Day 26 -- Settling In

Well, today was our first day at home.  And what a day it's been.  Gwyneth got us up and running right on time -- 7am.  Ugh... So after she had her bottle, we all enjoyed strawberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit. And don't forget the coffee.  Then it was time to get to work.  James headed out to gather some more of our stuff from various places and picked up some bug poison from Kerry.  He spent most of the midday moving furniture and spraying the entire house. Then he got the doors ready to paint.

The girls and I spent the day sorting through dressers and piles of clothes, but ended up getting everyone's clothes in the right drawers. That will make things so much easier!  I also got all of our laundry done -- thanks again, Dad, for the W/D hookup! 

Dad and Mom came by to finish up the windows -- they washed the outside windows and it makes a huge difference!  Thank you!  Jeff also stopped by to assess the icemaker situation and returned for dinner and repairs. I'm glad to report that it has just produced its first pieces of ice! (of course, they had interesting little particles in them, so we'll be disposing of the first few batches) :-)

Speaking of dinner, we enjoyed a yummy casserole provided by my sweet friend.  Thank you, Kirsten! It was the perfect solution for dinner tonight!

Curt, Kenna and Molly also stopped by and ate and played with us.  The girls had a great time playing together. And Molly's walking like a madwoman! Way to go, Molly! 

I got the computer hooked up tonight, the wireless is working, I'm typing, and James and Jeff are snacking and chatting.  The girls are sleeping peacefully, and life is good. We're really looking forward to all going to church together tomorrow -- it's been a long time since we've gotten to do that! Over a month at least!

I found myself being frustrated with how the daily homemaking tasks -- laundry, meals, dishwashing, naps, diapers, sweeping up potential snack for Gwyneth, fishing "snacks" out of Gwyneth's mouth, etc -- were interfering with my projects today.  I had to remind myself several times that this is real life now.  We live HERE.  Here in the middle of a project everywhere you look. It's NOT going to all get done today or tomorrow or even next month or next year.  We're going to have to learn to set small goals, enjoy the progress, and live real life. 

What a blessing to be here as a family. Thank you, Lord...

Day 25 -- HOME SWEET HOME

"mine quilt!!!"

(Well, I'm writing this a day late since we're just now getting the computer hooked up, but ignore that...)

We're home. Unbelievable. I started off the morning early as usual (thanks to little G), and shipped the girls off with Grandma and Papa to breakfast at Cora's house.  I headed to Crest for a restocking trip.  After I bought out the store and ended up with two full carts of grocery bags, the sweet (but somewhat mentally challenged) sacker looked at me straight-faced and said, "Do you need any help out today, Ma'am?"  I actually chuckled out loud, but then composed myself and said, "Yes, thank you."  Poor kid.  Of course, then I started thinking, "Am I a wimp for not taking these out myself?? Do other women tackle two carts??" I decided I didn't really care what other women do...

I unloaded all of the groceries and organized the pantry, then headed back to the Browns' to gather some more things -- boxes of food, baby food, cups/spoons/bowls, randomness from our room...  The car was packed, so I headed back to the house to unload.  I got the bathroom cabinet filled, among other things, and then Haley joined me once I was done unpacking. Nice timing, Hay. :-) I shouldn't complain -- she brought me lunch. Thank you!

We went back to the Browns' and interruped the girls' naptime (oops) to carry down just about everything else in the room -- clothes, boxes, boxes, boxes.  We then unloaded all of that.  (Are you getting tired with me yet?)

Mom stopped by with a couple of my favorite cousins, who were needing the grand tour. We had a great time showing them around and are glad they'll get to come back someday when it looks a little less icky. :-)

watching the action

Ryan doing some touch-up on the moving damages. Thank you!

I headed back to the Browns' for a quick shower and took over care of the girlies. We unmade the beds and got things ready for Daddy and Poppy to move as soon as they arrived.  They did arrive quickly and we got the remaining things in one trip!  (except we forgot the diaper pail, which was airing out on the back sidewalk)  Grandmother and Papa and Ryan and Haley joined us for the moving-in festivities, made even more exciting by Chinese takeout.  What a first meal.  Sure was yummy, though. We got beds made and finally got the girls bathed and to bed.  They did really well.

Granbee making the bed

the exhausted "work" party :-)

dinner!

