A faithful worker

Our movers have been here for the last two days, today they are loading up all of our stuff onto the truck. The kids have been great and even helping the movers a bit. Mostly they have been enjoying some play time though.

Mr. R has been a VERY faithful worker through the whole three days. Each and every one the the movers have commented on what a great help he has been to them. He is truly a faithful worker and we are so happy to see him blessing these men so!

Mr. K has been a great baby through these days too. He has spent much of his time sleeping in his car seat. He has been the perfect baby through these busy days allowing me to focus on the little girls that are a bit confused with all that is going on.

Cousin A stops in for a quick visit!

My cousin A is on a road trip and was able to stop in for a very quick visit! I think she just wanted to be able to go home and have bragging rights, she got to see the new baby!

Thanks for stopping by, it was great to see you!

off to the Ranch!

When its time for the movers to come we always clear out of the house the day before. It just works out better for us to have everything we need to take on our trip out of the house, so we go stay in a hotel. It is usually a fun time for all of us. A hotel stay of about two weeks with seven kids including a newborn was not sounding that fun this time though.

Ah, but we have some wonderful friends who happen to live on a ranch. That ranch used to be a working ranch. It has extra houses for the ranch hands that used to be needed there. One of the houses is furnished. It's for missionaries and friends in need of a place to stay. It has a large fenced in yard for kids to play an explore in. Yea, we get to stay in that house!

It's a bit hard to see, but the house is on top of the hill. The area fenced in by the white fence is "our" yard.

I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks of very minimal house work. The big kids are excited about getting to play in the big yard and are hoping to be able to help out with chores around the ranch (horses, chickens etc.). We are all looking forward to some extra fellowship with these dear friends before we head out of town!

lots of good-byes

This past week and the coming weeks are full of good-byes. We're saying good-bye to places that have become home for the last three years. We are even saying good-bye to a season in our lives as a family. Rob has had more flexibility in his schedule than he ever has before, and will likely ever have again.

*There were tears and lots of hugs as we said good-bye to this sweet, dear family. We only managed to get pictures of all of our kids together though. Next time we are together we will have to get the parents too!

More importantly we've been saying good-bye to many friends that are truly dear to us. This is the hardest part of moving so often. Each time we move we leave dear friends behind. However, this is also one of the most exciting parts of military life. God allows us to meet so many wonderful people and many of those dear friends have had a huge impact on our lives in different ways. We spend holidays with them, we share new experiences with them, we learn from them, we share each others joys and pains. In this way we get just the smallest taste of how big and amazing the body of Christ is! In this way we are truly blessed, and we are looking forward to meeting the people that God has planned for us to meet at this next assignment. We've also seen how God allows our paths to cross with these dear loved ones and look forward to seeing how he will do that again!

Packing up

Our movers are coming starting tomorrow. We are so blessed not to have to pack up all of our stuff. However, we still have plenty to do. I'm packing up thinking that we will not have access to our household goods (stuff movers packed up) for about a month (most likely not that long, but its best to plan ahead). So I still have plenty to get into our van and trailer for our family of 9.

We've packed our trailer with things that we want to get moved, but movers will not take (propaine tanks for BBQ, some liquids etc). We've also packed things that we know we will want right away on the other end. We've found that shelving seems to be one of the last things off of the moving truck, and by the time they are off the truck the wall that we want to put the shelves on is filled with boxes (boxes that could have been emptied onto the shelves). So we bring some of our shelving with us to help the process along.

Some other things we are bringing along to make the first days in a new place go smoothly-

Sleeping bags- so that we can sleep in our house if we want to before our things are delivered.

Bedding for each bed- There is nothing worse than being in a new home and having all of the beds set up but not being able to find the bedding! It is easy to just pack a set for each bed in the trailer so we can all sleep comfortably in our beds.

Towels- Also something you don't want to be digging through boxes for. It also helps to have these incase our things will not be delivered right away but we decide to stay in the house anyways.

A phone- Not as important anymore now that we have cell phones, but still we like to grab one corded phone and bring it with us.

Cooking supplies- I made up a basic list of recipes and the kitchen equipment I would need to make those meals. I'll bring these items with us so that I can cook healthy meals for my family; this will save us money too by not having to go out! Again, this is useful if our things are not delivered right away, but is also helpful to have the basics on hand while we are trying to unpack the rest of the kitchen stuff. Crockpots are helpful during this time since after a long day of unpacking I'm most likely not going to feel like doing much cooking.

Toys- I bring a selection of toys I know my kids enjoy that have been set aside (they have not seen in a while) to play with once we get to the new house. These are all in a bin that will keep things nice and tidy.

Table and chair(s)- We are bringing a couple of folding tables with us. This is something that is easy to put in the trailer and makes eating in our new home easier. We will be bringing a folding chair and one of those baby chairs that hang on the edge of the table too. Keeping Miss C contained while eating will keep her from getting distracted and spreading her mess around our new home.

Little Mommy

Miss C has been playing with her baby dolls even more than usual. It has been so sweet to watch her taking such good care of her babies! This morning she was sure her baby needed to join us for breakfast. She ate her entire meal with one hand while holding her baby!

Like all good mommies, she made sure her baby was fed too.

I love that she wants to be just like her mommy! It reminds me what a big responsibility motherhood is, I must set a good example. Little eyes are always watching!

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Titus 2: 3-5

Oh right, we're moving!

I've been enjoying our quiet days, and this time of rest and recovery. It dawned on me at the end of last week though, that we're moving in about a week! YIKES! Our movers will show up about a week from now to pack us up.

*look at those sweet cheeks! He is getting little rolls on his arms and legs too! Mr. K is already over 10 pounds and almost sleeping through the night!

I'm so glad I planned ahead and accomplished so much in the months leading up to this time. I needed the time of rest, but now there is work to be done. I'll still be taking it easy, since there is not too much left to be done, and most of that can be done by kids with some supervision.

*Hey mom, take MY picture with Mr. K!

I'm so blessed to have older children that are so very helpful. The boys have been so excited to have an excuse to pull out daddy's drill and screwdrivers. They've been taking down valances and other things from the walls and taking things apart too!

*Cleaning off the front porch. His little sisters had left quite a bit of chalk marks that needed to be cleaned up.

All three of the older kids have been checking the running list I have going on the white board to see what jobs they can do. When possible they have been involving the younger kids too.

*Dusting things off of the shelf Mr. R was taking down.

I have to pack up our clothes and go through a few things still, but even those jobs will be done with the aid of the kids.

Rob is slaving away finishing up his dissertation, he should be done just about the time the movers arrive. We will be celebrating the day he turns in the finalized copy! Yippee!