Settling In

Once again, I must apologize for the length of time between posts.  It has been a crazy month that has gone MUCH too quickly!

We have been keeping busy with unpacking, getting settled, doing laundry and dishes, etc.  It doesn't feel like "our" house to me yet.  Or at least, it all feels surreal still.  Almost like we're visiting.  I think it will take awhile to really feel like it is OUR house. 

In a little over a week, we leave for vacation.  My mom's family is having a reunion.  It will be fun to see people I haven't seen in awhile and to spend time with cousins and their kiddos.  My kids are, of course, very excited to see their second cousins; they will also get to meet some second cousins that they have never met, which will also be a lot of fun.  There are three pools and free kayaks and paddle boats and biking at the resort where we are staying; I am hoping for some quiet relaxing time with my cousin in between all the activity with the kids.  I am also very  much looking forward to stopping to visit my best friend Shannon on our way home.  A year between visits is about all I can take.

As soon as we get home, I start my summer class, which is six weeks long, and also a summer practicum working with kids with special needs ages birth to 3.  I'm somewhat looking forward to that, but also getting tired of classes.  Thankfully, this is my last class before I do student teaching.  I am, however, considering taking some additional classes for an autism specialization; but I haven't decided for sure yet.

We have officially been placed back on the foster-to-adopt list (we were previously on the adopt-only list, as we were in our tiny house waiting to move).  I am excited for what God has in store for our family, and praying over our children - both present and future - every day.  I have to admit that at times lately, I have gotten nervous that we would get a call for kids while we are on vacation; but then the Holy Spirit quietly reminds me that God already sees our children and knows where they are and when they will come to us, and He is not going to send them to us when we are not here!  

We are finishing up the end of our school year.  I was hoping that this would be our last week, but Hunter doesn't seem to want to buckle down and do what needs to be done in order to finish this week, so we shall see after tomorrow where we are at.  We are, once again, doing school during the summer.  I decided when we started last fall that we would take a year-round schedule approach to homeschooling; Hunter did so much better in the fall when he kept up with the work over the summer than he did the year before after having 3 months out of school.  So I scheduled breaks throughout the school year, and we will of course have a break here before we begin our summer work, and another break between summer and fall. 

Well, that's about all that's going on in our exciting lives right now.  Time to go switch laundry and get another cup of coffee.  Hope everyone is well!

We Are In...

...and we love it every bit as much as we knew we would!  Even though things are EVERYWHERE and everything is unorganized and in disarray and furniture is still in pieces.  This is HOME!

The movers came Friday.  We cleaned the old place Friday night and gave the keys to the landlords on Saturday.  We hung out at my mom's Saturday evening, Middle and Little took their first shower/bath in the new house Saturday night, we went to church with my mom Sunday morning, and we took my parents out to eat after church.  We did a little work around the house in the afternoon, then went to Lowe's and picked up new door hardware so the whole house would match (oh yeah, and so we would have all new locks.  Guess that's kind of important too.).  Randy is installing those now. 

Last night I worked on homework while he hung curtains over our bedroom doors - yes, our new bedroom doors have windows in them, because they came from an old barn back when the house was built.  It's good our bedroom is basically alone on the second floor ;-).  By the time I finished my homework, I was too exhausted to run the jacuzzi for the hot soak I had been thinking about all day. 

I have been washing sheets and blankets all day today; I am finally into the actual laundry.  Tonight I have class and need to stop at Walmart for a few things on my way home.  It will be a toss-up as to whether a hot bath is sorely needed or I am too tired again to fill the tub!

I really wish I didn't have to go to class tonight.  I am exhausted and really wanting to get things done around the house.  Tomorrow I have a hair appointment in the middle of the day, so that is going to kind of break up the day and make it hard to get things accomplished.  Wednesday is Randy's last day off before he has to go back to work.  It would be really nice if he and I could get some time alone after all the hullabaloo of moving.  We'll see though; I rather doubt that is very likely to happen.

Off to check laundry and get ready for class.  One more after tonight!

