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Our 7 Qtpies

September 26, 2012

Almost there!

Just a few days left here in Minnesota, and so much to do! But I am confident that all will be fine on the packing front. Donnie will be here tomorrow night!

I still need to make calls and cancel utilities and things, do some banking stuff, and see my friends one last time.

But mostly I am looking forward to being done with this move. I can't fathom being in Texas, it just isn't real to me, since I haven't been out there at all. Maybe we should have driven out to visit once and given us all something to look forward to. Hope is having a hard time with the moving, though I know she is going to be fine and love Texas, but I know I would hate to be where she is now. Hard.

Looking forward.

Looking to the blessing of this move.

Looking to make a new life.

Looking forward to new everything!

Chance to do it over, do it better, change things about ourselves that we don't like.

In less than a week we will be together in our new home, trying to get the kids in school, setting up beds, grocery shopping, etc!

September 24, 2012

AAAAHHHH!

You know, I think I have titled several posts with this title over the 6 years I have been blogging, lol.

But, WE ARE MOVING TO TEXAS IN 6 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to get everything done by then, and then MOVE! WOW!

I never really wanted to buy the house we are in right now, but after 8 years I can't see myself living anywhere else. It is tough.

I love our town, but it is just a town. Leaving my friends STINKS. Even the friends who have hurt me. It hurts that now I won't have my dream of making up and having them back in my life.

The packing is................. well, not going well? haha I have like 10 boxes packed. This week is do-or-die on the packing, and I have to get it all done. Nothing like last minute to get me moving! I always work that way, so it is no surprise.

This weekend I got through the basement, of which I am taking very little with us. I also have been steam cleaning my couches and area rugs so they are all fresh and pretty for the new house. Is that a distraction or a good thing?

Donnie comes home on Thursday and we will get so much more done together. I'm going to keep plugging along and hope for the best. If we can be done packing Saturday, then we have a going away that night, and church in the morning and we are out of here. Otherwise whatever we haven't finished packing will be done by our church friends after church. ugh! I just don't want to leave everyone!




September 20, 2012

Mixed blessings

We've been going through some annoying legal stuff with Cody. Long story short: he and his friends were on a playground behind a school one evening, and an officer came around the building. It was very dark, and the officer could not see them while pointing a flashlight at them from the far end of the school, so the boys had no idea it was an officer, just some creeper coming around the school. So they took off running for the parking lot where there was light and one of their brothers was coming to pick them up. The officer radioed another officer who came running from another direction and they were charged with fleeing police. They didn't even KNOW they were being followed until they came to the parking lot and saw a police car.

So we had our "pre-trial" today. I don't understand the pre-trial at all. He went to the arraignment and said he was not guilty and they set a date. That date was so that they could again try to make a deal outside of court or set another date for trial. Seriously. It was for nothing.

This means that we can't leave for Texas with an all-clear. We have to keep coming back for trial. The good part?? The mixed blessing???

His trial is set for December 21st, so we HAVE to be here right before Christmas, so we may as well BE here for Christmas! I am so happy to know that I will see at least Liam that soon. I am praying Drew will get the time off to come for Christmas so we can see them, too. And Devon better get a ticket out here, too!


September 19, 2012

I think my house is trying to keep me here

I am trying to organize and pack, but my house looks more like I am bringing my dining room somewhere and a bomb went off in the rest of the house, garage, yard.
Hope got sick right before school started, and now I have her illness. It stinks! I cough if I move, talk, breath. Basically just living causes me to have a coughing fit. We have been so sick since we moved into this house. We wonder if there is a mold problem, but short of tearing out the walls, how would we know?

The more I go through things to pack, the more stuff seems to appear. I don't want to have this much stuff. I am definitely going to downsize majorly and since we know that we won't be in our Texas home too long, we will NOT be collecting junk. It is my goal not to do this again. I think moving every couple of years will be a good way to keep from getting too bogged down in stuff. Ok, maybe that is a bit much, but for sure I don't want to end up with so much work again. My dad has been in his house for about 30 years, and he said he will NEVER move because he can't fathom dealing with everything, haha. He's going to leave it to us. Nice huh?

I am praying for this cough to go away, and not to infect the kids. I need to get busy! We leave in less than 2 weeks. I am so happy that Donnie decided to fly home and help me pack and move. I didn't want him to, so we could save money and keep him working, but I just need him here.

In the mean time I am enjoying my time with my grandchildren! Faith has warmed up to me now and plays with me. I love that she is happy to be with me, even if her mom isn't in the room. I let her go at her own pace, since I knew she would be here a month, and now we have so much fun!

Liam is getting to be so much fun, too, now. He is 5 months old, and play time is really interactive now. I have such a special relationship with him. It hurts so bad to leave him, but I know I will keep coming back to visit him.

Jannessa has been suffering from some morning sickness, so she bought some Ginger Snaps. Kaytlin came over with Liam one morning and she grabbed a Ginger Snap. Liam saw that cookie and reached out and snagged it right out of her hand! He went to TOWN on that cookie! He wouldn't touch bananas, but a cookie? Oh, yeah!




Kaytlin got him all cleaned up after his huge mess, and then he saw the box. The box! And he dove for that cookie box with all he had in him! So he got another cookie. :) And this time he made an even bigger mess.
It is probably a good thing in some ways that I won't be around him as often as I am now. I would spoil the snot out of him! I get in enough trouble with the spoiling I do with Faith! I give her candy and soda. And juice boxes. I have had to tell her No, though, because her favorite past time is shutting off my computer while I am on it. Her sneaky little finger has a knack for finding the power button.

