Very tired but still moving forward

The first sale is done. It was very successful and helped out immensely. We are now boxing up anything that we want to put in the next sale and placing it in a designated area. Once we've moved, we will then hold another sale in town at a friends house where there is a little more traffic. Hopefully the second sale will be just as good as the first.

Looking into our garage, it doesn't appear to be any less cluttered. However, I assure you, we have actually parted with at LEAST a half of dozen truck loads of items. The hubby was able to part with a few of his large, clutter-inducing items. It was a great moment for me! :D

Today, I have had several moments of a great anticipation washing over me. I feel overly stressed out, more than what I have the last few weeks. I look around me and feel like I'm lost in a sea of things that need done. I've tried really hard to focus on one room, one area at a time. It just feels like such a daunting task and I've found myself wishing it was just all done and over with already.

Sleep has eluded me lately as well. I've tried to get my mind to unwind but apparently, I'm like my mother and that isn't possible. I've found myself staying up until 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning and getting up just three hours later. It's a vicious cycle. No sleep, grouchy momma, stress level goes up. I know it needs to stop. I just need to make myself stop and go to sleep.

Tomorrow, I'll be working again on packing things up. Tim has gotten some of the outdoor things taken care of, which I'm grateful for. I know that it will all come together in the end. I just hate hate hate trying to move people who are unorganized, unpacked, and unprepared for the move to begin with. And lately, I feel like that very person.

On the up side, we do have some time to spare. We have not received any type of papers declaring the status of our house. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I'm not real sure how this all works, to be honest. We shall see. I trust that He holds the plan for us that is the perfect plan in the end. We will be okay.

We're about to go outdoors to sit around our bonfire pit for one last time. This will be the last night we are able to sit together, as a family, around our firepit that we made when we moved in. Such a cozy area filled with background noise of bullfrogs and crickets. The hum of the freeway is heard on occassion as well as the neighbors dog and jackass donkey. I'll miss most of these things; however, the jackass donkey is something I can truly live without. Heeee Hawww

I hope you all had a great weekend. I thank you for all of your support and encouragement. It really does help. I know that this is a path that was chosen for us long before we ever started down this road. I know that in the end, we will have learned something very valuable and life changing. As of now, I know that it has taught me to love my husband and my children even more and appreciate my friends, near and far, more than they'll ever know.

Thank you, to each and every one of you!
We love you all,
B & T

First week of July

This is when we go from where we are now to here:

We paid the deposit today and finished the paperwork. I was so relieved. With the exception of the amount of stuff we have to pack in the little bit of time we have to do it in.

Tim has the 28th through the 6th off so hopefully we can get things done in that week. If we're able to, we will be starting to move the items in around the 28th or 29th of June and continuing through the week. That is only a guess at this point though.

For now, our plan is to continue boxing everything we possibly can. The first trip over will be all the furniture. Then we will return for boxes. We're trying very hard to pack things and stack them according to the rooms they will be taken to. We've chosen the bottom right corner of each lid of each box to label what room it needs to go in. It should be helpful.

I know this falls on a holiday weekend and we apologize ahead of time to you. We realize some people won't be able to help with the move becaue of that. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of things we'll need help with after the initial move. It's highly unlikely that we will be able to move everything in one day anyways.

We started our moving sale today. Well, it officially started today. Between yesterday (someone stopped by unexpectedly) and today, we managed to make enough for our first rent payment! We were shocked!

It's nearly 1:00 am so I need to hit the sack. The sale opens at 9am tomorrow and I have to get up to do some modifying of the signs before hand.

Thanks for continuing to think of us. We appreciate it!
Have a great night.
-B

In the next twelve hours...

Things are going to start coming together. We were suppose to meet with the landlord on Wednesday to go over the lease but we never did. I started becoming concerned, questioning whether or not this was the plan that was meant for us. I placed a phone call this morning to see if all was okay. By this evening, my fears had started to surface. I made another call at 7pm and was able to speak to them. Unexpected plans came up and they didn't make it back into town yesterday. We could have met up with them tonight but Tim was working. Instead, we are meeting tomorrow to sign the lease. I think I may just go crazy these next 12 hours.

