Slow and Steady

Slow and steady seems to be the way things are going here. Every day something more gets crossed off the list. The laundry room is almost ready for paint, the dining room is actually useable again, and the pile for the good will keeps getting bigger. This past weekend I cooked up enough meals to last until the middle of March or a bit later depending. My goal is that the freezer will be empty and ready to move and I won't have to worry about what to eat when things need to stay clean, ALL THE TIME! not looking forward to that part of moving!

I drove over to New Jersey Sunday afternoon to look at a house. It was perfect, the yard, the kitchen, the bedrooms, everything except for the laundry room. I really had my heart set on a family laundry room space. The concept sounds lovely, such a time saver so I left the house with no intention to send David over to look at it. But the house would not leave me.

PICTURES OF THE HOUSE

 I really thought through that laundry room issue. Having never had a laundry room fully functioning before there was so much to consider. I hang my clothes to dry outside most of the year. so that means I am all ready carrying them out of the laundry room anyway. I like a place to toss things I don't want to deal with. OK, I will have a garage and a basement if I want to ingore my piles. It will always be messy with piles of laundry in the hallway. Mabye, this could happen, but we limit how many items of clothing each child has, and dirty laundry is kept in the hamper upstairs, so it would only pile while I was washing it. Not a big deal really, I don't wash as much as I used to with limiting outfits. My children put their own laundry away, I just fold it, so I'm not carrying it upstairs anyway. I was beginning to see that I could live with it, if done right it will be just fine, expecially since the rest of the house if perfect!

Then our realtor called Monday and said there was an offer on the house and if we wanted it we needed to move quickly. You see this house was originally 130,000 more that the asking price, it isn't likely we will find something as nice for such a bargain again, expecially in New Jersey. David went to look at it on Tuesday morning and loved it, a little thing like a hall way laundry didn't bother him, the location is great, it has a lovely spot for a garden, is close to shopping and the train to Philladelphia and New York, has an awesome climbing tree,  beautiful detailing and nice big bedrooms. So we put in our offer.

Now we wait and pray! It could take as long as 10 days to find out if it is going to be ours. That doesn't stop me from planning though. If it is our house we will move in at the end of March. I'll keep you updated!

Edited to add: No 15 minutes after I posted this the realtor called and our offer was accepted. So now it goes to attorney review and until all papers are signed we can still get bumped by a better offer. Please pray!

Rubbing off

I have been so busy organizing and labeling things,
 I believe it is rubbing off.

 Fiona is busy labeling everything also.

It's a sickness

These past few days we have all come down with colds. Between trying to manage 4 sick children and a sick hubby,while my own eyes are burning and my nose won't stop running, getting some form of a decent meal on the table, and school work done, my house has offically fallen apart. I haven't done laundry in, well, long enough for everyone to have nothing to wear, the dishes are piling up, and that organizing project I started. Yes, its still there. My dining room is offically a dumping ground for anything and everything you can think of.

So instead of wallowing in all this dirt and self pity(I hate being sick) I am creating a happy place. Forget the mess, I have a lovely mantle all decorated for spring, if it ever comes. Since I can't sleep without waking up multiple times trying to breath, I have slowly been putting new arrangements together. They even wake me up at night as if my surfaces call to me, "dress me, dress me". Yes I believe I suffer from more than one kind of illness. :) Those of you who also have this problem will completly understand.

I couldn't leave this alone either. It's an old tool box, perfect for my fake succlents. Yes, I use fake and I have a good reason. Last year I bought all sorts of lovely live plants and my cat proceded to eat them all one by one. So no more real ones for me, until kitty learns to behave! I stuck them in white pots from IKEA and filled it in with old shredded sheet music(thanks Liz!). Hopefully kitty will leave that alone. just looking at this makes me feel so much better!

Cleaning house

These last couple of days I took down all the christmas decorations sorted through them, fixed anything broken, finished up a few projects for next year, and packed it all up in boxes. Extra carefully I might add so the movers won't break anything. Isn't is so pretty all piled in a heap?

Lovely to see it all organized and ready to go to storage in the basement.

So why does my dining room still look like this?

Well, I decided I really needed to go through ALL of my decorating things. So I piled  everything I own on the dining room table to go through and re-decorate and then get rid of things I haven't used.

Who knew dining rooms could be so useful for everything but eating?

And while I'm busy working on this project, here is a glimpse of what the children are doing.

"I'm playing 'puter Mommy."

Pretend

Pretending of days long ago. Fiona got the first season of the Little House TV series for Christmas and we have been watching them (and reading the books) every day this week while David is off from work. It has sparked some very creative play around here!

Good-bye 2009

Well here it is the end of the year, even the end of a decade. I have been thinking back over the past year and all the happenings, the stress, the laughter, the learning, and the unknown. I guess you could say this has been a year of the what ifs.

It was way back in February that news of a possible buyout came from David's company. It was July when he started interviewing, and it was September before any decisions were made. He started work in October and we will close out the year with house hunting and moving on our minds.

When we first heard the news we put everything on hold, when it seemed like things were going to settle, we settled too. We planted fruit trees, put in a garden, built a stone wall and painted rooms. I went yard sale-ing and junking, decorating as if were would be here for the long haul. We know know that is not to be. You may ask was it worth it? Oh yes, you betcha it was. We learned some valuable lessons about trust and, patience, and waiting, that we wouldn't have otherwise. It gave the children stability admist the chaos, and memories that won't be forgotten. God has truly blessed us in the midst of this uncertianty. We even made new friends and built stronger relationships with old. We will miss those people when we leave.

We are so excited for the new year though. There is so much to do and so much that will be new. What a way to ring in a year and even a decade.  So heres's to 2009. Good bye! We are New Jersey bound.

Christmas Review

Our Chirstmas in pictures.

 Kittys favorite place.

Our birthday cake(or cupcakes) for Jesus birthday!

Christmas morning after opening stockings and our family devotion.

Gwen and her ponies!

Miles and his books!

Fiona and her bitty baby outfit, she had such a grown up pose here with her legs crossed.

Owen and his brass compass.

Gwen and her bitty baby with matching pajamas and a sling. So excited!

Playing in the paper. It's tradition around here!

I hope you all had a merry Christmas!