Nana comes to help move in...

This was our 9th move in 17 years.  My mom has come to help after nearly every one of those moves.  She comes about 3-4 weeks after we get into our house.  She comes at the point that we are DONE moving but there is still so much to do.  This time things were different.  Even the little kids were saying things like "Nana's not gonna have any work to do when she gets here!"

We relaxed in the back yard....

and played with squirt guns.

We played some games.

Oh, and I did manage to come up with some work for her.  Some fabric showed up early so she hemmed up a couple of valances for me. :)

Thanks for coming to visit Nana!

A quick house tour

I know many of you want to see the inside of the house, but are too far away to just drop in...I'm thinking of many of you as I type and hope you will make it here some time soon.  We're still moving in, but its coming together....

Yes, we tilled up the front yard.  I had plants to transfer from the last house so we started the process of making this into an herb/flower garden.

As you walk up to the house you may find some little ones playing on the front porch.  I love this spot, and they do too!

The house has a Great Room style floor plan, you walk right into the main room and see the great view.

The girls' room.

The Powder Room is right here....incase you need it after your long drive through the country. ;)

I love having the kitchen in our main living area, it allows for better fellowship while preparing meals or cleaning up.

The master bedroom is right next to the dining room.

The stairs are hidden behind the kitchen, they lead to the BIG area that we're using as a family room/school room.

The boys' room is here too.

If you're desperate you could use their bathroom, but I wouldn't recommend it. Boys....

Just past it you'll find what we're calling "the extra room"  It has no purpose, as of yet, but if you are coming to visit as part of a large party it'll be made up as a second guest room.

On the other side of the Family room is the Guest Suite.  It has a private bath and a walk-in closet You know, incase you're staying for a LONG time, or (more likely) brought a large crew with you.

There's the quick not-quite-moved-in tour.  We're still hanging pictures, shelves, hooks etc but it's been feeling like home since our first week here. 

Our new house...a gift from God.

When we moved back to Colorado we moved back into the house we purchased last time we lived here (we rented it out while we were gone).  It was the house we had purchased when we had four kids, and we were done having kids.  Ha! Ha!  Yea, 9 years and 4 MORE kids later it was a bit small.  We were praying, saving and waiting.  We really thought we would be waiting 3 more years in this house.  3 more years active duty Air Force.  3 more years to save so that we could afford the house we were wanting.  3 more years to pray for God's direction.  3 more years being content in the "too small house."

The old house

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

By December we had gotten back in contact with our realtors.  We were interested in purchasing an investment property, but were not opposed to looking at houses for our family as well.  We looked at several houses, some in each category.  None were right, but the "family" houses we looked at really helped us figure out what we were and were NOT looking for when the time came to buy our "20 year house."   God was working in our hearts in so many ways through so many people and circumstances.   

Then I saw this house on zillow.  It looked great, but I didn't think the land was what Rob wanted.  A few days later he sent me a link to this house.  What did I think?  We looked at the pictures and talked.  There were a couple other homes that interested us as well.  We couldn't look at any of them for another week though.  Science Olympiad was happening in the next week.

We made plans to look at 4 houses.  3 one day and 1 the next.  The first house was nice, but both the house and land were NOT "ours."  We headed on over to that big blue house.  There was trouble getting the key out of the lock box.  We all went to look around the land while our realtors (whom we've known for 9 years) worked on that.  By the time I got back to the door they had already been in and came out saying "this is your house!"  Rob was nowhere in sight.  He was still looking around at the land....

I silently looked through the house.  It puzzled me.  WHO builds a house like this?  It looked like they only had 2 children, but the house was made for a LARGE family.  _I_ would have built this house.....but, what did Rob think?  I kept quiet knowing that he had to know I loved the house.  Sure enough he started asking about making offers etc.

Just to be sure we went on to the next house.  The land was nice, but the house was NOT for us and much farther out than we wanted to live.  The next day we had plans to look at 1 more house.  Most of the kids opted to stay home, they knew it wasn't ours. ;)  We were just going to make sure there were no "what ifs" in the back of our minds.

