Moving to Campers, Part 1

It dawned on me this morning that I have about 15 days to sort and pack our belongings to move to the campers. The reason I only have 15 days is because one weekend in December we will have our 4 nieces staying with us and then there is a Thursday-Saturday that we will be having a moving sale. We have to be out by the 26th of December (nice planning on my part, right?) but we want to be moved out by December 20th and then take a few days to clean the house.

So...I sat down and thought this through this afternoon and made a packing schedule. Basically, my goal is to pack one room per day. Each of the kids gets one box to pack their stuff in to take to the camper. Clothes, toothbrush, toys, all of their necessities and then whatever else will fit in the box that they want to take. The boxes are not very big. They are 10 in x 12 in x 15 in and they have lids. The Hubster and I get 2 boxes (or how ever many we need). I am packing Baby's stuff in my boxes.

Today I am supposed to have the Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom packed. It doesn't look like that is going to happen unless I make a pot of coffee and stay up really late. I have managed to pack all of my clothes and Baby's clothes. I have packed Baby Girl's clothes for storage but I haven't packed her clothes to take to the camper.

It has been taking me quite a while to pack because I am sorting as I go. I am sorting things into 3 categories: Camper, Storage (we will be storing all of the extra stuff in our barn), and Garage Sale. It is really fun to watch about 50% of our stuff go into the black Garage Sale trash bags. It feels great to get rid of stuff that we no longer need or use! Everything that doesn't sell at the garage sale will be donated to charity. That way I won't be hanging onto it and it will bless someone else.

The kids are all pretty excited about packing their box. It is cute to watch them pick out which toys are special enough to go into their box. I had better go so I can get some packing done. I just got Baby to sleep so I have a couple of hours before he needs me again.

Good night.

My cell phone has been misplaced. This happens often, if you can even imagine that. Who me, be disorganized and lose stuff...all...the...time?

So my cell phone is my alarm clock. No cell phone=no alarm clock=waking up late.

I woke up late with a sore throat. I felt so tired I was about to cry. Some of that may have just been the fact that I am extremely emotional these days. So anyway, I asked dh if he could get the kids ready and take them to school while I went back to bed. Of course he said yes because he is a darling hubby (and also because he got home from work last night at 10 pm so he could go in a bit late today).

I went back to bed and the next thing I knew light was flooding into my room and it was 8:00. I haven't slept until 8 in a long time. I feel much better. I got up and drank some hot choffee (1/2 hot chocolate, 1/2 coffee) and my throat feels better now. I am still in my jammies and have not done anything else, but I feel optimistic and hopeful this morning.

Did I mention that we are moving in 3 weeks and I will not have a computer until February??
Yes. No computer until February.

Here's the deal:
We are building a house and it should be ready to move into by February. BUT, I am tired of paying rent and utilities here and I am also tired of the neighborhood children who are bad influences on my children and are acting inappropriately. So our solution is to move out to our land and live in my dad's and my father-in-law's campers. 2 campers. 9 people.

I first thought of this because I discovered some inappropriate things going on between my 13 year old daughter and a neighborhood boy. Not THAT bad, but boyfriend/girlfriend stuff that I don't' approve of. Then I discovered there is some boyfriend/girlfriend stuff going on between my 9 year old son and a girl in the neighborhood. The neighborhood kids I am talking about happen to be brother and sister and come from a very dysfunctional home. I feel sorry for them. I want to be a good example to them and show them what a loving Christian family looks like. I want them to have good role models and be blessed by my family. But what is happening is that my kids are following their example instead of the neighborhood kids following our example. Does that make sense?

Momma will go to great lengths to protect her babies from negative influences, so we are moving. Before you think I am crazy, just remember that we are going to move anyway, I am just getting us out of here a bit sooner. Dh thinks it was his idea. He loves it.

We are busily working out the details and trying to pack our belongings. I need to be working on that right now, but here I am typing this post.

I have a huge list of things to do today and I want to share them with you. It makes me happy to share my lists with you.

