where to begin??

I am online! In my own home! Boy, I have missed that. I have started to feel Mennonite! No phone, no computer, no tv, and until 2 days ago, no washer and dryer. Even my cell phone I couldn't use. We were so far over our minutes even with 12 months of rollover minutes to use as well. Now I feel connected to civilization again!

I last left off last week with all the painting. On Wednesday, the movers arrived. With three big trucks full of crates. Trucks so big they could not get up our steep and curvy driveway. Thankfully, there is a back gate at the back of the property and they came in that way, but it was still crazy seeing those big moving vans sliding on the gravel trying to back down at the end. I did take pictures, as soon as I find my card reader I will post those.

With the 3 moving vans, came 10 men. Ten. Way to many! They moved way to fast. EVERYTHING has a color coded sticker on it and we had to check each different color. They had to yell the color and the number and it had to be checked off the master sheet before they could move it inside. One man is yelling "RED 56", another man is yelling "Yellow 99" while another man is yelling "YELLOW 124". It all started to blur together, sounding like "REYELLDOW 5916124".
At the same time, the rest of the men are asking, "Ma'am, where does this go?" I had nicknamed the rooms, but there were so many of them they I kept having to show them. I seriously do not remember how many times I ran up and down those stairs. Collin was outside with one color coded sheet checking off the numbers, and Kaitlynn and Sam swapped out with the other color, while Sam also inspected everything for damage. It was truly nuts. It was truly fast. And I was truly exhausted by the time they left. Our goal was to get everything in, get the beds all set up, and sleep there that night. We made the goal. They were supposed to come back the next day and do a partial unload, but I told them no. I was to exhausted to deal with them again. What would I do with 10 of them in the kitchen unwrapping 145,000 sheets of wrapped paper?

We crashed. Everyone was a bit jittery in a new house. It is DARK here. No street lights in the country. Kaebrie was up at the crack of dawn, as soon as the early morning light came through her window. I HATE daylight saving time, I would MUCH rather have my sunlight at the end of the day.

My goal for Thursday was the kitchen. It took me all day, but I got it done. Filled every cabinet and drawer! It is so nice to actually have all the kitchen stuff in the kitchen and not have to go out to the garage every time I need something.

Friday's goal was our bedroom. I have always done all the kids rooms first, but usually someone is so little that they need a safe place. Our bedroom is always the last to get done. Not this time. They are old enough to wait! It took me all day, but I finished it. It is a beautiful room and it is so peaceful and relaxing. I have never had a big master bedroom before with a big walk in closet. I LOVE it!

Saturday I worked a little in the big den. Since we have no furniture for that room, that is where a lot of the boxes were piled. I didn't feel like I made a dent. My new washer and dryer arrived and were hooked up and I could finally catch up on all the dirty clothes that were piling up! I am still amazed at how much they will hold and fast they wash and dry it all. This will cut down laundry time immensely!

Sunday we did nothing at all in the house. Sam's first sermons went very well. Everyone has taken such care of us. The amount of food being brought over is incredible. We have been to several homes for meals as well. We had lunch in someones home Sunday afternoon, then I came home and rested until it was time to go back to evening church. Honestly, it is weird to have evening services again. I kind of liked AWANA on Sunday nights, where all the kids were actually out of the house for an hour and a half.

Today, we tackled and finished the rest of the boxes downstairs. Whew. Next, the upstairs, and it is a DISASTER!

Sam has worked really hard this week. Breaking down all the boxes and removing them, power washing a lot of the outside bricks, columns, carport and driveway, unpacking, and still getting two sermons done. He was "off" today, from church. But he worked around here all day very hard.

Cable men were supposed to be here before noon, they showed up at 4:30.

That was the diary of how we have spent our time.
I am really loving this house. The drive up to is is so pretty. Windy roads with wood fences and colorful leaves surrounding you, no houses or cars are visible from the road because of all the hills and greenery, the sound of the bugs, ect. The house itself is perfect for us. I LOVE having all the kids upstairs, love having space to move around in. We were all standing in the kitchen tonight and Kaitlynn said, "Mommy, look we all fit. No more two person limit rule for the kitchen!" :)

Kind of a long and boring post, but that catches us up to today except for pictures.