To top it off, we are opening our yardsale tomorrow morning. Suprisingly, as we pulled things out this afternoon, we had two customers. Overall, we made $356.00. Not bad for not advertising or even having signs up, eh? We joked saying we could make our first rent payment if we kept going like that. :)

Anyways, the ONLY child asleep is Austin, who is still under the weather. I pray he's feeling better tomorrow! Poor guy.

I started looking at the calender and noticed that there is only ten days left of the month. ACK!! I'm not sure of the move in date but I'm assuming close to the first of the month. We'll find out tomorrow I guess. After that, it's time to bust our keesters and get things moving!

I should get some rest for tomorrow. The sale starts at 9 but I have so much to do before then. And the signs still have to be posted. *sigh*

I'll check in tomorrow. Thank you to all who have continously checked in with us these last few days. It's so heartwarming to know you're there. Thanks Nik for the boxes. It is *greatly* appreciated! Thanks to Dan for dropping them off!

To those who have offered to help us move with trailers/trucks/etc. please know we're not ignoring you. We are waiting to see what the move in date is before we decide what day we'll be needing your helping hands. Unfortunately, I think the first weekend of the month is the 4th. On the other hand, Tim is off the entire first week of July. That's a plus!

Off to hit the pillow. Thanks for caring about us. Love you all,
Bec

Uh oh

Austin has swimmers ear. Normally, I wouldn't freak out about it except for the fact that it is in the same ear that he had the reconstructive surgery on a few years ago! He's pretty miserable tonight. Hopefully it passes quickly. On top of that, he also had a wart removed today while at the doctors office. The poor guy! He handled it like a trouper though. I was proud of him. Please keep him in your thoughts as he gets better!

Another day spent packing, sorting, pricing, and pitching. That seems to be the theme around here lately. I have to admit that the hubby is doing really well when it comes to him getting rid of things. He's a very big packrat, which drives me insane. He's doing well...so far.

The kids are finally asleep. You can tell it's summer time. The hustle, bustle and later than normal bedtimes are here. Unfortunately, I think our schedules will be a bit off for the next month or so while we get things in order for our move. Eventually we'll be back on track. Or at least, that's what I'm telling myself.

With that said, I'm going to go relax a bit myself. We worked on the girls' bedroom tonight. Of course, they had to keep everything. I had several boxes and bags. You know, the trash circular file, the sell box, the keep box, and the toy box. Some of those things that they couldn't part with somehow ended up in the circular file or sell box. I have a sneaky suspicion that they will never-ever-know. :)

Have a great night.
-B

Running on E...

Energy last night...

Empty now!

Last night I couldn't sleep. I packed, sorted, filed, priced and just kept moving. I never fell asleep until after 2pm today. Way past the 24 hour mark! I was up and at it again by 5:30pm. Needless to say, I'm exhausted now.

It's approaching 12:30am and I am off to bed. I've managed to pack one and a half boxes tonight, put chemicals in the pool, tend to my middle son's ear ache he's had all day, and break up several arguments amongst siblings and a cousin.

My nerves are frazzled, my body is tired, yet my hopes remain high that tomorrow will go without a hitch.

We are suppose to meet tomorrow to turn the paperwork in and see the lease. Anxious doesn't even explain the emotions we're feeling.

Off to try to sleep. Thank you again to those who called, emailed and stopped by today. It's greatly appreciated! I hope that one day, we can repay our gratitude to you.

Blessings,
Becky

Taking a deep breath...

I've been spending extra time lately filling my spiritual tank. I must say that the sense of relief I woke up with this morning was welcomed with open arms and a thankful heart. I'm reminding myself that there is a perfect plan for us and in His time, He will reveal it to us. Here are a few words that impacted me and I thought I'd share with you.

