Moving Stinks!

Moving is not all it's cracked up to be... especially while 9 months pregnant! Our new home really wasn't ready for us to move into, but we just couldn't wait any longer, or we'd have a newborn baby in the mix. Rob's been working his tail off, but of course, there's always delays and complications. We'll get into that later. Anyway... we've been living in our new home for a week now. We think we will love it here (we really hope so). We just haven't really spent much time here yet. I take Nathan to his old school in the morning, work on packing odds and ends, or cleaning our old house. I bring the kids here for naps (and hope I get a nap too), then have to get Nathan in the afternoon and work on the old house some more. I'm almost done there, so hopefully we'll get on a more normal schedule soon. The kids seem to be adjusting well. Nathan is anxious to make new friends here. Sarah seems to just want to see her old friends. Matthew is doing well in his own room, and in a big-boy bed! Yeah! The kids love playing outside, and riding scooters in the unfinished portion of the basement.

We've still got a lot of boxes to unpack, but we are making progress. Rob will finish the tile in our laundry room tomorrow, so we'll be able to move our washer and dryer over soon (HOORAY!). We have been so blessed to have so much help from family and friends. Terri has been here many times helping with painting, cleaning, packing, unpacking... you name it! My sis-in-law Toni has been here a lot too, helping with everything (Evan too). Laura brought her crew up yesterday to help me. Jeannie has watched my kids many times, helped pack, and teased me about my pack-rat tendencies (I was hoping someone would laugh at me for all the things I've been storing away- maybe it will help me get rid of some of it). What can I say?! I inherited it from my parents. Rob's a pack-rat too- also inherited from his parents. There's just too many people to name... Amy had us over for a yummy dinner, Rob's sisters and nieces and nephews painted. Jim painted and watched kids. Our home teacher and Dave helped haul the heavy stuff. I feel like I'm getting an Emmy or something and worried I'll forget to thank someone. Anyway... we are so grateful for all the help!!! We have the best family and friends. I feel like I can still do a lot, but my energy goes really fast. I was feeling really overwhelmed last week, thinking I would never be able to get a working kitchen... then Terri and Toni scrubbed my floor on their hands and knees, unpacked my pantry, and took away my anxiety. Thank you everyone!!!

Now for a word on delays... first of all, there have been many projects here that have turned into bigger projects and taken extra time. It's just the nature of fixing up a house, and to be expected. Then the night before our big move, I had helped Rob move a bunch of stuff over to our new home. He parked his pickup and trailer on the curb while he unloaded the Tahoe. I took the kids home to bed while he stayed and worked on things for a while. He heard a loud collision outside, and ran out to find a 19 year-old kid had run his car into the back of our pickup- somehow missing the trailer. He had smashed his face on the windshield and his nose was bleeding all over, so Rob called 911. An ambulance, three cops, and the huge ladder fire truck all responded to the accident, thus prompting Rob to meet some of our new neighbors (including the 19 year-old, who only lives 3 doors down). What a mess! Now Rob has had to take time to have his truck looked at... insurance...estimates... The bumper is about 6" too high now, so the tailgate won't come down. Not good for while moving.

And the driver says he was only going 10 mph. What do you think?! The cops didn't believe his story either. He also claims he was wearing his seat belt. I don't know how you'd hit your face on the windshield, just under the rear view mirror while wearing a seat belt, but...Matthew walked down the street with me to check out the crunched car.We had a huge rainstorm this week. Rob got a call from one of our tenants saying that the window well was completely filled up with water. Rob hurried over there and pumped out the water out that he could, but the mud from under the driveway caved into the window well again (despite the plywood he put in). It's a long story... let's just say this was the 4th time he's had to dig the window well out. He was covered from head to toe in mud, and spent an entire day working on the getting to the french drain, and trying to unclog it etc. Then he spent most of the next day pulling out pad, drying out carpet and relaying it. It was a nightmare! Hopefully it's resolved now. Here are some old pictures of the fun.

He's hauled this much (and more) out of that window well. Now he'll have to cut a hole in the driveway and replace the fill that had caved in.

Hopefully this week will go better, and we'll feel more settled in. I'm due on Saturday, and can't believe it. I'm probably the only woman my OB has that begs him to not let their baby come early. I've got way too much to do first. The baby is a lot easier to take care of in my tummy. I'll post when we have our new arrival.