100+ degree weather!! 6 truck/trailer loads (insane we have that much stuff) and many men and hands helping. A HIGH for sure!!

As I look around the house tonight, there is very little;) We are all sleeping on mattresses on the floor. We're eating off paper plates;) No dryer or couches, a couple of outfits for each person in suitcases, a few lamps and a TV:)

We're now officially camping out in the parsonage until the house can be inspected and pass!! LOL!!!

 But as we look at the holiday week, we quickly realize that we could be here "camping out" until Friday:/  Please pray that this "final" step happens soon and we can move ourselves and mattresses to the new house...

and be off the rollercoaster:)

BTW.... I will not take lightly how blessed we are. That we can move into a wonderful house! That we have amazing friends and neighbors willing to come help us... some stopping as they passed to help load!! Even in tears of frustration to a friend after receiving that text from my hubby, I was reminded to how blessed I was... that she would remind me to be "joyful" when she knew I wasn't !

And while it's been crazy the last 2 days with the trailers and men loading up almost everything in the house.... I am so very grateful for the ability to move loads at a time versus packing a whole truck at once and unloading it all at once!! A blessing to be moving nearby.

And that each time I want to complain that we can't be in our house.... I am reminded of the people who have lost their homes to floods and fires in the last 2 weeks!!!! And the amazing community we have around us that I will be leaving ( but not be too far from) and get to enjoy a few more days!!

We are blessed!!

Pictures from our 2 day packing SPRINT!!

How Grandma keeps them cooled off and out of the way of the packing crew:)

Getting Big

At Wesley's party, there were all sorts of little toys.

Nate kept going to the riding toy.

He looked like a little boy on a toddler toy... he's loosing the baby look!



He's getting soo big:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday : Burrito Makes an Appearance

Chris' imaginary friend Burrito made a surprise appearance at the beach last weekend!! It was a nice treat to finally get to meet him!!

FYI... Burrito has been Chris' imaginary friend for years... we often hear Burrito stories that sounds very similar to recent history stories and/or TV show plots!!

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And I heard the words I was dreading on Monday....

One of my children said,"I hate packing! I don't want to move and pack, it's boring!"

LOL!!!! It's almost over guys.... just a few more days;)

And now it's your turn:)

Our Week of Cleaning

In my life this week...
We are really in the thick of moving.... but first was the cleaning. There was a contract-cleaning for the house, but the amount we would have paid was kind of ridiculous especially since we were told by a few people that they had to re-clean because the paid cleaners didn't clean cupboards, blinds,etc! So we thought we'd to it ourselves and get the credit... a few hundred dollars NOT on a loan is good:)

While Brian was out of town Monday through Wednesday night the kids and I packed a closet or two, unloaded our stuff and then spent hours each day cleaning... H.O.U.R.S.!!! We came home exhausted each night, ate a quick meal and then headed back to the house for another day of cleaning.

On Tuesday we did attend the library's reading time and then a program in the afternoon. We also had a picnic at the park... we all needed a little break. And on Friday we spent the day at the beach with family:)

Honestly our week has been packing and cleaning, unpacking and cleaning! The BIG move is this weekend;) I'm really hoping that after another week of cleaning, packing and unpacking, we'll be able to sit back and finally enjoy some summer days:)

Helpful home schooling tips or advice to share... 
I'm slowly learning through schooling my kids that sometimes completing a task/assignment with them turns out to be more a heart issue exercise than an academic one. I need to recognize those moments as teaching character moments and not push for a completed assignment but encourage their hearts instead.

I am inspired by...
Empty closets. There is soo much to pack, but seeing an empty closet pushes me to open the next closet/room and start again:)

My favorite thing this week...
Besides our beach trip, was  seeing Chris on the couch "reading" for fun!!!

I had to see what he was soo quieting "reading" :) I think he is my non-fiction reader!

What's working/not working for us...
Really late getting home, dinner and bedtime! We have been out soo late this last week... like getting home after 9pm and then having to feed the crew. They haven't been in bed before 10 each night. And that means the parents stay up even later:/


The good thing is that they have been sleeping in until 8am or so:)


We're reading/learning....
We've been reading about Lewis and Clark and their adventures! It's very interesting the travels and experiences that they had.

I'm cooking...
Barely. It's been very simple around here and it's only going get easier as I move more of the kitchen stuff to the new house.


I'm grateful...
Our school/play room at the new house. It's the only room with new carpeting and that was almost clean (that is the task for this week's visits). The kids used this room a lot this week as "their" room as I cleaned. It was nice to have a place for them to hang out:)

I'm praying for...
Good attitudes! It's been a challenge to balance all that needs to be done and all we (the kids) want to do... they really want a "summer break"... swimming in pools, playing at parks, chasing a new batch of kittens our neighbor has, etc! It's impossible to be outside with them and inside packing.... so it's requiring balance!

A picture to share...

One "fun" task for the kids was to test all the light switches and electrical outlets. Armed with sticky dots, Anna tried every outlet with a clock radio and Chris flipped all the switches being sure they all worked. They marked the ones that didn't work with dots. Thankfully not many dots were used:)

Nate got a hold of the leftovers;) I had to take a picture though when one rubbed off onto his ear:)
BTW... his old shirt is a hand-me-down from Chris. Nate loves this shirt. He calls it his "ah-ah" shirt... monkey sounds;)

Here's to 5 more days until moving day and grandparents coming, too:)

Linking up to Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up.

Moments to Remember: Wesley's Birthday at the Beach

Can you believe this little guy...

is 1 already???

