The Move...

I am finally back online! WAHOO!!
(although, I must say that it was nice to be without internet for a while. My days seemed so much longer and I was surprised at how productive I was!)

Anyway, lots of you have been asking about the move, so I thought I'd write just a bit about the moving process, the lessons I've learned and how we're doing now. Let's start with the move.

My husband was transfered from Arkansas to Texas. Same company, different position. We had one week to pray about it and felt like God was clearly telling us it was a gift and we should take it. So we did! We told close friends and family first, then let the Facebook world know. At that point we only had two weeks till moving day.

So we packed for two solid weeks. It took a while because it was shaped around our toddler's nap schedule, our daughter's pre-school schedule, my husband's work schedule and a few out of town trips, including a house hunting trip.
The house hunting trip was AWESOME. We had a two bedroom suite at the hotel- like a little efficiency apartment. We loved the first place we saw, and after visiting several other homes (yuck!) we decided on the first one. Some of the places we visited were... gross. Bugs, terrible smells, broken cabinets, holes in walls- you name it. Our new place is perfect for us. Lots of room, new paint & carpet... but I'm getting ahead of myself!

Our house in Springdale was a bit crowded for a while with the boxes piling up in the living room, but it was all worth it now that we have so much more space. (Did I mention that our house here is bigger??)

Saturday before the move, Keith's parents came by to visit. They took the kiddos home with them, so Keith and I had Saturday and Sunday to pack up the last bit of kitchen and bathroom stuff. It was such a huge help to have the kids at Granna and Poppa's house! We even had TWO dates! We spent Sunday evening with Tank & Amanda; some much-needed time with them before we left. Monday (Halloween), the movers packed us up and we headed to Idabel.

As I followed behind Keith, staring at the older couple on the back of the U-Haul (who I affectionately dubbed "Charlie and Joan" for whatever reason), the same thought tumbled through my head time and time again: It's somewhat sobering to think that your entire physical life can be packed up into a 27' truck and shipped anywhere in the world...

We arrived in Idabel at around 7pm, so we quickly ate dinner and took the kids trick-or-treating. Thankfully our four year old was tired and not especially interested in candy. We only spent an hour or so on the streets before heading home.

Tuesday morning, we headed off to Texas, leaving the kids in Idabel with Keith's grandmother (Nanny). We rushed to get to the realty office at 1:00 to pick up the keys so we could meet the movers at 2p. We were late, but the movers were polite and didn't seem to mind. We unpacked Tuesday night and Wednesday, then headed back to Idabel on Thursday morning to pick up the kids and Keith's truck, which we had left there the weekend before the move.

Friday was my mother-in-law's birthday, so we headed to Red Lobster for dinner. It was SO good! Matthew has my taste- he didn't like the fish or clam chowder at all. Courtney, on the other hand, ate more than any of us and still said she was hungry when we got home!

Saturday we were back in Texas, and Sunday we visited Antioch Community Church- Dallas. It's a church plant of the church we went to in Waco. It was nice, but so far to drive. It took a while to get home because we got stuck in traffic. The traffic here may take some getting used to! On a happy note, when I walked into the church to find out what time the service started, my jaw dropped as I saw Angie- a close friend from college who was *almost* one of my roomates. She got engaged the week she started moving in, so she moved right back out to go home & plan her wedding. It was great to catch up and get a hug after 7 years!

Sunday afternoon my parents and brother came by. We had a great dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse. We hadn't seen them in several months, so it was nice to spend some time together. Courtney jumped right up into her Nana's arms, but Matthew took some time to warm up.

Since then we've just been unpacking, running errands and hanging curtains. We had three small windows in our last living room... now I have six large and two small windows to cover. Looks like I'll be getting my sewing machine out soon! The house is great. We have an extra room (formal dining??) that we use as an office. The kids rooms are down a hall at the back of the house, so we can turn the TV up, get something from the kitchen and talk at normal volumes without worrying about them waking up after bedtime. We have a big backyard with a privacy fence and a DOOR that leads to the yard! (Some of you know my issue with our last house was that in order to get to the back yard you had to go outside, around to the other side of the house and then stay away from the fence because of all of the dogs growling and barking). Our neighborhood is quiet and close to everything. The only time I hear any noise is when the school bus drops off 10 or so kids at the stop sign across from our house. It's a good family neighborhood. We have met two neighbors and already been invited to a church! (And I don't need to mention how refreshing it is to hear everyone I meet say "y'all".)

The kids are settling in great. I think it helps that we tried to keep their bedrooms as close as possible to how they were at our old house. Courtney and I played Candy Land last night. She won the first game and then let me win the second after passing 12 turns and letting me throw out a card that nearly sent me back to start *smile*. Keith is enjoying his new position at work. He's been home early (5 or 5:30) most nights, so that has been a huge plus! Since he only works 3 miles from home he'll probably be coming home for lunch most days- something he used to do when we lived in Idabel but couldn't continue once we were in NWA. I'm glad to get to see him during the day again. We're all unpacked except for two boxes with pictures & curtains in them. Once I hang what I want, I'll put the rest in the attic. I realized through this move that I have  a strange obsession with picture frames. Really? Why do I need all of these? But I love them... seriously, I need help, haha!

So that's us. We are doing great. The only tough part of the move is that Matthew has started teething again. He's getting his eye teeth- and he is NOT an easy teether. He's also learned to climb in chairs. Last night we caught him at the computer desk. He had opened an Excell spreadsheet. He has also learned how to climb up and reach his sister's plate while she's having a snack... so this Mama has been super busy!

Thanks so much for your prayers for us through this move. It was the easiest move I've ever experienced (12 moves in 12 years, not to mention all of the army moves from my childhood- so I think I should know, haha!). God has been faithful to see us through and do as He promised.

On today's agenda: hanging more curtains, possibly a trip to the fabric store *happy dance*! Thanks for keeping up with us!

P.S. If any of you want our address, just send me a mssg on FB and I'll get it to ya!