Well, back to coughing and packing and coughing and not packing. I'd rather be spoiling my grandbabies!

September 07, 2012

The Slothful Move

Wow, it is so not going well with the moving. Way, way, way too much stuff. I hope that I learn a lesson from all this. If there isn't a place for it, don't keep it. And do not EVER take on other people's stuff. Even if they died, it isn't coming HERE.

I am doing pretty good at selling stuff. I sold a TON of my stamping stuff, and then went to lunch and lost $120 out of my pocket. That was a bummer. But, we look at it like God is using it somewhere else. Or I'd cry.

I could sell and sell and sell, but that involves more work than just donating a ton of stuff at once, and that more work takes more TIME. And time means I am not with my husband for even longer. Not that money isn't keeping us apart, too. So....... catch 22.

Big things on my plate at the moment:
1. getting Donnie's dad packed and moved. I've wanted to go pack his room, but he gives me looks like he isn't ready, so I don't really know what to do. But he doesn't have a choice today. I'm attacking his room with boxes today. He is moving tomorrow.
2. getting rid of our old van that doesn't run. In a way that we make some money.
3. replacing that money I lost so I can afford the electric bill. lol
4. Cody has court. 

All this stress is taking a toll on my body. Not cool. This move is for the GOOD of our family in so many ways! I wish I could not stress so much about it.

What stresses me?
1. The overwhelming amount of STUFF that I have to deal with in some form or fashion.
2. Money for the move, Donnie's paychecks are not exactly normal.
3. Doing it without my husband. It makes me angry even though it isn't his fault.
4. Leaving my friends.
5. Leaving while my friends are not talking to me over what I consider misunderstandings or total lies they are believing from the enemy. It isn't in my hands to talk to them, they don't answer my attempts, and I am left with no options. (still not in a cult, still love them)
6. Moving kids in the middle of a grading period. Or moving kids at all. Hope isn't happy about it.
7. Moving away from my kids and grandkids!!! This is the WORST!

But the blessings are just fantastic!

1. A bigger paycheck to help us get out of debt!
2. A new beginning! Those are always fun!
3. An adventure!
4. Our new house is beautiful!
5. No shoveling snow this year!
6. God took care of the house situation. It wasn't fun, but it is all working out with good timing. 

Here are some pics of our new house.
Our beautiful backyard, and yes, that is a ceiling fan on the patio! I hear it is hot down in Texas.
 This is a shot from the kitchen looking toward the dining room. There is a walk in pantry off to the right, and a built in bookshelf for cookbooks, and down that little hallway to the dining room there are cupboards built into the wall for more storage.
 This is the view from the front door. The stairs and loft area, dining room to the right, and a coat closet to the left.
 This is the kitchen looking toward the breakfast nook.
 And our main living room, with the breakfast nook off to the right. Donnie has always wanted a fire place! It can be a gas fireplace, or a gas starting wood fireplace.
So, you see, we are amazingly blessed! No use rushing, though, I can't leave until September is over, I have work, and Cody has court. If you don't mind praying for us, pray that we can resolve the issue at court on the first day, so we don't have to leave Cody behind to finish it up. Thank you!


September 04, 2012

New Year, New fun!

 I have been homeschooling for about 18 years now. I am SO tired of it. Even with my unschooling, lower requirements, I am just not giving it as much as I should be. I am worn out! So, I decided to put all the kids in school this year. Maybe I will homeschool again, but if not, it is OK. 
Today was Sam and Trinity's first day of public school ever! Trinity started 3rd grade and Sam started Kindergarten. Hope was supposed to start 10th grade today, but she was so sick, I wouldn't let her go. Cody started 11th grade in online school today.
Trinity and Sam were so excited to go to school today!
 Here they are walking to the bus stop. Where the bus never showed up. We were there from 7:35 to 8:05 and gave up.
 The ride home was even more dramatic, but I'm too traumatized to talk about THAT one yet. But the kids loved school, and I am hopeful that we can make it work, even with the transition to Texas next month.

 We also have another change coming! This picture is Faith, my little granddaughter, and she is going to be a big sister next spring!
Drew and Jannessa are due May 10th, which is my mom's 61st birthday. We couldn't be more excited! I'm not-so-secretly- hoping that Kaytlin gets pregnant soon, too, not that she is hoping that with Liam only being 4 months old.

Donnie is already living in our new home in Texas. It isn't fun to be so far apart, or for me to have to pack up the house and handle everything without him, but the move to Texas is going to be so good for us. God has His hands all over this move, so I am very excited about it!

Our new house is pretty fantastic, and I am so intimidated by it! I will have to blog pictures of it soon. It is a 2.5 bathroom, which I am THRILLED about! Right now we share our master bath with the main bath, and that is not fun having people use the bathroom when we are in bed. :) There are so many wonderful features that I am looking forward to. The kitchen has a built in book shelf for my cook books, and so much storage and a walk in pantry! I think the kids are going to love the loft that looks down on the living room, probably a little too much, and there will be lots of things dropped "on accident" to see what happens. The bathroom upstairs for the kids has a separate room for the sink from the toilet and shower/tub. And the master bath has a separate room just for the toilet. (THAT one is going to be appreciated!!!)

Donnie's dad will be moving to an assisted living place next week. That will be so nice for him. But a huge change for all of us.

So much new starting up for us! I am looking forward to the new, and dreading the process. Packing and downsizing is so much work, and I have a bad back and now a sprained foot. Not easy, but I HAVE to get things done. The doing hurts, and I have to rest frequently. And I feel lazy. But I don't want to be permanently injured, either.  Downsizing is pretty freeing, though! Looking forward to an easier life!