Where O where did I put that card reader???????

More pictures

 

One of the great things about staying at Judge's house, it the fact it feels like you are on vacation. Just sitting on the big front porch watching the children fish and run, seeing the beautiful lake and trees is just so refreshing. I really cherished these peaceful moments as I feel like we have been non-stop for the past month or so.

Below is our first snake, who was alive by the back door, before Sam killed it to bring it to us.

A harmless grass snake variety. (Or so I was told).

Collin giving Kaitlynn her first fly fishing lessons.

We had two days of painting help from the church. It was GREAT! We got so much done. The master bedroom, the study, the hallway, the TV den, the foyer and the dining room are complete.

Here are Fred and Susan showing the girls how to paint the study. Bye Bye PINK!

Sam getting rid of the green in the master bedroom.

Georgie also getting rid of the green.

Tiffer keeping the foyer paint stirred up.

Gary and Lindsay finishing up the foyer.

Our Smith rock made it just fine and looks great under the lamp-post!

Collin did most of the dining room by himself.

Wendy was the trim queen and did an amazing job!

There were several people I didn't get pictures of that also helped out.

Tomorrow, they deliver our stuff, in crates, from the storage house in Hattiesburg.

We drove over 3 hours tonight, round trip to Louisville and back, so we could go vote. Great friends joined us for dinner so it was worth the trip.

They can't hook up our phone or Internet until Monday, unless they get a cancellation. I am praying for a cancellation!!!!

Not looking forward to unpacking, I just can't decide what goes where! We have company coming next weekend, so I guess a weekend with no phone, Internet or TV will actually be a good thing as it will allow for no excuses to stop working.

:)

Catching Up With Pictures

Finally, I am able to get some of these pictures out of my camera!

Here are some from loading day!

I stayed away most of the time, or was there without the kids, because they were fascinated with that truck!

We already had a lot of stuff loaded at this point, and it ended up being filled!

The crazy driver, Mr. Bob. He found the crown under a chair and wore it for a bit.

The truck was bigger than our house.

This is how Rubbermaids should be packed CORRECTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still full of the organized, labeled contents, just wrapped and labeled. I still can't get over what he did in the kids rooms.

Playing with her "donimoes" at the TLF. I liked the lighting. She liked building towers.

Sam's farewell dinner at Carmella's Vineyard.

The chaplains!!  :  Father Catungle, Jim Sands (retired), our new Sr. Prot. Dwayne Jones, Steve Barfield, Sam, Richard Anderson, and the wing chaplain, Dennis Saucier.

Sam's medal ceremony. Official pictures were taken and I will post those when I get them.

The last look at the Paisley house!

At the Bx, right before we left. Here is Beverly, the hillbilly trailer!

Beverly, 45 minutes down the road in Glenns Ferry, needed some bright red tie downs because the yellow bungee cords were either fraying or flying off.

Beverly, in the sunset light in Salt Lake City, before she got her lights fixed.

That is what I stared at all the way across the country!!!

Tiff writing in his notebook that McKenna gave him. He LOVED that notebook and did not want to share it!

Hill Air Force Base overlooking Salt Lake City. It was prettier at night with all the lights.

Where is the nozzle???????? Sam carried it inside. I wish I had a picture of that!

This is what we do while we wait for Daddy to get something from the BX.

The TLF at the Air Force Academy. AWESOME!!! Every room opened to this courtyard and the kids could run and play while mom and dad get organized! A female must have been in charge of this setup!

Twice, I filled up at this price!

Beverly, in Arkansas. Not looking to hot.

Not even the sunset can get Beverly to look great here. The tarp is shredded to pieces.

Our last night in a TLF in Little Rock. I came out and Kaebrie had made herself comfortable on the rolling luggage rack.

The goody baskets awaiting us when we arrived.

Kaitlynn coming in last night, with all the horses and ponies following her up the driveway.

Today, Sarah came down and we picked paint colors for almost every room in the house. The foyer is staying the same. Kaitlynn and Collin's rooms are staying the same. The kitchen will stay, for now. But every other room and hallway in the house has been planned for.