Edited to Add:  I thank God every single day for providing us with this amazing place to call home and raise our children!  It is a HUGE blessing to our family.  But I realized today while rereading my post that I didn't mention that here, and I want to make sure everyone knows:  GOD IS GREAT.  Not just because He provided us with a house, of course, but we give Him all the glory for it.

Last Day!!

Today is our last day actually living in our little house! 

Tomorrow morning we have our final walkthrough and then our closing.  Then we will come back here, load up our cars with things we are not sending with movers - TVs, food, etc. - and suitcases with clothes for a few days, and head down to the house.  I will begin cleaning, and Randy will come back for another load or two plus Ryan, and we will stay at the new house tomorrow night.  Thursday morning Randy will bring Ryan back for school.  I may or may not follow him up here, depending on what is left to be done up here - I'm betting that I will be coming.  If we have a lot of the non-mover stuff out of here by then, we will do some cleaning here - the bathroom, the floors, etc.  I'm hoping to get as much done on Thursday as possible so we have less to do on Saturday.

Friday the movers come, so we'll only be without furniture for two days.  Today I bought an air mattress so Randy and I wouldn't throw our backs out sleeping on the floor.  The seller is leaving us a daybed, because he doesn't need it, so Kaleigh will sleep on that.  The boys will sleep on the floor with blankets and sheets and the GIANT pillows I am almost done making them. 

Well, off to continue packing.  I have pretty much had my fill of packing tape and bubble wrap!

ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!

Well - if you aren't keeping track (or just didn't bother to read the title) - we are down to one week until closing.

Needless to say, I am a *teensy* bit frazzled.

I have been stockpiling individual sized homemade freezer meals for a couple of weeks, and this week I am supplementing that with family sized freezer meals, so today I made a lasagna.  I figure for at least a week after the movers leave, I won't have the time or energy to cook, so I'm trying to prepare ahead for that.  Tomorrow I'll make a family sized chicken and broccoli pasta.  Friday I'll make a family sized baked mac and cheese.  That will probably be all I can manage for family sized, but I will also have plenty of individual meals, as well as sandwich stuff, and a freezer full of roasts and hamburger.  So I think we will be good while we settle in.

Our closing has been moved back 2 hours (originally scheduled at 9) to accommodate a final walkthrough in the morning.  Apparently the seller has actually PLANNED to finish moving out the morning of closing.  I can only shake my head, because I cannot imagine planning to finish at the last minute.  I am the kind of person who plans to finish something several days ahead, so that even if it takes me an extra day, I am still ahead of the game.  I just don't get it.

After a couple of challenging days with the kids, they are both having a very good day today.  I hesitate to write that and hex the whole thing, but I figure I have a responsibility to put it in print, since there is a strong likelihood that no one will believe me later!

I have been going through the tedious process of getting homeowner's insurance rates.  It looks like we will be very likely staying with our current insurance company, because all the quotes I have gotten back so far have been really high.  Like, speck-in-the-upper-stratosphere high.  I don't understand how companies like that stay in business, but I guess it's not my problem. :)

Well, I guess I need to get back to work :).  Later!

9 Days / Packing Update

Well, we are down to the single digits!  It is hard to believe we are one week and two days away from handing over a large portion of our savings account and moving into our new house!  I think I am into the pinching phase now - this house is our realistic/moderate dream home.  That is, I know we could not have found a home we loved more that was in our price range.  It's hard to grasp the idea that we will soon be moving out of "postage stamp" and into "practically perfect in every way."  We have been squeezed into this tiny home (that again, we have been SO grateful for!) for over three years now (ever since we got our first foster kids), and it feels wonderful and indescribable and nearly inconceivable that we will finally have all the space our family needs.  I remember last summer when I was really beginning to feel desperate to move, and the Holy Spirit spoke quietly to me and reminded me that God is in control and would bring us to the home for us when the time was right.  I then began to pray every day that He would do just that, and help us to be content and patient while waiting.  Now that those prayers are coming to fruition, I add the prayer that God will help me to never ever take for granted the blessings He has given and is giving us every day.

Sorry for that ramble, but apparently I just needed to get it out!