Those questions I had about WHO would build a house like this?  Yea, a family that adopted 11 children builds a house like this!  They lived here 20 years.  Those 2 littles still in the home?  The grandchildren. :)  This house was built for us long before we knew to start praying for it.  God is good!  There are so many big and small prayers that were answered through this house.  Prayers that were spoken and shared, silent prayers and even those that were just hidden away in my heart.  Some answered in the loud "THIS IS YOUR HOUSE" way, and others in the whispered "I care about even this" sort of way.

We MAY have been at the house for a whole 15 minutes before Mr. M got the lawn mower going.

When we got into the house even the "baby" Miss A seemed to know it was "home" even without any of our stuff in it.  We've been enjoying the space and great floor plan as we've been moving in this past month.

For those that are wondering... We can't know what God has planned in the future, but unless He says otherwise we do intend to settle here.  

Moving!

We've been busy packing up, moving out, moving in, and settling in.  I'll post more about the house and how we ended up moving but for now here are some pictures of what we've been up to....

I had lots of helpers packing up at the old house.

This guy was a HUGE help, and loved every minute of it.

By the last day he had injured his finger...playing basket ball.  No, this was not all "all work and no play" sort of move. :)

No, it wasn't that bad.  We just decided to give that finger some extra protection knowing he was not likely to want to slow down.  It's fine now. 

Taking a break in the afternoon.  The freezer was loaded with frozen treats in hopes of good moving weather.

Of course the cat decided to have her kittens on our big moving day.  Under the dining room table. 

Everyone pulled together to finish up ahead of schedule at the old house.  We've got some great workers!  We were also greatly blessed by friends showing up to help in big ways and small ways.

EVERYBODY helps!

A visit from Nana

My mom came for a visit.  She always does a few weeks after we move to help finish the unpacking.  I'm so blessed.  She generally shows up when we're tired of the move in process, but have a bunch of details yet to take care of.  This time she handled finding homes (on our shelves) for most of our books...no easy task.

We managed to have a bit of fun while she was here.  She took us all to see the new Planes movie and then we took her out for dinner at Red Robbin.

Since she came just days after my birthday, right before her own, and a month before Miss E's we all went out for a special girls night.  Since Miss J is a big fan of baked brie (the desired snack for the evening) she tagged along too.  We enjoyed our snack and some fun desserts as well.

Thanks for visiting Mom, and thanks for all of the help!

Happy Birthday to me!

This year my birthday took many swings.  I had a planned a fun day for the kids (I love to just enjoy my kids on my birthdays, the best way to do that is to plan a fun activity for them that I will also enjoy).  The busted tooth changed the plans.

Since the kitchen/house was still in disarray from the move I took the kids out for breakfast.  The kind woman at the next table was admiring the kids as we came in.  She heard me say something about "birthday" when we did the picture.  As she left she once again complimented the kids and paid for our breakfast!  What a blessings and encouragement that was to me.

We needed to run some errands; so we had some fun while we were at it.  At least we tried.  Everyone was tired and grumpy.  The move process is not easy on anyone and it turns out that some of us were coming down with colds too.  The mall playground ended up being a bust as well, I think we lasted 5 minutes.

We got some lunch and headed over to see the dentist.  Then on home for naps.  I was wiped out.

Rob had planned to take me out for dinner.  Dinner out with only one child and a glass of bubbly was exactly what I needed.  Ruby earrings didn't hurt any.  I felt much better by the time we got home.

never a dull moment

We've been in and out of the eye doctor for over a week now.  Then on to costco for lunch and to pick out glasses.  We still have two more kids to go.

I thought I'd take a breath, work on the house a bit for a week and then start hunting around for a new dentist.  No such luck.  Mr. M's tooth got chipped tonight.  Dentist must be found, and seen, NOW.  I'm thankful to God for reconnecting us with an orthodontist at church (we knew the family last time we were stationed here).  HE knew we would need the numbers we exchanged yesterday.  A phone call tonight got us the name of a family dentist that specializes in these repairs and (most likely) even accepts our insurance!  God is good!

Taking time for fun

We've been hard at work unpacking and settling into the house, but we're not forgetting to have fun too!

I'd love to stay and chat but I mustache

BassPro is having some special fun family days.  Rob took a bunch of kids to play (and a friend met him there too), while littles stayed home for much needed naps.

