It’s been a journey.
We’ve been disappointed more than once.
To quote Marie from last December, “I don’t know why I keep getting fooled when I hear someone say that ‘Pizza will be included.’”
Yes. We’ve been disappointed.
And then today happened.
A classier person would have taken photos before we filled our plates. But at that point WE DIDN’T KNOW YET!
We have a winner.
And it’s actually a multi-state chain.
I think there may have been a few tears of joy.
Do you ever have a tender spot in your mouth, that you know hurts, but you kind of push at it with your tongue, to see if it still hurts just as much as it did last time?
If so, you perfectly understand why I drive by our old house sometimes when we go to NY.
The exquisite sharpness of the pang of pain has not dwindled much, if at all.
To be sure, she had her issues. She needed new siding, and only one of the three bathrooms had been updated. The kitchen was spruced up, but was still mostly original.
And stink bugs. Oh my. Every morning there would be a new clan of stink bugs that had moved into the family room
But still.
She had five acres and a beautiful driveway, and five bedrooms and a basement.
And memories. She had so many memories. Parties and playdates. New babies brought home. Christmases and Easters and all the days in between.
The new owners have done a lot of outdoor work, and it looks like they are working on the shutters now.
Last summer, shortly after we moved to SC, Nan joined us. She’d sold her house, packed all her things, and struck out to a new adventure.
Meanwhile, the market just turned upside down. It proved exceedingly difficult to find a house for her needs and budget in our area. She found an apartment, but it was never quite home. What is more, while the driving in our little corner of the world isn’t too bad, the traffic can get pretty crazy if you venture in other directions. She made some sweet friends at church, but there were only a smattering of things to keep her busy, and the kids had so much going on, it was hard to hang out some of the time.
And in May, after losing out on yet another purchase offer, Nan made the decision to head back to NY. She went up in June and was able to buy a townhouse in Webster.
And today, we packed up the cubes. John, Marie, Tab, Nan, and I filled the two pods in just a few hours. They will be picked up in a few days and make their trek north. Nan will fly up on Tuesday and hang with Kelly until she closes on her place and her items arrive. John will drive her car up on the weekend.
It was 2011 when I told my readers, “It’s such a pool story.”
When family and friends worked together and our lovely backyard pool debuted.
These days we have a lot of positives.
But we don’t have a pool of our own.
We share it.
Practicing gratitude.
The girls had a chance to go to homeschool roller skating last week. I didn’t get photos bc I was working so hard to keep them from sprawling on the floor.
Katriel had an invitation to a birthday party today at – the roller rink! This time I snapped a picture.
I also grabbed one outside because I still swoon over the mountains!
Living in a neighborhood has ups and downs.
I miss my five acres more than I can express without sobbing.
I don’t miss the yard work and the hours John had to devote to keeping it up.
Johanna and Katriel have discovered the joy of neighbors.
Today a handful of new friends came in for a game.
John and Tab headed to NY for the weekend to visit Ba and Poppy and to get her braces visit in.
I’m tired. I haven’t been sleeping well this week. There has just been a lot to do, nothing bad. But today, my tired self knew the Enemy was messing with me a little bit more than I felt strong enough for.
The kitchen was a huge mess and I had to run Nigel to work before heading to Anderson, SC for a gathering I’d been invited to.
I just felt the condemnation in my head. I don’t deserve to go. My house is a mess. Christmas is coming. There is so much to do. I remembered John and Marie both encouraging me the other day when they heard about the invitation. “But I want to go,” I told myself. So I went.
I uncharacteristically left the messy kitchen behind (gasp), left the little girls with lots of Christmas puzzles and let myself be blessed.
I got to meet many of Shannon’s friends and neighbors, and we shared words of encouragement and reminded each other of why we were here and how God had made a way.
Before I left Shannon’s, I looked at my phone and saw an invitation for the little girls to join a neighbor to decorate cookies this afternoon!! I joyfully joyfully accepted and called Johanna and Katriel and encouraged them to get lunch and make sure they didn’t look homeless (their normal Saturday couture). They were so happy.
We went down to Anna and Rebecca’s at 2PM. My house was still a nightmare. The pulled pork in the crock pot was spilling out juice onto the counter, but I just turned it off and left.
They had a blast being offered unrestrained access to their decorating whims. I was encouraged to hear the other mom could only make circles because she couldn’t find her cookie cutters – that was my plight yesterday, myself.
And then, I dropped Marie off at a birthday party. A fun thing for her, too.
At 5PM, I finally got around to pulling the pork, and faced the hard truth – I had NO rolls and NOTHING to serve with it. “Here’s some meat, kids.” So I went to Food Lion and bought wee packages of store-bought salads (eww? yum? you decide) and some mystery rolls. We finally ate. No one complained.
Honestly, moving has been SO HARD. 100% healthy. But truly hard.
Shannon and Anna both have done it and it was so great to hear them each share how God had provided for them.
God provided BIG TIME for me today.
I love that God cares for tired old me.
The day started with taking Marie for her SATs.
Hurried back home to get the other three girls for flag placement on the graves of veteran’s. It was EXTREMELY cold, and Daddy had to bring us some more gear. Brrr.
After I picked Marie up from her testing, we went at picked up lunch at Tacos and Bla Bla Bla (that really is the name of the place).
Then Johanna went to a gathering at her unit leader’s house for AHG and some of the rest of us went to a chili cook off by the pool in our track.
Notice – I am wearing the MACEDON hat in FOUNTAIN INN.
And the coat I bought for FCWC!
Firstly, that doesn’t say Jesus. It says Jesus – like – Hey Seuss. Jesus is the painter and he is great. He came out a week or so ago to give us a quote that fit our budget well.
He called Thursday to say his team would be out Friday. Friday morning at 8AM ELEVEN men showed up and they took the house by storm. It was epic. They came to paint the dining room, foyer and hall, living room, stairwell, upstairs hall and upstairs family room.
We worked hard to stay out of the way.
Can you see the stilts he is wearing?
They finished the upstairs family room. This is what was under the tarp.
I love the color – Sea Salt. Jesus recommended it and I wholeheartedly am grateful I listened to him.
They finished early afternoon Saturday. John and Stewart did, too.
Progress!
John also rigged up some boards in the attic and bought some bags for clothes vs manhandling totes up the narrow attic stairs.
Dayspring Disciples 