Randy and I were able to get LOTS more packing done this past weekend.  I have a list of things to do this week - besides packing I also have several school assignments to do, some filing to catch up on, and some freezer meals to make for our first week or so in the new house.

Next week Monday and Tuesday I will be packing the last of the dishes and all of the nonperishable food items from my "pantry" shelves and the kitchen.  Tuesday I have to go get the cashier's check for the closing; Wednesday morning we close; and then we will be loading up our cars with stuff we don't want the movers to take, and heading down to the new house.  I plan to do some cleaning there, starting with the fridge, freezer, dishwasher, and pantry; and Randy will be making another run or two from the old house to bring more items that we don't want the movers bringing.  If I get my first cleaning things done, those runs will include frozen and refrigerated food, and in between stocking the fridge and freezer, I will work on cleaning the floors and carpets.  If there's any time left in the day - and if I'm not totally exhausted! - I'll work on unpacking the other items.  Thursday morning my mom will come watch Middle and Little, while Randy and I take Ryan to school and come to the old house to do some cleaning and bring more items, if there are any left.  Friday morning my mom will come get Middle and Little and take them back to her house, while Randy and I take Ryan to school and meet the movers at the old place.  If there is still anything left for us to take, we will load up the car and follow (lead?) the movers down to the new house, where I - um, I mean WE (bahaha!) will direct the movers to the appropriate places with the boxes and furniture.  I love to be bossy in charge the ORGANIZER.

Sorry - that run-through of my future schedule was probably sort of boring, but it helps me feel less chaotic if I list out the plan and can refer back to it later :). 

If you are so inclined, please pray for us during this crazy time!  Lots going on, some general and some specific.  There is a specific situation that I would appreciate prayer for, but can't give details here.  God knows, so please just pray that He will work out the details smoothly and without unnecessary... processes.

Thanks!

Off to file!

15 Days / Packing Update

Hard to believe there are only 15 days left until we close.  Packing is coming along, but I still feel very far behind.  This past weekend, I was able to get a bunch more done in the basement, and Randy and Hunter went through the garage and packed and sorted everything.  They also found a ton of boxes, which was great, because packing supplies are so expensive.

Today I got another box of kitchen stuff packed and started on another; I cleaned off the dishwasher and fridge and threw a bunch of stuff away; I packed the rest of our winter outwear and accessories (now we will get a big snowstorm); and I packed a box of the kids' school stuff.  I took a break to fold some laundry before I got behind on that.  Now I need to run to the bank and then get back on packing.  

I also have several school assignments that are due the week after we move.  Not sure when those are going to get done.

I just keep thinking about being in the new house.  That should keep me going for the next couple of weeks.  Continued prayers are welcomed and appreciated :).

25 Days / Packing Update

I cannot believe we have only 25 days until closing.  Four weeks from today, we will be cleaning up the old place, looking around for the last time, and walking out the door to start out in a new place.  It boggles my mind to think about it.  I am very thankful that God gave us 5 years in this house; it was a blessing at the time we found it, and as we have outgrown it, God has given me the opportunity to experience difficulty and inconvenience so that I would never take the awesomeness that is our new home for granted.

This week I got some of the boys' stuff packed, and Ryan decided to pack most of his clothes, as well as some of Hunter's.  I also spent a large chunk of time yesterday packing my closet and a couple of my drawers, as well as about 3/4 of Kaleigh's toys and a few articles of her clothing.  My entire closet is emptied now, except for Kaleigh's dresses and my formals.  Two of my drawers are emptied, and the third drawer in that dresser is just some baby items that will be easily packed into the "baby stuff" box; then that dresser will be empty.  Tomorrow I will be moving those boxes down to the living room - which, along with the basement, will be the "staging area" for the movers to take from - and also doing some more work in the basement with Randy.

Yesterday I used up the last of our Large boxes and almost all of our Medium boxes, so we'll need to stop and pick up some more either tonight or tomorrow morning.

We really need the IRS to get on the stick and get us the rest of our return, so if you are so inclined, please pray that that happens soon.  Thanks!