Sam is having fun today with a pressure washer, cleaning off the driveway and the carport and the bricks. Tomorrow is church, and Monday and Tuesday we will see how much painting we can get done!

I have to go to Sherwin Williams Monday morning to get all the colors. It might be the biggest order Yazoo City has ever seen!

Pictures will be coming!

Home

Well, it doesn't feel like home yet, but we are here where we will be living! :)
I wonder how long it will take before we stop referring to Idaho as home?

Yesterday went a little bit better, as I totally vented it all out on the blog the night before. I did not threaten to throw any imaginary friends out the window and leave them on the highway. I did not have to pull the van over on the side of the road and "spare not the rod." There was another one bed and one pullout couch last night in Little Rock, but my sweet hubby got TWO rooms so I could unwind. The boys took one TLF and the girls took the other. I put Kaitlynn on the pull-out, Kaebrie on the floor and took the one bedroom all to myself! Even got to watch my favorite show!

We did not have as long to drive today, so we took our time getting ready and on the road this morning. Filled up with gas at $1.99 per gallon!!!!!! Gotta love that! I think we only drove about 4 hours today. The kids are so tired of being in the car, but overall, they really do travel well.
One big answered prayer for this trip...................... not one barf bag used!!!!!!!! Now, I did use a few orange happy pills (children's chewable Dramamine) during the mountain drives just in case, but what a relief not to have to deal with vomit!!

No flat tires. No broken down vehicles. No getting lost. Nobody hurt. God answered all our prayers and blessed us with a safe and successful journey!

We arrived at MY NEW HOUSE around 4:00. I was a bit nervous. Sam kept asking me if I was nervous and that made me MORE nervous. He was worried I wouldn't like it. I started worrying I wouldn't like it!

Wrong. It was so perfect I cried.

Needs a lot of work!! But it is so wonderful. It feels like a mansion. At one point, I needed the bathroom and couldn't find it! We explored for awhile, the kids totally agreed with the rooms I said they would probably have. We walked the property, Kaebrie played on HER swing set, listened to the bugs and saw nothing but trees. Green trees everywhere. It was SO peaceful!

We came over the the judges house, where we will be staying until our stuff arrives (hopefully Wednesday) and his entire kitchen table was filled with gift baskets. Every child had a personalized bucket with personalized gifts inside. It was like Christmas they were so excited! Sam and I had a big basket full of goodies and gift certificates. We feel loved and spoiled already and we haven't even seen anyone yet!

Tomorrow, my great friend Sarah is coming down from Louisville with her fantastic interior design knowledge and will help us pick out paint colors. I think only one bathroom does not need painting! The church is coming over for a painting party on Monday, so we will see how much we can get done before the furniture gets here. The pink room will be the first to go!!! :)

I am to tired to post pictures right now, but will try and plan on doing that tomorrow. Tonight, every person gets there OWN ROOM and hopefully they can all catch up on much needed rest.

More tomorrow!!!

NOT GUILTY!

The original title for this post was going to be:

CRAM IT, SHOVE IT, STICK IT!

But I think that ANY crime I committed within the next 3 hours would be declared not guilty by reason of insanity from ANY jury in the country.
Let me back up and start at the beginning............................

Monday morning, 7:35 am. It is still pitch dark outside and hovering at the freezing point. I get dressed in a hurry and wake up the kids. Why? It is time for our final inspection to check out of housing. I have 10 minutes to get over there and spray every room with Fa Breeze, especially the carpet, because we were told if they see a stain, they will sniff it and try to determine what it is.
(I used that example after our pre inspection for my older children, showing them how important a college education was, so you didn't have to crawl around on people's floors for a living sniffing spots on the carpet to determine if it was urine or milk.)

Another neighbor said to bring ALL the kids, it helped be a distraction to the inspector.

There is a military / mafia scam on this base. If you don't pay a cleaner from their list, you don't pass. It truly is insane. So we payed, and FAILED. Because of the blinds.I must have missed that tiny part of the cleaning contract that said they don't DO blinds when that is part of the checkout and they originally said they do everything required for checkout. I didn't speak one word to them I was so angry. They have to be there for the checkout, and when they told the inspector that wasn't in the contract, there was nothing he could do. So they all left, and the inspector said he would be back in an hour and a half for another inspection.

