Good bye to a good house.....

So....it is official. We moved out of our 1st home.
It was a rough, but good day.

I woke up on moving day, 7/19/08,
and quickly my mind flooded with memories of moving to P.
My husband & I closed on the house on our 5th wedding anniversary.
We spent the night, just the 2 of us (thanks to uncle K babysitting)
watching wedding video and remembering our wedding
and planning our future. Nowhere in that planning was moving
to WF in 3 years ever mentioned (it was more like 5-6 years).
We had so many dreams. So many good friends. So much time.
Then before we were ready........this appeared in our yard:

And so.... I woke up to the memories of the house, lots of good and some sad memories.
* Painting my son's room for the first time and him sleeping in his "first" bed (not the crib)
* Watching him climb into my husband's sandals and slide his feet across the kitchen floor
* Watching the excitement in my son's face when he got to play outside in our yard, swing on the swing set, and then scream bloody murder as we carried him into the house for the night.
* Saying prayers with my family and finally my son able to say his own prayers. He prays for friends, family, and choo-choo trains a lot.
* Walking into the house and realizing that it belongs to us (really to the bank since they hold the title, but that doesn't count).
* Watching my son celebrate 3 birthdays, 3 Christmas Holidays, putting on his first Halloween costume and trick-or-treating, and all the other yearly celebrations.
* Grieving over the death of my husband's grandmother. She was very special in our hearts.
* Finding out that we were expecting our 2nd child. My husband was running down the hall from the bathroom (I was afraid to look). He was so excited, I was in a sense of shock. I just couldn't believe that it was true. We were very, very happy to have another on the way.
* Daycare fun. Watching them all grow from small people into big boys and girls. Watching their personalities take shape and develop independence.
* Finding out about my husband's dream of moving back to his hometown and filling with excitement and so much joy.
* The "fun" of selling a house. Staging, cleaning, putting on the market....all so much work.
* The birth of our 2nd child, N. He is such a blessing and brings lots of work, but so much joy as well.

And, I could go on and on.
Each time I think of another memory, yet another pops into my head.
So, after quite a few tears on that hot Saturday morning,
I pulled myself out of bed, got dressed,
and headed into the mix of it all to start a new life in WF.

First, to pack up all the stuff.

Loading the trailer.....

....with the pile of stuff all around us.

Grandma D watched N so Mom and Dad could pack.

Even Z's friend T came over to help.
Such big boys and they really did help!

Thanks to all our friends and family that came to pack us up!
Family: Grandma & Grandpa D
Grandma & Grandpa J
Uncle W

Friends: M, K, & T
S & M

When we were all done, we wiped away our last tears and paused for a few last photos.

Z & his "best friend" T

Thank you house for all the great memories!
I hope you can give those great memories to the next family!

Now we are off to WF.

Dad, Mom, Z & N.

Off to start new memories, make new friends, and live in a new town.
It's hard, but we'll be fine.

The move

So, here I am.

Only 4 months ago, my husband acquired a new job. (WF here we come!)
Only 3 months ago, I acquired a new job and found daycare for my soon to be born baby. (Yeah!)
Only 2 months ago, we put our home up for sale. (scary stuff)
Only 1 1/2 months ago, we found our new home in WF. (Yes!)
Only 1 month ago, I closed down my daycare and we accepted a bid on our P house. (Relief)
Only 3 weeks ago, my 2nd son was born. (5 lbs 10 oz of complete happiness!)
Only 2 days ago, we moved to our new home. (Oh My Goodness....that was busy!)
Only hours ago, we found news of our new niece being born safely into this world. (Thank God)
And just minutes ago, I felt my whole body relax....

Summer is going fast, but that's really a good thing in my mind. =) I don't think I could take anymore "happiness".

Funnies

These were some funnies that were forwarded on to me.
I thought I would share them.  Too funny!

FIRST TESTIMONY:
I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three
kids in tow and asked loudly,
'How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?'
I turned around and walked back out and never went back.
My husband didn't say a word...he knew better.