Since we don't often get to see my brother's little family and to celebrate Wesley's birthday, we ventured to the beach on Friday. While we are consumed with all things "packing"... I have to admit that it was a very refreshing break AND we made many memories with my brother's family and Grammie and Pey:)

It didn't take long for them to be all over in the water:)

Except Nate, he preferred the sand;)

We got in some pool time before the festivities;) Lots of fun memories of Lydia's 1st time swimming under water, making a current, more wrestling with Uncle Brian and Pey's 1st time in a pool in over a year (which he was very excited to be able to do... even let kids "surf" on his back)!!

And then we got to celebrate with Wesley and the many friends and family present;)

While I enjoyed staying at a distance to take pictures AND getting into the pool with everyone... it was warm... yay!! One of my favorite memories of the day was holding my nephew!! He had had a big day (and week on vacation) so I wasn't expecting to get a minute or two with him, I did though as we arranged cars before we had to head home.

My brother plopped him in my arms and he stayed content. So sweet:) He even told someone "no" and shook his head when they held out there arms to take him from mine:) LOL!!! What a sweet age:)

Here's a flashback from last year!

And then another from this weekend:)

Happy 1st Birthday to Wesley!!! And thank you to my brother Brian and sister-in-law Kelly for the fabulous and much needed day at the beach:)

Linking up to Moments to Remember, The Paper Mama's Summer Challenge, Embrace the Camera and



Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

SOOC: Can't You Sleep?

I thought it was precious the book Lydia fell asleep reading the other night:) I found her just like this...

A Wetland Walk with Dad, Turtles & Birds

To celebrate Father's Day a little, we headed to a new town to "check it out". We had heard of some fun opportunities there and thought we'd have some downtime together... leaving the "to do" lists at home;)

In this quaint little city they had a beautiful boardwalk and we found that it extended beyond the downtown and into a wetland preservation area!!

Funny how it works sometimes though. The kids and I had read through some wetland books the week before and so they knew what kinds of things to look for:)  It was fun actually seeing some of those same animals in the books as we walked!!

very outgoing turtles that followed us hoping for a bite to eat

{pretty}

red-winged black bird.... soo cool to see them!

Lily pad blossoms

{funny}

We all thought this pair was funny:)


Nate loved looking for wildlife as well:)

He definitely kept his Daddy busy:)

{happy}

And since it was chilly.... this was all that we braved the water:)

{real}

Speaking of turtles and wildlife... it sounds and looks like we might have a lot at the new house. We have found deer tracks all over the lot. Neighbors have told us that a big turtle roams the area around our house and up the street a bit. The chattering of different birds makes the property soo peaceful. And snakes... urgh... Brian helped another neighbor with a snake last Saturday... I DON't like snakes!!

We found this on the property last weekend.


We were guessing what kind of eggs they were when the neighbor told us about the big roaming turtle. Now we're trying to guess who dug them up??

A Simple Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day this year very simply. On Saturday we took a quick trip in the afternoon to spend time together away from all the tasks needing to be done.

On Sunday, we gave Brian the little cards the kids had made. It was a printable where the kids filled in information about Brian. Just filling it out with the kids was a clear reminder of how different the kids are. Anna went off by herself for it to be a secret, Lydia gave answers to everything (whether she knew the answer or not) and Chris wanted the EXACT answers.

So Father's Day morning, Chris started bombarding Brian with the questions that he had left blank;)In the middle of getting dressed for church, Brian had to come step on the scale for his exact weight.... LOL!!

Chris gave Daddy a $1. He thought every card needed a dollar:)

Lydia's card... we wrote it together, her answers some of my writing;)

Brian also got to pick the meals for the day:) So we ate pizza and breakfast:)

I am thankful for a husband who loves and provides for his children. Who looks forward to coming home from work and having children come running to the door to greet him. Who wants the best for them even if it means we live on one income so Momma can stay at home to teach them or he has to walk through piles of Lego creations. And who wants to be a good Daddy ! He's their biggest fans and they love attention from their Daddy:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Wing High & Voting

Our little Nate has been going through a word explosion.... it's nice! I was a little worried he's a very vocal little guy (just ask about him at the local Walmart... LOL!!), but didn't really try to use words to communicate... he just grunted, yelled or pulled us to what he needed.

It seems like for the last 4 weeks he's been attempting new words each day... usually two or three. They are still very "baby"... but it's a start:) And I'm loving the "word(s) of the day".

Yesterday it was "mil" for milk and "bla" for black:)

And if you ask him how old he is, he'll definitely enthusiastically tell you "TWO!!".. unless he's being bashful:)

Of course he'll also tell you that Mom, Dad, Anna, Chris, Lydia, Gran-Grandma, Grandma, Grandaddy and Collar are all "TWO!!" too:)

Last week he started saying "wing high".... the kid who was scared of swings now loves it;)And wants to go high;)

BTW... we were at a beautiful location, but you would never realize it from the picture... funny how that works sometimes. Here is another shot with the background showing!




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The kids heard a news report about the upcoming election. And so they asked,"Mommy who are you voting for?"

Of course I wanted to see how they would answer the question:)

Chris: "I'm voting for Newt Gingrich, no I mean Barack Obama, no I mean Mitt Romney.

Anna: "Well I wanted to vote for Rick Santorium." (remember she also wants him to be the new pastor of our church... LOL!!)

Lydia: "Well, I want to vote for George Washington!"

Looks like even this group is still undecided... good thing we still have until November before the voting happens.

Now it's your turn!! Link up those fun and interesting conversations with you little ones;)