Now, I have NOTHING. The house is totally empty. I go to the neighbors and beg cleaning supplies from them and clean as high as I can reach, as I have nothing to stand on either. Silently sinning with bad thoughts about the cleaners.; a sweet neighbor takes the kids to their house and feeds them breakfast because they are starving and freezing. At 10:10, the inspector comes back, barely looks at the blinds, and signs the papers. I think he might have seen the insane / murderous look in my eyes and got scared and just wanted to leave. :) He NEVER even checked the carpets by the way!!!

We have to check out of the TLF by 11:00. I called and asked for a one hour extension, but was denied. SO in 50 minutes, I had to pack up and load up the TLF. Now, remember, we had been there for a WEEK. That is plenty of time to get comfortable, and lazy, and have things kind of spread out everywhere. Sam wasn't there. He was at his final out meeting signing all his papers. That means everything meant for 2 vehicles, had to be put into one. Besides the 11am checkout time, Sam had a medal ceremony at the chapel at 11 we needed to be at. So we were rushing around just throwing stuff together. I really did yell, "Just get it all! Cram it, shove it and stick it anywhere you can put it!" So the kids followed instructions and we made the cutoff by 5 minutes.

On the drive to the chapel, Collin looked like a person about to drown in an elevator. He was sitting on a suitcase on top of Tiff's car seat with his nose up to the top of the ceiling trying to breathe. Stuff was EVERYWHERE! I prayed that God would blind the eyes of any security patrol that drove by (it was only 2 blocks away). We made it to the medal ceremony. Sam looked so handsome in his blues!! It was ALMOST the last of the goodbyes. A few more tears.

Then we went to get the trailer. The previously mentioned Beverly Hillbillies trailer. Rearranged the stuff in the van so all the kids could be belted in and I could see out of the windows. Sam took the kids to the BX for a last lunch with friends, and I headed out for a few more tearful goodbyes.

I get to the BX, all splotchy and ugly from crying, and the kids are drinking SODA! Large cups of soda. They don't get a lot of soda, but they really love it. I don't mind it on special occasions, but right before a long drive is NOT the time. Seriously! There will be potty stops every 15 minutes!

There is a fine line between boredom "i am thirsty" drinking in the car, and medical dehydration. When they say they are thirsty on a long drive, I ignore it. When they complain that their lips are cracking, then they can have a few sips.

We made the 4 hour drive to Salt Lake City in 7 hours. Not joking. We left the base at 1:37 pm, and at 1:58 pm Kaebrie asked if we were in Mississippi yet. Not joking. We had to make a lot of potty stops, and a lot of stops trying to find a connector so the trailer would have lights. Nobody had it. Finally, when we reached Salt Lake, a very nice guy at the U-Haul made one. Took him over an hour, but it works great! We made it to the base, unloaded, and crashed. EVERYTHING had to be unloaded, because my usual travel uber-organizer self knew where nothing was because everything has been, crammed, shoved and stuck somewhere that morning! :)

I repacked the next morning, felt myself calm down because everything was back in its place, and patiently waited for Sam to fill his car with gas. Missing the exact moment when he drove off.......with the pump still attached to his car. Yes, I have a picture. Yes, he was so embarrassed. Yes, I felt sorry for him. Yes, I was so glad he gave me permission to blog about it. :) If there was ever an example to show how exhausted we are, this would be it. Picture to be posted as soon as I get to a computer where I am allowed.

We got on the road. Utah (you-ha as Kaebrie calls it) was so beautiful. The trees are glorious and the mountains are stunning. About an hour into the drive Kaebrie starts fussing. I ask her why she is upset, and she says that Star-Light and Thunderhead (her imaginary horses mind you) are stuck upon the mountain and can't get down. Thank goodness that those horses learned to fly about 2 minutes later or I don't know what I would have done!