Much fun was had in the back yard, or so it seems.  I missed that.  Likely, a good thing. ;)

Kids are enjoying their Legos too.

biting, scratching baby

*I'm writing this post because this is our family journal.  I'm not complaining about her or mad.  This has become a bit of a joke in the family.  This is how sweet Miss A is dealing with the transition of our move....

Miss A scratches me.  She does it in a kneading fashion, like a cat, while nursing.  It is a comfort thing.  It does not feel good though (yes, I keep her nails trimmed).  At some point early on in our move I realized that I had tiny little scabs all over that one place (she only does this on one of my arms).  About when we arrived in Colorado (likely the highest stress part for her) she started drawing blood.  I can tell she is doing a bit better now.  My arm is healing nicely.

She also bites.  Mostly just me.  Mostly just my arm/shoulder.  She has a big brother that used to make a habit of this same behavior.  She leaves marks and bruises.  It also seems to be comfort related, but also teething.  Sometimes she thinks about biting a certain big brother. He must stink, because she only gets within a few inches before backing off.

Furniture shopping

My glider that I had had for about 14 years died right before we moved.  We were also running low on seating space in the living room.  A new rocker/recliner as well as a sectional were on our list of purchases to be made in the near future.  Driving by the LaZ Boy store we noticed they were having a sale, so we thought we would check it out.  We were not expecting to have a bunch of fun though.  I should have known that furniture shopping with 8 kids would be an adventure.

The little kids discovered the power recliners in the back of the store right away.  Even Mr. K was making himself comfortable.  They all had opinions on which one they wanted.  I knew what I wanted though, a leather (not too squishy) rocker/recliner.  I found a great one.  Comfy, and the look I wanted.

This is the one I wanted.

Miss C found the chair that not only massages, but also helps a person stand up from the chair.  She could be heard hollering "This is crazy awesome!" through the store.  Thankfully we were the only customers in the store that night. ;)

Miss C kept asking me to come sit in the "cuddle chair."  I didn't like the looks of that one so much, but who can resist their child asking for some cuddles?  I sat.  We cuddled.  She left.  Miss A needed to eat.  Miss A and I both fell asleep in the chair. :/ It was pretty obvious I'd be giving up the "look" I wanted for a lot of extra comfort (and cuddling).  I picked a fabric I liked, making the chair style work a bit better for me. Sorry, no picture of that chair.

Mr. M was trying to talk me into the camo chair.  Sorry bud, I love you....but not that much. ;)

The purchases are made.  Now we wait....6-8 weeks!  I'm thankful for an awesome hubby and a great sales guy.  They figured out a way to get a loaner rocker/recliner into the house for me.  This is a huge blessing with a baby that is having a hard time adjusting to her new home.

After delivery of HHG

Our HouseHold Goods (HHG) were delivered on Monday.  I had the movers unpack most of our boxes for me.  That sounds great doesn't it?  You are thinking that my house was nearly all moved into by the time my movers left, aren't you?  Think again.  The movers just empty boxes.  They do not organize and arrange.  My house looked like it belonged on an episode of hoarders that day (and the next, which is why we did NOT sleep there right away).

Miss E worked wonders in the girls' room and it was nearly set by Tuesday evening.  I'll just need to get in there to help them hand pictures and perfect it a bit.  Thanks Miss E!

We had a bunch of errands to run as well, once we got all of our stuff into the house and knew exactly what we needed.

Stay tuned for a post on one of our favorite errands....

Before delivery of HHG

We arrived in Colorado on a Wednesday night knowing our HouseHold Goods (HHG) would not be arriving until Monday.  Since the house was freshly painted and Rob and Mr. M had already been up to do some projects we didn't have too much to do.  We did drop off all of the food I had brought with us.

We had some time to just hang out in the trailer and around the camp ground.  It was nice to be able to relax a bit.

Our last tenants had left these great shelves behind.  They looked wonderful, but we already had a great shelving/storage system on its way.  Rob decided to turn them in to quadruple bunks (more pictures in another post).  He managed to complete this project in just a few hours!

We even had time to go see a movie (at the $1 theater on a stormy Sunday afternoon).

Before our HHG arrived on Monday I gave all of the kids some gifts to keep them occupied.  Legos/Duplos for everyone!  Nana had sent The Lego Movie which had arrived at the house the day we did.  Everything is Awesome! ;)