Morning Routine
Bible and Prayer ( didn't wake up and do this today)
Wash hands
Contacts in
Brush teeth
Shower
Get dressed
Fix hair and face
Breakfast and vitamins
Help kids get ready for school (dh did this one)
Take kids to school (this one too)
Clean up bathroom
Gather up all dirty laundry and take to kitchen
Sort it
Start it
Unload then load dishwasher
Make bed
"A" items on To Do list

Daily Chores
feed pets
clean kitchen countertops
sweep kitchen floor
clean kitchen sinks
Sweep porch/entryway
Read to kids
4 loads by 4 (laundry)

To Do List
order vitamins
call someone to do septic system
call someone to do sheetrock
sort, weed, pack stuff
work on craft project w/kids
get nieces' addresses
call Lowe's to get bid on insulation
put cash into envelopes

There you have it. That is what my day looks like. I am going to get started now.
: )

Baby Girl'sNew Accent

There= Thay-er
Chair= Chay-er
And=Ay-nd
Where=Whey-er

Today I am helping my hubby with a few things. I am going to Lowe's to pay for the shower for the girls' bathroom (new house). Then I am working on our budget, paying bills, etc. I am going to get the clean laundry folded and put away then work on packing. I consider all of these things to be helping him. He has been running the house since last Monday and it is time for me to get back to my job.

It is incredible how you can be going along, taking care of your family, living your life, and then WHAM out of nowhere something hits you and throws your life into crisis mode. That is what happened last week when I got the call that Megan had died. She took her own life. Laundry and dishes and cooking and cleaning up all of the sudden didn't matter to me.

Dh has been taking care of dinner each night so we have been eating macaroni and cheese with lil' smokeys, nachos, and waffles. : ) He is such a sweetheart and the kids love it when he takes over the cooking and grocery shopping. We have several kinds of sugary cereal and we also have strawberry syrup in the fridge for making strawberry milk. There is probably ice cream in the freezer but I haven't looked. These are all things that I don't normally buy, so the kids think it's great!

The laundry is clean and piled high on the couch. I just need to take the time to fold it and put it all away. For some reason, that is my least favorite thing to do. It is ranked down there with mopping floors.

Do you like my new signature? Annie must have changed it for me. Thanks, Annie!

I can't seem to focus on anything this morning. I keep coming over to my computer to look at Megan's face. I can't hear her voice but at least I can look at her face.

My house is a pile of filth and squalor.

What does squalor mean anyway?
Let me look it up...
Okay, this is the definition as given by www.dictionary.com:
squalor- n. A filthy and wretched condition or quality.

Yes, that describes my house right now. It is beyond horrid. Every surface is dirty. The kitchen floor looks like we all ate ice cream and dripped it on the floor. There are dishes piled up begging to be washed. My van is stuffed full of suitcases needing to be taken out and unpacked. I need to make a menu and a list and go to the grocery store. But instead I keep coming over here to the computer.

I have managed to make some coffee, put on Christmas music, dig all of the dirty laundry out of the hampers and hiding spots, sort the laundry into huge piles on the kitchen floor, and start a load. I also managed to take my children to school this morning, the ones who are well anyway. I have 2 children in bed today with sore throats and coughing. Ugh.

I am going to have to give myself a break and take it easy. My heart is broken. My mind is numb. Any little thing I get done is going to have to be enough.

The baby is awake now and crying in his bed. Gotta go.

Megan

Our niece Megan left this life on November 19, 2007. She was a sweet, kind, loving, vibrant young lady. We loved her so very much. She will be loved and missed every day until we see her again.

Please pray for my family

We have had a tragic death in our family. Please pray for all of us, especially my sister Christina and my brother-in-law, Sean, and their 5 living children.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.

Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

Beauty in the Common Things: dreams
Listen In: PS2 NFL game
Supper Plans: leftovers
Today I took care of kids, went out to land to visit with in-laws and hubby as they worked on electrical wiring in new house, and had a great idea that I will share with you soon!

View From the Kitchen Window: trees, an overcast sky

Decorating the New House

I have been browsing websites this afternoon looking for decorating ideas.