James and I were in bed by 9:45!  We were exhausted, but we ended up talking for over an hour.  It was so nice to catch up after such a busy week (and of course, it was nice to have a room to ourselves again).  Two episodes of Frasier wrapped up the night, and we all slept well! 

And did I mention that the train is close and frequent?  I'm sure I'll be used to it by the end of next week, but wow. It was still coming every 30 minutes or so until I finally went to sleep about midnight.  Didn't wake any of us up, though.   We're pretty used to traffic and such with our former life on Penn. :-)

What a blessing to be at home.  Home.  I love it...

Day 24 -- WOW!!!

What a day it was! I started out early with some cleaning -- stovetop, outside of the fridge, lightswitches, front door. Mom joined me for the big fun -- the kitchen floor. Gross, gross, gross. But oh, how nice to see all the dirt go away. And of course, both of our cameras were unavailable. We promise we cleaned it!

I also got the doors off of the hall cabinet (with a little extra man "umph" from Jeff, who stopped by at just the right time). I painted the trim for the cabinets -- one more victory in the battle against the blue. :-)

We stopped for a yummy lunch at the Browns', interrupted by a call from the alarm company -- one of our doors wasn't completely shut. Ugh. But glad it was nothing. Mr. Brown accompanied me back to the house at my Mr. Brown's request. :-)

After lunch, I headed back finished scrubbing the pantry floor. Jan sent a yummy crockpot of stew and some homemade bread for our dinner -- THANK YOU!!! So that was simmering on the counter. I also added a second coat of paint on the hall cabinet and cleaned up the counters and dining room area.

The Benders arrived about 6 for their first visit to the house. They were quickly joined by the Bs with the girlies, James, Jeff and the Browns. We had a fun time eating all together, while James, Daniel and Stephen worked on the living room baseboards. They got those done very quickly, and it looks great! Thanks, boys, for your help!

After dinner, we got to work -- putting together the girls' bed frames, and arranging furniture in our bedroom. We also got the living room furniture moved in and the dining room table put together. Dad's big job for the evening was hooking up the washer and dryer. And praise the Lord, it all works properly (no water lines going to nowhere). Thank you, Dad!

Gwyneth took right off down the hall -- crawling straight for her room. She seemed very comfortable, at ease, at home... And Charis made herself at home, finally finding her Swiffer ("my sweeper") -- I'll have to help her understand that it's not going to help on the carpet like it did on our wood floors. But I hate to quench any desires to help with cleaning. :-)

It was hard to leave tonight -- except there are no mattresses on the beds and no food in the fridge. But it sure does look like home -- hard to believe that 3 weeks ago today, we started this process. Thank you, Lord, for this home. What a blessing it already it. And I'm so ready...

Day 23

I headed over to the house this afternoon to touch up the baseboards in the master bedroom and finish up the painting in the entry.  I got the rest of the tape pulled off and cleaned up the kitchen a bit. 

James was able to make it to church with us tonight! YAY! 

Tomorrow, I'm planning to head over early for a long day of detailed tasks. But we're close, close, close! 

Day 22

Tuesday, Tuesday...  James got the baseboards for the living room painted tonight. And that's about all we did today. :-)

Day 21

Ah, Monday... Jeff spent the day finishing up the carpet, while I stayed home and played and napped with my girls. I'm at work tonight... James is attempting to complete some house tasks, but is having to balance them with studying -- apparently, they had a quite a push-up session first thing this morning. Ugh. So glad that's him and not me!


Moving in is so close, I can taste it. I'm so grateful for my precious in-laws who have graciously made us feel right at home. But i'm so ready to be in my own house, to do our own thing. Of course, that means meal-planning again, fast showers while the girls are temporarily occupied, cleaning cleaning cleaning, and continuing to work on the house. But only 8 more shifts of work, and then that can be my ONLY full-time job! Praise the Lord! That's so close I can taste it too. :-)

Looking forward to getting back to housework Wednesday afternoon. Lots to do!

Day 20

Well, the carpet is down and vaccumed in the living room (and getting closer by the minute down the halls and into the bedrooms). I took the girls by after church tonight to let them crawl around on it. Charis was really pumped and Gwyneth seemed awfully impressed. :-)  James also got the sheet rock repair done in the master bathroom, so it looks a bit less nasty in there.  I'll add pics soon, but for now, I'm off to sleep.