It was a long day. We went about 11 hours to the Air Force Academy. Unloaded, and crashed. Today we made it to Wichita Falls, Kansas. McCord Air Force Base I think the name is. Woke up with a bad cold. Haven't felt good all day, tired, grumpy, tired of kids, tired of noise, just wanting to take my NyQuil and crash. And they give us a ONE bedroom room. Seriously. NOWHERE to escape. Kids everywhere on the floor. Not even the closet is big enough to put anyone in!! That did not help my mood. They are good kids, and they have done an AWESOME job traveling, but I am not up for any mom-of-the-year awards right now and just need a break. When Kaebrie got upset today that she couldn't watch the DVD movie because Larry Boy (another imaginary friend) was using her headphones, I told her he could ride on the roof and she got even more upset.

I feel calmer now. I have been in this empty computer room for about an hour, not a human in sight. Time to go back, pop my pills and hope everyone sleeps. Maybe they all need some pills too!!??

Tomorrow we make it to Little Rock.

Friday, to our new home.

To bad I can't find Dorothy since we are here in Kansas and borrow her red slippers and click them 3 times!

Sunday

This weekend has been a physical and an emotional whirlwind!
Friday night was the staff dinner. We had a good time, and No, I didn't tell Sam's boss the truth. He was sitting on the other side of the room so the subject never came up. :)

Sam was gone ALL DAY yesterday. Painting, and oil change, and odds and ends with the house. I got several loads of laundry done and some more last minute errands. Last night was one of our final fire pits as well. SO much fun! Even though it is much warmer in Mississippi, we will continue the fire pit tradition!

Our stuff should be arriving soon to a storage facility in Hattiesburg, MS.

This morning was rough. I had a hard time all through church, and not necessarily because it wasn't Sam preaching. It was just emotional. I remember the first few weeks (months?) we were here, and I cried every time we got home from chapel, because I hated it so much. But after three years, we have grown to love it. Today they had a good-bye potluck after service. They presented us with the most beautiful stained glass window. The center is the mountains we love, then the 4 corners have an American flag, the Air Force symbol, the state of Idaho and a cross. It is beautiful. Thank you Jen for making us such a special gift we will treasure always.

Needless to say, my face is swollen and my eyes are puffy from crying so much today. Good-byes are just so hard. God so totally blessed me with the friends he gave me here, but it sure hurts to let them go. These ladies have changed me; challenged me, encouraged me, loved me, through so much these past three years. I am thankful for them and for the time we were here.

One more set of good-byes tomorrow. We start our drive to Salt Lake City a bit after lunch. Hopefully, my eye puffiness will go away quickly so I can see the road!

I will update when I can. Without our laptop it will be hard to do so.
Please pray for safe travels, health, alertness, and for our trailer.

I wish I had a way to post pictures right now! Our neighbor says every time Sam drives by with it, the Beverly Hillbillies theme song pops into her head!

My time is up at the library, people are waiting!

Mississippi, HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!

Day 5

Good grief. Can we just get this over with already???????????

Quick run to Wal Mart this morning for primer. LOTS of primer. Our neighbor and Sam are going to tag team paint both houses since we both check out on Monday.

Cleaning ladies are at our house today. They were appalled at the kitchen sink cabinet and the hallway floors. Yeah, we have been appalled for years.
Sewage leaks, old pipes, drips under the kitchen sink that leak out onto the floor, gunk backing up in the sink whenever the washing machine and / or dishwasher is turned on. And the list goes on and on.
They don't call our neighborhood SEWER-Ville for nothing! The sad thing is , is they are moving more families in. These decrepit places are falling apart, they no longer order or stock supplies to fix them, we were supposed to be the last humans living there, but, no. I feel sorry for the next family who has to live in that run down place.

Sam has meetings all day.
His staff fare well dinner is tonight. We are all going to Carmella Vineyards, a place where only the boss likes. Nobody else wants to go there, but nobody else is brave enough to tell the boss that. I am feeling a bit brave today! So who knows, if it happens to come up in the conversation tonight, maybe I will tell him and spare the rest of the people still here! :)

Need to go get Christopher from his last day of school. It is an early release day.

I am just ready to be done, to get on the road and get this long drive over with.
ugh
Just reread this, doesn't sound like I am in the best of moods.
I really am OK, just , as I said, ready to GET ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 4 (really??, is that ALL???)

The house is empty.
Well, empty of furniture and such.