This is what I have found so far:

Scriptures stenciled on walls and cabinets around the house:

I especially like this idea. I stenciled Philippians 4:13 on my living room wall in Mission, but I like the idea of going all the way around the room. I have started a list of scriptures that I want on my walls and cabinets. I will have to post that later because I don't want to look for it. : )

Family Tree wall:

Isn't this a neat idea?

I want to have a wall where I hang black and white pictures of the kids. I will probably have the family tree wall and the kids' wall in the formal living room. Then along the stairs I will hang their school pictures and our family pictures.

Artwork:

This blog has beautiful artwork. I love this style of art and I love the paintings of mothers and children, fathers and children, flowers, etc.

These are also very cute. Maybe I could put these on the upstairs hallway wall.

Donna Green is an artist I like a lot. Her Velveteen Rabbit series is wonderful! The painting below is hers.

Candles:

Right now I just have candles in teacups in 2 spots. I want pretty candle holders and lots of yummy scented candles, like Yankee candles or Triple Scent candles.

Feminine and romantic:

With 5 boys at home, I had given up on having a romantic, pretty home. But, I think I am going to give it a try. Obviously, only certain rooms will have that pretty feel to them. I think the formal living room, my bedroom and bathroom, and the guest powder room are a few places I can decorate this way. The babies’ bedroom is another room I can make pretty. Yes, the baby is a boy, but the room can still be masculine and pretty. Hmmm…that sounds like a contradiction, but hopefully you know what I mean. The toddler is a girl so her part of the room can be feminine.

A magazine I love is Romantic Homes. Southern Living has a lot of romantic decorating also.

The rest of the house will be practical and simple, I hope. I have LOTS of stuff to get rid of before anything can be simple. Right now we just have so much stuff. But I may find that once I have some storage space, we don't have as much junk as I thought.

Kitchen:

My kitchen is going to be bright and airy. I have a huge window overlooking the backyard. My appliances will be stainless steel and the cabinets will be antiqued white. I had planned o base my color scheme on a painting that I love called The Mission Bell Tower. It is a painting of the bell tower down the road from our home in Mission. It is really beautiful. The colors are dark yellow, dark green, and a lighter shade of green, with sky blue.

I am going to frame some of the kids' artwork and hang it in the kitchen.

One more thing:

ha ha!!

This is the most encouraging, elegant, beautiful blog I have ever seen!! I am obsessed with it at the moment. I love the artwork. It is really beautiful.
And this lady has 8 children!!!!

Baby Girl's Tooth Injury

Yesterday evening Baby Girl and DS5 were chasing each other through the house. Baby Girl tripped, falling into a table leg. She cut her lip, hit her nose, which made it bleed, and worst of all, she hit one of her front teeth, almost knocking it out. It is kind of hanging there, wanting to come out.
I called the ambulance, because there was all this blood and it scared me! They came, complete with sirens blaring, and checked her out. They said the tooth needs to come out and told me to call her pediatric dentist, which we don't have. They were extremely nice and I was very blessed by their presence. They have such a difficult job.
We talked with a pediatric dentist last night and he said that 99% of the time the tooth will go back to it's position. The tooth will be dead, but it will go back to it's spot. This morning her tooth looks like it is starting to go back to it's position. Isn't that strange?
She is still in pain and she is very cautious about taking a drink or a bite of anything, but she is doing much much better this morning. She slept all night, which was an answer to prayer.
I may post a picture later today. She looks so much better this morning. The swelling is down and I managed to get the blood all cleaned of of her mouth. She wasn't too happy about that!
Right now she is bossing Chunky Monkey around. Sounds like Baby Girl is back to normal!

Take a look at this beautiful, simple Fall centerpiece. I love it!
What do you think? Doesn't it look quick and easy, but really pretty? Check out the cute high chair cover in her dining room (bottom picture). So cute!!

Beauty in the Common Things: spending time in God's Word in the wee hours of the morning
Listen In: Chunky Monkey "talking" in his sleep
Supper Plans: Texas One Dish, baked sweet potatoes, salad
Today I Plan To: tackle the mountain of clean laundry that has made it's home on my couch
View From the Kitchen Window: dark