SECOND TESTIMONY:
I was at the golf store comparing different kinds
of golf balls.  I was unhappy with the women's type
I had been using. After browsing for several minutes,
I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen
who works at the store. He asked if he could help me.
Without thinking, I looked at him and said,
'I think I like playing with mens balls'

THIRD TESTIMONY:
My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store
that sold a variety of candy and nuts.
As we were looking at the display case,
the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help.
I replied, 'No, I'm just looking at your nuts.'
My sister started to laugh hysterically.
The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away.
To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

FOURTH TESTIMONY:
While in line at the bank one afternoon,
my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy
and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her
after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from
other patrons. I told her that if she did not start
behaving 'right now' she would be punished.
To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in
a voice just as threatening, 'If you don't let me
go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing
Daddy's pee-pee last night!'
The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange.
Even the tellers stopped what they were doing.
I mustered up the last of my dignity and
walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow.
The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me,
were screams of laughter.

FIFTH TESTIMONY:
Have you ever asked your child a question too many times?
My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty
training and I was on him constantly.
One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch,
in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room.
While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny,
so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter,
she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to
go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go,
and he said 'No'.
I kept thinking 'Oh Lord, that child has had an accident,
and I don't have any clothes with me.'
Then I said, 'Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?'
'No,' he replied.
I just KNEW that he must have had an accident,
because the smell was getting worse.
Soooooo, I asked one more time,
'Danny did you have an accident ?
This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over,
spread his cheeks and yelled 'SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!'
While 30 people nearly choked to death on their
tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down.
An old couple made me feel better,
thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY:
This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days
and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will,
in the future, likely think before she speaks. 
What happens when you predict snow
but don't get any!  We had a female news anchor that,
the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't,
turned to the weatherman and asked:
'So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?'
Not only did HE have to leave the set,
but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!

This says it all....

Life with 2 boys is very, very good!

The Wednesday before.....

So, we are about to venture out. 3 more days and we will be leaving our home in P, NE and heading to WF, NE. We thought this day would not come and it's almost here.

As of now, packing is the priority. The amount of it never ceases to amaze me. How did we accumulate so much stuff? Where did it come from? Really, we have only lived in this house a little over 3 years and now we have what? From having 2 kiddos now (one is 5 and the other is only 17 days old), my daycare things, my husband's teaching stuff, and all the items to make a household run....there is a lot of stuff! Thankfully, most is packed up and a lot of it has already been moved.

Keeping sane. With all the things we have to do....get utilities, clean the new home (closed on it last Friday), and keep up with all the things needing to be done each day, including packing....we are saying goodbye to A LOT of good friends. Although we have only lived in our home for 3 years, we have lived in the area for 6+ years. We have made a lot of friends. We have watched friends get married and have kiddos. We have also seen tragic hit friends and see them lose loved ones. We have shared hopes and joys and with this "family" of friends, they have welcomed us into their hearts and homes. They were excited when we shared our news of a new baby, and when N was born, they have flooded us with hugs, prayers, and joyful thoughts for both of our sons. And even though we are moving, they have been so gracious and have offered to help in so many ways to make our move as smooth as possible. Though they don't want to see us go, they accept this is what we want and are sending us with their blessing. I can't believe how wonderful these people are. They have blessed us with so much and they will be dearly missed. Saying goodbye is not easy. But, I am thankful we have had the privilege of knowing each of them and thank God for their contribution to my life.

Then, on to new adventures. A home that has character and brings out the best in my family's life. To a new job that will allow my husband and I to work directly with kiddos and yet still have time for our 2 boys. To a place that allows us to be closer to both of our families (specifically Grandmas and Grandpas). And to the spot in our lives where we look forward to a peace of mind and not wonder as much about the ..... what ifs. Now, we will know that the what if that we were so looking forward to doing has finally come. We are moving on.

Thank you friends for being there and your support. Thank you family for all your assistance and your willingness to help us with this move (so much we are thankful for there). Thank you God for giving us this opportunity and blessing it throughout the months and showing us how it will all work out.

Our new son

Our son N, was born 06/29/08 at 5:01 on.

5 pounds & 10 ounces
18 inches longLooks little like his brother and
makes a squeaky sound when needing some attention.

All the family is doing great.
Brother Z is proud and ready to take on the big brother roll.
Mom an Dad are tired but very, very happy!!