Soon

Chad just sent me a text. . . move in day is. . . .

It’s funny how we’ve been waiting for this day for nearly a year and suddenly it’s here and I am immediately catapulted into high anxiety, everything is an emergency, crazy-lady person.  As soon as I read the text the wave of oh-my-gosh-there-is-so-much-to-do-and-life-is-about-to-change-drastically-and-maybe-this–wasn’t-such-a-good-idea thoughts hit me. 

Meadow is napping and Charlie and Chanelle are at school so I decided to sit down and calm my mind.  This change?  It’s a good one.  We’ve worked hard and spent a lot of time getting the final details ready.  It’s so hard to believe it almost here–less than two weeks away, we move.

I just read this quote. . . “So often we become so focused on the finish line that we forget to enjoy the journey.”  -David F. Uchtdorf

Any time I have talked to my Dad throughout our building/moving/packing process he asks me. . . “are you enjoying it?  Other ‘dadisms’ through the process have been, ‘don’t try to take charge. Enjoy the ride.’ or ‘This will be one of the many great times in your life. . . Enjoy it.’ 

See, Dad?  I listen. 

The reality is. . . we really have enjoyed the process. 

I’m thankful for my Dad’s continuous lectures reminders.  We have spent a lot of time at the house, planning, dreaming, making decisions and then changing our minds.  The kids have been troopers as we’ve spent more time in the bones of what will soon be our home than the place we call home now.  I can’t remember the last time we sat around our kitchen table for a meal, but we’ve eaten plenty of meals on the dirt-splattered, wooly worm covered, front porch of our new home.

Amidst the chaos we are doing our best to make memories.  Right now, it’s hard to see them as moments that we will one day look back on and say, oh, that was such a special time, but I’m certain that one day we will.

A couple of weeks ago, Chad decided he would like to install the wood floors into our new home.  It seemed easy enough.  Because he’s so nice, he invited my Dad to join.

It was so cool to see my Dad and Chad working together on our house–even if it seems my Dad thought they were going to play volleyball.

They worked from sun up until sun down.  Let me tell you–our floors are very, very hard.  What we thought would be a couple day project turned into a bit more.  Charlie and Chanelle helped. . .

My FIL and our soon to be neighbor helped. . .

Even I helped. . .

Chad thinks he’s hilarious

And in the end. . .

. . . we ran out of time.

It took our builders another entire day to finish the floors–even they were frustrated with the hardness of the floors.  What we saved in money, we lost in time.  In the end, though?  These are the stories that will make up our fondest memories. 

While we work the kids have found plenty of things to keep themselves occupied.  Meadow has found the perfect spot on the kitchen floor. . .

And we’ve quickly initiated our new neighbors into our dirt-loving ways.

And I’m learning about the way the light shines through our windows. . .

We are excited in that bitter-sweet kind of way. 

We are moving from the city to the country. I’m sure there will be an adjustment period as we become accustomed to a new community–and especially to not having Miss Nancy next door and the grocery store a mile away.

We will live on top of a hill–the runner in me loves that–but it will be an adjustment for my legs.

One thing that won’t be an adjustment, though?  One thing that I think we will easily welcome with open arms? 

Our skies.

We’ll take ’em.

(I’ll be here as I can over the next few weeks.  Please, bear with me.)

Have a lovely day.