Packin' up and Movin' out

This is our last "normal" weekend in our house.  Next weekend we will be here but we will be moving.... so I don't count that as a "normal" weekend.  Its hard to believe we are down to the final days here in our house! At this present moment, we have no where to go.  We are going to look at a rental Monday   Derek's called on several other rentals and never got responses back on them.  So we are really praying this one on Monday works out!!! We had to call off our house hunting for the rest of last week and until after we get moved and settled because it was beginning to be overwhelming trying to pack, search for rentals and go look at houses to buy every evening after work, and still carry on with the rest of our normal everyday lives.  Really the only thing left for us to look at is 1 house on the market and one that's for sale by owner and another that's possibly for sale that we saw on craigslist last month.... not sure if that one is still available though.

Our house is a disaster, and that alone is overwhelming to me. Boxes are everywhere, stuff is all over the kitchen counter top.  The disarray is maddening to me and that alone is enough to stress me out!

Emotionally, i'm having a hard time letting go. Maybe if we had a new house to go to to call home it wouldn't be so hard, but the thought of leaving our first house is hard.  We've had so many good memories here.  Slowly making the house into a home, bit by bit, as our budget would allow.  And that included putting nice window coverings on the the windows, painting the whole interior of the house, changing out the fixtures, replacing the kitchen sink and the dishwasher, water heater, heat pump, etc. And then of course the yard.  Derek has put many sweat hours into the yard for me, and all the times i've moved bushes around after deciding after a year that I didn't like them in the spot i'd planted them.

And then of course, the memories of my babies in the house.  Each step of my pregnancies in the house.  Bringing them home to this house, and having the cats approach them like they were aliens. Rocking Jadon in the glider in his room in the middle of every night for 30 minutes, then putting him down sound asleep, only to have him wake up the second I step away from the crib as if he were never asleep. Walking and bouncing and bounce-walking up and down the hall and the bedrooms trying to get them to settle down or to sleep. Many nights sleeping on the bedroom floors of sick or scared kids. Washing pencil and dry erase markers off the walls and doors. Proudly hanging the children's artwork as masterpieces on the stairway.  Teaching the kids their boundaries outside the house (they can go anywhere in our yard, but must not go into the neighbors yards, thats out of bounds, and must stay on sidewalk), having them obey those boundaries, seeing neighbor kids who have NO boundaries and run out in the street , and having a neighbor lady compliment us about how well our kids seem to know where they can and cant go outside the house.  Jadon learning to ride his bike without training wheels. 

So many good memories in this house.  I keep telling myself a quote that I saw on pinterest a while back "Don't cry because its over; smile because it happened."  This is a new chapter in our lives.

I just hate change.

So how are the kids doing in all this?  Well, Avery seems totally oblivious.  And Jadon, I've been worried with his past issues this year, but he seems to be doing just fine.  We've been trying to include him in everything. Explaining everything to him.  He's been asking lots of questions about what kind of things are going to go with us when we move (our beds, toys, couches, etc).  I explained to him that he will not get to ride the bus anymore when we move since we'll be out of school boundary most likely while we are in a rental.  He's sad about that, but once we find a house to buy he knows its possible he might get to ride the bus again. Overall, he does not seem fazed either.  I tell the kids, "we've only got 2 more weeks left in the house (for example) how does that make you feel?" and usually he says "A little sad. I love this house." However, he LOVES going to look at other houses with us. He usually likes them all. ;)

So I know this is a long post, but its been awhile, and it will probably be the last one before we move.  Jadon's doing AMAZING in school!  He loves it!  He's told us several times how much he loves his school. He's really growing up.  Its amazing how far he's come in 6 months since before we started his counseling   Its hard to believe its the same kid. He's back to his old self, and even less worrisome than he was before. However, a few weeks ago at school, his little friend (one that he went to preschool with also that is in his kindergarten class too) was not feeling well at school.  Jadon said his friend didn't have a sore throat or stomach ache, and had been to see the school nurse, who had sent him back to class.  Obviously I think if he had been truly ill, the nurse wouldn't have sent him back to the class. Jadon was very worried about him. It doesn't really show much though until nighttime when Jadon's laying in bed trying to go to sleep.....when he's alone with his thoughts. So it was after 9pm, and we heard him in his room crying, so we went to see what was wrong, and he said "I'm not sick."      ???
We figured it out that he was just laying there most likely thinking about Jackson and worrying about his friend. We assured him Jackson would be fine, and his mom would take care of him and that everyone gets sick from time to time. That was enough to comfort him because he went to sleep and didn't wake up until morning. Jackson was at school the next day too, so that was good. I had explained to Jadon that maybe Jackson was just having a bad morning that day and was just feeling out of sorts, and that we all have days like that sometimes.

Avery had her birthday last week!  My little baby girl is not so baby anymore!  She's a big 3 year old!  At her 3 year old check up, she was 50% percentile on the nose for weight, but well above the 95% for height! Both my kiddos are going to be tall skinnies.... but is anyone surprised by that?
For halloween, I wanted to make their costumes, but I just could not burden myself with that on top of the house and moving, so I bought their costumes.  Avery's going as Minnie mouse, and Jadon is a SWAT team member. Tomorrow Derek and I are going on a field trip with Jadon's class to the pumpkin patch! We are looking forward to that!  And so is Jadon!

Well i'll end this book now, but the next time you hear from me, we'll most likely be at a different house!