"You cannot step twice in the same river, for other waters are continually flowing on." -Heraclitus

"The secret of a happy life: Accept change gracefully." -Jimmy Stewart

"Life is not a journey you want to make on autopilot." -Paula Rinehart

"Life's unfolding stops for no one." -Kathy Troccoli

"People may make plans in their minds, but the Lord decides what they will do." -Proverbs 16:9 NCV

"Never place a period where God has placed a comma." -Mother Teresa

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." -Corrie ten Boom

"Any concern that is too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden." -Corrie ten Boom

"Don't quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers." -Max Lucado

"You cannot walk through life without a dream or a destination and expect to arrive just where you wanted to go." -Lisa Bevere

Thank you for your continued prayers. We appreciate them.

Not again...

Why is it that just when one illness starts to subside, something else lurks back into the picture? I am so frusterated at how sick the kids have been this spring. Tuesday morning around 5am, I woke up and found Katelyn laying on the floor. When I asked her why, she said she threw up on the bed. Sure enough, she did. I turned the light on to clean it up and she took off running to the bathroom to do it again. Needless to say, she stayed home today. A few hours later, Emilee started vomiting. Tonight, Tim started with it and was sent home from work early. Please pray that nobody else gets it.

I've spent several hours cleaning the livingroom carpet tonight. My arms are sore from pushing and pulling the machine. Not to mention that I haven't even finished 1/2 of it yet. To say that it was dirty is an understatement. Amazing how much grime can get into your carpet over time without you realizing it. Wood floors are on our list of things to do. We also installed a new screen door for the front. It has a retractable screen/storm window. It's pretty cool.

Jacob's birthday was a good one. He's saving his money to buy something special and seems to have a nice loot started. To celebrate his birthday, he (and the rest of the kids) are proud new owners of 3 week old baby geese. I'll post photos when I finally find my darn camera battery!

Hope you had a great day!

TGIF! Long week!

TGIF!

Another busy week indeed. Jonathon continued to get worse through the evening and as expected, ended up in the hospital the next day. After five attempts by three different people, a line placement was finally accomplished. Daddy wasn't able to stand there and endure the screams from Jonathon after the third attempt so he stepped out for a walk. I admit, it crushed my heart to hear him yelling, "No Momma, Stop!" And when that didn't work, he started yelling for his Daddy. He was so dry and hadn't urinated for 18 hours so he desperately needed the fluids. He also ended up with a breathing treatment. At first, he handled it like a trouper. That was short lived though. Wails soon followed. It still amazes me how much fight these little ones have, especially when they are so sick. I don't know who was more exhausted afterwards, him or me.

Since the weekend is here and Jonathon is feeling a little better, I'm hoping to get some cleaning and organization done. I'm not sure if it will happen or not though as I have a house full of rowdy children already this morning. I have managed to take Emilee and her friend outside to get photos with some of the flowers already this morning. Now I'm downloading them, hoping to beat the beeping camera indicating that my battery is dying. There's only 134 photos to transfer over. *Smile*

I'm also hoping to get a haircut sometime today too. We will see if that happens or not. If so, I'll share some photos.

Over the past month, I haven't posted many photos. I'll take a few minutes to do that this weekend. Hopefully they all go through without any problems. I just tried to add some photos and it wasn't working for me so we'll do it another time. I hope you all have an an enjoyable weekend. I'll check back soon.

Gone but not forgotten

Nope, we're not gone. We're still here. Hopefully you haven't forgotten about us. I've thought of you all many times but have not had a spare moment to get here and post what we've been doing.

I have so many things I want to post but considering I'll be called away here in another five or ten minutes, I will have to post just the basics.

