Flashbacking..

Did I just invent a new word?
Before I even begin, let me admit that I am a little sad going through this whole process.. packing and cleaning things out.. spending these last few days in my home.. the home where we started, where we brought our babies home.. where they learned to crawl, walk, and talk.. so many memories..
This move will be a good thing though, a little stressful, but good.
So here's the end of my boo-hooing, and the beginning of the fun!!
We started packing last night. We only have a week, so seriously.. we need to light a fire under it and get going.
It's just hard to decide what we can go a week without.. not like we use EVERYTHING in this house, but, you know.. what if I MIGHT want to bake a 16x16 inch layer cake AND decorate it? What if for SOME REASON, we will want to eat on the fine china?
See, decisions..
So last night, we started with the closet in the basement. That is the easiest place to begin because it's contents are CDs, DVDs, and the games I pray every day, that the girls won't make a mess of.
And here's your warning: with a man whose hobby IS MUSIC, we have more CDS than the average couple..
Inside the closet:


Outside of the closet:


It was my goal to purge the same time as packing, and not take garbage to the new house..
See all that garbage?


I try to not be a pack rat..
We did come across a treasure..


This one is a keeper!!
So it continues..
The girls play in the boxes, and we laugh, and remember..
When we moved in this house nearly 9 years ago, it was just the two of us. The basement was empty,well, besides the washer and dryer.. a few bins of decorations.
The only reason we even had to be in the basement was to do laundry, get out some decorations, or go spider hunting.
Now here we are.. doing most of our living down here, busting at the seams.
It will be good..
I just need to get over thinking about moving all this stuff!!

All things will work together for your good.

So, I will just say it before I get too far into it...

We are moving.

It's just down the street, around a corner, still in our neighborhood and ward. Right where we want to be. It's a newer, bigger house, with a bigger yard for the kidlets.

But this is such a blessing..

We have always kept an eye open to what is available around here, not always serious, but interested. Merrill claimed this house was our "starter house" and I was fine to live here forever.. really. We were close one time, last year, to buying a house of similar style, smaller in some areas (no yard really) and would be giving up on things we said were "musts" for a move to happen. We were waiting for Lake Powell to come and go to put an offer down, and that was when the market went. Good thing we didn't, we would have been up side down in it.

We also played with the idea of buying the house that Gilbert's now live in, and are glad that that wasn't a real serious deal.. we also looked into the land that Dickamore's have built on, another forehead wiping moment of relief. Look what we'd be missing out on!!

See, things that are supposed to be, are going to happen.

So here's what happened:

This house has been up for 13 months.

13 months and I was praying all the while.

I have been trying to get Merrill to just look at it. It took a year, and a $60,000 decrease for him to get there. We both loved it, but knew our home would have to sell.

We were in the midst of getting some improvements done, and decided after that, we would get an appraisal to see what it was worth, to see if we sold it for enough, if we could get into that house.

We let things quiet down, well, we were staying quiet.. the Realtor kept in contact with me, we were their only really interested people, and we weren't that serious. We kept up with our improvements and whenever she'd call, I would tell her the same thing: We love the house, we would love to be able to buy it, but we would have to sell our house, and sell it for enough to make it happen. It's just a waiting game at this point, but move on if you get an offer.. don't wait on us.

In the meanwhile, our tithing checks were piling up on the counter top. With the kids being sick, it was either one of us or the other going to church, and the checks getting forgotten.

Then there was one Sunday that we all went to church, and I remembered the checks. Just a couple of weeks after, while I was painting the garage door, I get another phone call from their Realtor.

"They will buy your house, either sell it themselves (ours would be easier to sell in this market than theirs..) or rent it.. if you buy theirs."

WOW.

We have witnessed so many blessings in this whole event unfolding.. so many "little" things that have been prompted about in advance, that made this process that has moved so quickly so much easier..

Just a couple of examples: My hormone induced trip to IKEA.. I got the shelves to better organize the basement, and I know that improved the appearance of the basement, not to mention the quick clean-up they enabled when they wanted to come and see my house with 3 hours notice.

That same morning I felt the urge to go and wipe down all the door frames to remove Peyton's sticky little fingerprints.. that saved me time later that same house-showing day.

Not to mention all the recent improvements and all of the other hard work we have put into this house..

It has been moving fast ever since and the prayer remains, if it is meant to be, it is meant to be, let it be easy, let it feel right.

And it has.

We signed papers today. It is bittersweet, leaving all the memories here.. bringing babies home, watching them grow.. okay, I can't think that way.

I will have great neighbors (no cigarette smoke wafting through my open windows anymore) and good kids for my kids to play with..

Blessings..

Let the packing begin!!!

But it won't hurt if we all just pray for the appraisal to come in HIGH. :)

Living..

Trying to get to the point were I just live life again.. stop thinking and dreaming about the what if's and the what to do's or the many possibilities of what I can do, or can learn how to do. I have made myself take a break from the computer for the greater part of the day today, to get something done. To have something blog-worthy..
I feel in many ways I have run into a wall. My brain has had all that it can take as far as new information goes for awhile, and I just need to be still.. let things happen, and stop acting, doing things.
Yeah.. this might not make any sense, but I am talking about building the site. It is fun and sooo exciting, but I don't know much about what to do, and I am googling my heart out!! I just want it to be perfect..
See, I need to relax..
I have the guys here, tearing down old rain gutters and faschia.. putting up new, BLACK. :) Merrill is still doubtful of my color choice, but he was for the basement and the dining room.. he just needs to trust me.
Still having some bids come in on other things, just happy to be getting some projects DONE!!
Lynn is tormenting Ashley, calling her a "little girl wuss" and a "baby", because Ashley is afraid of a hornets nest (dead.. I sprayed it.) that Lynn wants to preserve in a ziploc baggie.. she is so fascinated. She should be in heaven once these guys get all of the trim down. There will be dozens of those babies laying around!
Ashley has been asking about "richness".
"Mom.. are we rich?"
"What does rich mean to you?
"Like the Jefferies are rich.." (Jefferies are friends of ours, they have six kids that are all too fun for words. We LOVE playing with them!)
"How do you think the Jefferies are rich?"
"Because they have a lot of kids."
"They are rich.. you are right Ash."
"We are POOR!"
She is so funny...
Peyton is a pro at waving "bye bye" and saying it too. She also loves to blow kisses, pat her bum, and say "haha!" That goes along with the diaper changing song we sing: "Feet up, pat her on the popo.. let's hear her laugh.. haha!" So fun that she is getting things now.