What was UNDER all the furniture, well, that was pretty bad.
The BIG things, that haven't been moved in over three years (piano, our king size bed, ect), the dust under those was so bad the carpet was almost gray. We spent the morning pre-cleaning. Cleaning before the cleaning ladies come tomorrow. We still have to go back later and get the rest of the stuff out of the fridge, pack all the cleaning supplies, re-attach all the storm windows, and take one more load of trash to the dump. Two rooms still need to be repainted, we have until 9am Monday morning to get that done. I will be SO glad when that final inspection will be behind us!

4 guys loaded up all the stuff yesterday. 15,960 pounds. They consider 10% to be packing, which still put Sam JUST under his 14,500 captains limit. They MIGHT count his pro-gear and credit him another 1200 pounds. Thankfully, he bought a trailer and we are carting a bunch of stuff ourselves, or we might have gone OVER his weight limit, and then they make you pay a dollar PER POUND!!! The driver was a real character. 71 years old. Has been driving a truck for 54 years. Has 15 kids (with THREE sets of twins). He is a twin, his wife is a twin, and he was really great to our kids. I guess with 29 grand kids he has had some practice!

I am over at the Family Services Bldg, they have a great computer lab. It is really weird only logging on once a day though when I am used to all day access!

Kaebrie is sleeping better, I guess this growth spurt is about over.

I need to get back and put her down for her nap, then it is Sam's computer time. :)

More later! BYE!

Kibbles-and-Bits Day 3

whew.
double whew.

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The packers finished up last night. Took 5 of them the rest of the day to get it all done. When they say they pack EVERYTHING, they do. Sam laughed when he saw one whole box wrapped and sealed with the bubble wrap that I bought to wrap things with inside the box. A box of bubble wrap!

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Dinner last night at another friends house. What a blessing!

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Had to go to PWOC this morning to get fare welled. Wanted to just skip it, because I HATE going to things that I know will make me cry, but they wouldn't let me. So I went. I cried. I tried to make some semblance of a speech because they made me but I kept seeing more ladies crying and that made me cry even more. We had 2 first time visitors today, poor things. I hope I didn't scare them from coming back. We left, went out to the parking lot, hit the key chain remote, unlocked the van, everyone climbed in, and AFTER I put the key in the ignition, I noticed a few things that weren't mine, then realized the VAN wasn't mine. An identical Odyssey that was parked right next to mine! Must have been one of the new ladies! Guess my remote worked her car!

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Loaders finally showed up today after a bit of confusion. By lunch time, the whole crew had arrived and they are still loading. I swear the moving van is bigger than my house!!!! I can't watch much, they just flip things around and shove them in, one giant puzzle.

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Had my first parent teacher conference as a parent. I don't know which side is more nerve wracking! I guess after 6 years of being a classroom teacher, I got used to that part, but this was my first ever on this side and I was a bit nervous! Tiff got a glowing report, both in his academic part and his behavior part. He is at or above grade level in everything accept scissor cutting. :)
He has come a LONG way with Mrs. Norris, she was able to turn him on to learning and I thoroughly thanked her. His last day will be Friday.

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I completely forgot about Collin's online class today. I remembered this morning and made sure his homework was done, but then didn't think about the class until it was over. My mind was on the packers and the teacher conference.

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Kaebrie loves stairs. She loves the TLF. She just isn't sleeping. Crying all night long with leg pains. Bad timing for a growth spurt!!

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We have to much earthly belongings.

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The amount of dust underneath the washer and dryer once it was moved was beyond any adjective I can think of at this moment. They have been taken to the airman's attic and donated. YAY!!!!!! I am SO looking forward to a bigger washer/ dryer set when we get there. My 11 year old dryer was on its LAST spin. These last few weeks is has been held together with duct tape to keep the door shut and a new paper clip to trigger the on switch for every load.

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Gotta get back to the TLF! Kaebrie should be waking up from her nap any minute now.

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More later!

Day 2

Last night, I came back when the house was empty, the packers were gone, the rest of the family was at the TLF, mainly to use the computer. I walked around the house looking at all the packing. I had talked a lot to the main guy doing the kitchen, and one other guy who did our bedroom, but the third guy didn't talk much so we left him alone. He did both rooms the kids are in. Anyway, I walked in, saw what he did, and almost cried!!!