First things first, PLEASE pray for Jonathon. Once again, he is sick. I don't know why he continues to get sick and fight high fevers on a pretty consistent basis the past month +, but I'm getting pretty frusterated with it all. Once again, he is battling a fever. We are on day six, (Wednesday) and yesterday (Tuesday) his fever had hit 104.4. It was then that I made a call to his doctor asking for help. We took him in an hour later where they too were concerned about him. A raging fever, a heartrate of 145, very lathargic, on the brink of dehydration, and looking totally helpless was what they saw. The doctor told me she was very concerned about him and wanted us to take him to the hospital. Before going, she said she would do a strep test and an xray. He barely made a squeak during the strep test. For any child, it is a challenge to not want to kick, cry and scream. The xray had to be repeated because it was "dark". After repeating it, the doctor came in and said he had pnemunia. She gave us the option of trying an antibiotic at home with the combination of 6-8 oz of fluids an hour in addition to using the tylenol/motrin to reduce the fever. We've been trying that through the evening without much success. His heartrate has reduced slightly. His eyes remain glassy. He had a little energy for about 45 minutes before he fell back into the larthegic stage. I have been listening to his lungs at least once an hour and have just begun to notice a change in the sounds of them. Since I have a house of sleeping children and Tim's at work, I will stay up to continue monitoring his progress and status. We should be headed to the hospital around 5:00 AM. Please pray for him.

In other news: (Have to keep it brief, I hear him stirring)
*Circle drive & rock gardens still not finished.

*I ended up with two new kittens, Black Jack and Snicker Doodle (or Snickers). The kids couldn't understand why we couldn't use some of the names they came up with. You know, because there's no reason we can't yell out the back door, "Here coochie" or "Come on pissy". Don't ask! @@

*Gas prices, inflation on groceries and healthcare costs are killing our budget here. Is it true that we'll be seeing $12 a gallon by Labor Day? And bread, $2.99 a loaf? I'm quite concerned about our budget. Please send up a prayer for us if you can.

*Katelyn had her hair cut off. It's a cute, chin length cut.

*Emilee lost her first tooth Sunday. Unfortunately, it's from the result of her and a friend getting into electrical tape and then trying to "cut" it with her teeth! ACK! It was a baby tooth though. Whew

*Memorial Day weekend here was not a good one for several reasons. I hope everyone else had an enjoyable weekend.

*Postage stamps went up too? Good golly. (I know, not like yesterday but quite recently)

*Emilee is done for school for the year. She's thrilled. Frankly, so am I.

*Jacob is about to turn 11. Momma's not so thrilled.

*Jacob walked in during a documentary on polyigamy. He asked what it all meant and I spent the time to answer his questions as honestly and frankly as I could. He said he didn't want to live that way. Whew! Good thing there, Son. Thanks!

*Katelyn has been dealing with daily headaches for almost a week now. She's going in for an eye exam next week. Pray she doesn't suffer from migraines like I do.

*Austin is "color deficient" or color blind. We found this out at his eye appointment a week ago or so. It does cause some issues for his future.

*If you could, please pray for my health as well. The last two days, I've been dealing with a dizziness that I can't explain. It started Monday and was worse today. It was to the point this evening that I was afraid of driving. Pray it goes away quickly.

Ack! I hear Jonathon stirring. I'll hopefully post photos in a day or so....

Beautiful yet sore

The past week and a half, we've been busily working outdoors in our flower beds, creating new flower beds, creating our circle driveway, and doing lots and lots of rock lifting, hauling, and rearranging. Both of our bodies are feeling just how old we *really* are. Things are coming together quite nicely. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, we will have the front yard completed this week.

We haven't done much of anything else besides the yard work. I've been spending most of the day into the evening outside. It's starting to all come together. That's when you know that each smashed finger, each sore muscle and each aching back is worth it. Or at least, that's what I'm telling myself. *smile*

We're just about to head out again to continue but I wanted to update you first. I'll try to get some photos up today of our progress thus far. We've decided to skip any rock lifting today and focus on a few other areas. My back is thankful for that wise decision.

I'll check in tonight.