When pioneers moved to the west, with courage strong they met the test...
These last few weeks we have pushed ourselves to the limits: cleaning the house, painting the walls, unpacking boxes, preparing talks, settling in.... but we have found a lot of things to pull us through: a new house to call our own; new friends to meet at the park, have over for dinner or play some games; cable tv :) (though I have yet to actually catch one food challenge or allow the children to surf the channels); cooler weather; all the major stores bunched on just one street; the beautiful green trees and endless rolling hills (the children are a chorus of wheeeeeee's as we drive along); the super cool parks; and last, but not least FAMILY! What a blessing to be able to send the kids to Aunt Heidi's while we cleaned, painted and prepared the house for them. Of course, there's never enough time (or money) to do it all, but the kids were delighted as we brought them back on the Fourth of July and welcomed them home.
Here it is: 2425 Camel Back Rd
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
Lindsey and Aimee went straight for the flowers.
so pretty!
My favorite part is the kitchen bar (although I love our new table behind it!) The kids and I feel like it's a diner, "may I take your order?!"
But, nothing is more exciting than having your very own room and even better, a brand new bed. (If only we had enough) After much deliberation about who to have downstairs, we decided that Lindsey and Aimee needed the space, while Elise would really enjoy the privacy of a smaller room upstairs. I was worried when Lindsey walked in and saw Elise run to her room and bounce on her bed in the pretty pink room and then listened to Nathan oooh and aaaah about the bunk beds in his smoky blue room, and then scooted down the stairs to her pink and purple room to see this......Lindsey's brand new bed. :)
But, she loved it! :) She dove onto the blankets and squealed with joy: "Mom, I LOVE my brand new bed!" She rolled around admiring the pink and purple walls while I laughed at her simple delight for her bed, or the obvious lack thereof. :) Won't she be surprised when Jim gets a paycheck and she gets a real bed?! :)
The best part of all is having family to share it with (although I bemoan the fact that my friends don't get to come and see it!). :(
uncle Andy and Baker
I think the best discovery so far (aside from some really cool people we've met) is the library. WOW -this is the best library I've ever seen for kids. There is a children's section about half the size of the entire Oviedo library and it comes with a wii, computers to work on, a puppet showcase to play with and a play center for the children that promises happiness on those wintry days ahead.
Katie
Griffith
I was able to quickly return the favor and watch my sister's children while she prepared for a letter boxing convention and the arrival of my parents (who are house hunting in St. Louis!). It's funny the comments you get as people see seven little children pile out of Heather's monster white van. "What do you DO with all those children?" "How do you do it?!" and really, I think that's not so hard as the real question: "What do I FEED all those children?!!!!!" :) You can see the start of the day with a line of cups and a PILE of french toast sticks!
We made fairy puff cookies found at the back of the fairy book Elise checked out from the library. Here are the little fairies rolling the dough, we all got a good laugh at this picture because of Nathan's new nose. :)
TA-DA!
And now that we have settled in, it's time to take off. We are headed to Idaho for a family reunion next week. So while the kids are playing, I've been packing.... each row represents a child and each column is a day of the week (mon - sun, and pjs).
The challenge is to take all that and fit it into the smallest space possible (we are aiming for carry ons to avoid the luggage fees)! It reminds me a bit of my talk last Sunday. It was on Romans 1:16 (for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ...). I realized one night that it's not so much that we will be ashamed of what we say about the gospel in this life as the things we don't say. I then compared that to our move and the fact that though I'd packed all of our life into neat, little boxes we soon realized that not everything would fit in the truck. In the end we were left deciding if we wanted to keep the dresser or the night stands, the generator or the kitchen chairs, etc. And that is just like life. Sometimes we fill our lives with conversation and details, while the things we value most are left on the side wondering if they will fit. Even thought it's so clear to me, it's still a challenge to make things fit as they should. And, I learned the hard way (through this talk experience) that everything fits best when you are focused on Christ and led by the Spirit.
That talk kept me pretty focused (if not worried) last week. But, I've still had a lot of "what to do?" moments since I've been here. We've unpacked down to six boxes and have left it at that. The pictures are still waiting to be hung by the chimney with care.... ( Oh Ruth, you are my inspiration!). :) But my momentum died and I knew we just had to get outside because the kids are wandering around, wondering what to do with themselves. If I think about it too hard, I tear up and miss knowing where I am and what to do that day (the aquatic center, beach or friends) and then I miss my friends and Allison with a vengence and I know the kids are all missing her too.
At least it's easier for me because I can chat with my friends on the phone, but we worried how the kids would do. They've actually done quite well talking on the phone (Elise always goes to her room and shuts the door). :) I know Elise enjoys it. Of course, it's helped alot to have Katie and Baker here. That's instant entertainment, although I've no idea how they keep running late into the night and still wake up so early?
You'd think the stairs would wipe them out. After a few hours on our first night home, Lindsey sat down in my lap and confessed, "Mom my legs hurt from all that walking!" :) Ahh, the joys of youth. It's all fun and games until someone knocks over Griffith (Heather's little one). And so our day ends and today I've managed to fit in a few thoughts on the blog before we take off for a bit. I'm very excited about this reunion because it will be a real vacation for us. I can't work on the house and Jim will be away from the office. Here's to some fun family bonding and the hopes that it won't take a month before I blog about it. :)