HE UNPACKED ALL THE RUBBERMAIDS!!!!!!!

I have spent WEEKS getting all the closets organized, everything labeled, ect. And I walk in and all the empty Rubbermaids are sneering at me in the dark. All empty and stacked on top of packed boxes. Boxes just labeled "clothes."

{SIGH}

Now when we unpack, I am going to have to RE-sort everything. Take the clothes that fit and the different season clothes and the clothes waiting for Tiffer to grow into, that are all packed in the SAME BOX and resort it ALL!!!!!!

ugh.

I said something to the main guy this morning, he said no, they don't unpack them. I showed him what the guy had done and he pulled him outside and told him NOT to do that.

So, yes, I am upset at the extra work, but I should be thankful it was only 2 rooms. Today, no more unpacking Rubbermaids!!!!!!!!!! And there are about 50 more spread throughout the rest of the house!

They just started on the garage and I overheard one of them call it the Dungeon!!
Kind of appropriate!!
But it is a dungeon FILLED with Rubbermaids!!!!!!
And I told them to NOT pack any of the spiders. All spiders need to stay in Idaho!

Time to swap with Sam. Not room for all 6 of here with FIVE packers today. A packer in every room! 1,100 sq. feet does not mix well with the 6 of us and 5 full grown men!

More later!

Today went well. Better than I even expected. 3 of the packers showed up pretty much on time. They were friendly and professional and let the kids talk and ask a LOT of questions. The kitchen is 95% done (including all of the kitchen stuff we had to keep in the garage), our bedroom is done, the boys is done, the girls is almost done, and I haven't gone back to look at the classroom yet.

They had to leave at 2:30 this afternoon because we had to go sign away the next 30 years of our lives on 57 different pieces of paper. I don't feel so "debt-free" anymore. :) The papers are being overnighted to Mississippi where the sellers will sign them all on Thursday, then that is it. We are home owners again for the first time in about a decade.

Tomorrow they will finish the house (meaning the computer too) and Sam's office. They think we are cutting it pretty close with the weight limit. We will see!

I got us all moved into the TLF. It is very doable. Three bedrooms, 1 and a half baths right around the corner from here.

Amazing friends are truly helping this to be as easy as possible. All 4 kids had someplace to go this afternoon so they were out of the way and so we could go to the lawyers office. Kaebrie was gone all day! Dinner was brought to us tonight in the TLF and we have dinner plans for 3 more night this week.

God provides so much to us through the friends he places in our lives. I do not want to ever take that for granted.

I am off to the BX. The TLF needs detergent, paper towels and a few other odds and ends.

Will update when I can!

STRESS

OK, so truthfully I don't feel as stressed as this little dog must feel. Well, maybe I did yesterday, but as of this morning, there is nothing much else I can do but sit back and watch. All

6 of us are packed for 3 weeks in a suitcase, all non-replaceable, sentimental, refuse to part with items are securely packed and loaded in the rover, both fridges are cleaned out, bathrooms are emptied, pictures are down, and now the countdown begins: for strangers touching my stuff.

Sorry, unresolved issues stemming from childhood there.
In fact, the first real fight Sam and I had as a married couple was when he touched my stuff without asking ( he was trying to be nice and organize our tiny one bedroom apartment).

A friend told me to buy the over sized Ziploc baggies and fill them with everything, so all they have to grab is the bag and they never actually touch your items.

So fill I did: all the silverware and kitchen utensils, Kaebrie's hair bow basket, medicines, and most importantly the contents of my dresser, because it really creeps me out thinking of strange men pawing through my "unmentionables" drawer to pack everything that wouldn't fit in a suitcase. All the underthings are now safe from foreign fingerprints! :)

It is now 7:29 am. They said they would be here between 7 -8. I got up at 6:30 to shower, I could have slept in later seeing that I couldn't fall asleep until after 2:30. ugh.

At least the clean fridge is full of caffeine!!!

More later when I can. The laptop died 2 months back, so if they pack the computer today, Internet access will be rare for a few weeks.

Thanks for your prayers! I will be sure to post funny stories as they are bound to happen!

Bye for now!!!!!!!!!!