The house is becoming more torn apart every day, and I feel a little bit like Humpty Dumpty! Can all this really get put back together again? :) One box at a time, right? Emma has not been a very good helper as she enjoys climbing in the boxes and taking out the items! Thankfully, my friend, Autumn, came over on Saturday morning to help for a bit. We were able to get a lot done in the basement, and I now have two rooms completely cleared out. Yay for progress! I know that packing will become a lot harder once the boys get home, but we must stick with it! Roger is coming in 17 days, and I want to be ready and waiting! :)
Sunday, May 31
Today was our fifth Sunday dinner at church. Since I didn't have Childrens church this morning, I helped in the kitchen. Some of the best conversations happen in the kitchen, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to help. I also sang with a ladies trio for the afternoon service. I used to play the piano and sing often in my dads church; but in a church the size of Wyldewood, I'm definitely a little fish in a big pond! (And that's perfectly fine, I'm okay with that completely.)
After the afternoon service, Emma and I went to get some storage totes. We can have access to our storage unit tomorrow, but, of course, I forgot to buy a lock for our storage unit today! I think once I get some of the boxes out of our house, it might not seem quite so overwhelming! After running a few errands, we stopped by the Schilder's house to return their car jack. Gretchen invited Emma and I to stay for supper, and so we did. I get more balanced meals when I go to my friends houses at meal times. :) I do feed Emma, don't worry, but it tends to be more grazing type snacks. We eat lots of fruit, cheese, chicken, yogurt, and cottage cheese, but I definitely don't make big meals for just Emma and I.
Monday, June 1
Emma and I had a fabulous morning with our friend, Jenna, and her two children. We visited, drank coffee, walked together, and visited some more! There was a time in our friendship when we would've went running together, but with three small children between us today that wasn't a possibilty! :) Jenna watched Emma for a bit while I went to pick up a lock for our storage unit, wash my dad's car that I've been using, fill it with gas, and pick up a few items for supper tonight. Emma took a nap at Jenna's house, so that greatly increased my speed at doing those errands! I am going to miss Jenna so much. We were first introduced to each other when a mutual friend, Rebekah, invited us both to her house for supper almost six years ago. We realized that we had a lot of the same interests, and our friendship has grown and blossomed over the course of time. It's a friendship that can go weeks without hearing from each other, and then pick up exactly where we left off. Through Jenna I've grown in my walk with the Lord. Jenna was a baby Christian when I met her, but her quick understanding and deep questions really made me think. I could go on and on, but I'll just suffice to say I'll miss her!
After our morning and partial afternoon of visitng and errands, we came home. I prepared supper for my parents and Jenn said that she would be back with the boys around 5:30. She pulled into the driveway about 5:20, and Emma and I walked out to see the boys pile out of the truck! Wyatt, Travis and Garett came running to greet me. After quick kisses for me, they were all about kissing on Emma! I realized that Chandler had sneaked into the house without saying hi to me, so I went to go find him. When I walked into the house, I noticed that he had tears in his eyes. When I asked him what was the matter, he broke into tears. "We are selling our house, and we don't have anywhere to live. I don't want anyone else to live here!" He responded. My heart hurt as I realized that he was/is struggling through the changes. He wants to be with daddy, but selling the house and moving has him unsure. We spent some time talking about the process, and I explained that we are going to be together as a family again. He seems a little more comfortable now, but I will have to be aware and sensitive to his heart concerns as we move forward.
Travis on the other hand is just concerned about where his stuff went. He spent the first two hours that he was home looking in boxes and asking, "can I have this?" And "we are keeping this, right?" Oh dear! I can already see that my packing speed is going to slow down greatly with having them all home again. But I missed them so very much! I'm glad that they had a great time, and I'm also glad that they weren't homesick for me. They are already talking about the next adventure they can have with Aunt Jen!
Please, please be in prayer about housing in Arizona. We are at a loss as far as what option to pursue next. We cannot sign a year lease on a property, and we are having struggles even to come up with any housing options. I know that God will provide, as He always does, but I wish that I knew a little better how and what to pack for this transitional move to Arizona.
Tuesday, June 2
What a day! We mowed grass, took four loads to storage, emptied out the basement, cleaned out the shed, loaded the garage with yard sale stuff, and took the kids for a short swim!
The older boys helped me cut the grass this morning. They used the riding lawnmower and I push mowed the ditch. Their help makes the job go much faster, and I am so thankful for them. Garett is far better at using the rider than I am, and Chandler and Wyatt are both willing to use the push mower to go around trees and the porch. Once we finished that job, I started hauling the stuff out of the basement that needed to go to storage. We managed to clean out the entire basement today with the help of my sister, Jenn. That was a huge project, and all that's left down there is the treadmill and a few pieces of dry wall.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday....
Work, work, work, work! Since my sister is here for a few days, we have been working diligently on packing, cleaning, sorting, hauling to storage, hauling to the dump, and repeating the process again! The boys were able to go on a fishing trip with my dad on Thursday afternoon. They were ecstatic to report that they caught fifteen fish! This is the first time that they've had much success with fishing, and we had to take lots of pictures to send to daddy. I'm thankful that my dad is willing to take them on these adventures as fishing is not really in my area of interests!
The house is emptying out due to lots of help from my parents watching the boys some, Jenn helping pack, and my friends, Jenna and Katie, coming over on Friday morning. On Friday, Travis had a dentist appointment in the morning. My mom watched the other children since the appointment was at eight am. My dad had grass to cut and some scrap metal to collect so the three bigger boys went to my parents house. It's crazy to think that Garett and Chandler are now actually helpers in cutting grass, taking apart scrap metal, and working hard! Wyatt did what he could do, and Travis enjoyed being the "big" boy at home!
I'm thankful for all that have helped us through this packing experience, and I can't wait to be done! It's a big job to haul stuff, sort through stuff, and clean with five small children. I think they can sense that big changes are coming and they all have been more tired and antsy than normal.
Roger flys home on the 17th, and we are all looking forward to that. My goal would be to have the house done by then so that we can spend that day and one-half on other errands that will have to be done before we leave. We need to find an enclosed trailer to haul the bikes and other household items that we will need in Arizona. We are currently homeless as of the nineteenth of June, so we need God to provide something. Otherwise, we will be getting that tent out of storage! God hasn't failed us yet, and I know that He has a bigger plan. In my humanity, I'd love to know where our family will be living after we arrive in Arizona!
Please pray for housing, the house closing date, our children as we transition to a new place, our adjustments as a family again, and that we will continue to put our trust in the Lord.
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