Not moving... just weird...

I know I mentioned it in the New House - WHAT??? post, but it really is strange trying to set up house based on the assumption that I'm not going to be moving in the next 12-24 months.

Example: I have four under-the-bed boxes that always get stored under my bed.
Box #1: Stationary, construction papers, markers, home-office-in-a-box.
Box #2: Picture albums, photo collections, scrapbooks, collage supplies.
Box #3: Favorite knick-knacks for decorating in general or for a specific holiday.
Box #4: Electronics, batteries, wires, toolbox, plug adapters, hardware.

They've lived in those same boxes since circa July 2005.  Each move, I haul them out from under my bed, stack them in the moving vehicle, and unload them under my bed in the new place. Worked great.

And it still works great.  Day 4 after move-in.  Boxes unpacked: 0.  Mr. A needed new AA batteries for his trimmer.  I pulled out the right box and located batteries in about 90 seconds.

Only problem.  Mr. A. doesn't know those boxes like I do.  Perhaps those things should have an actual home in our new house where everyone knows where to find them?  I've thought about creating a "battery box" on a certain shelf where all the batteries would be kept.  The only thing keeping me from doing it is the now-outdated "but-what-if-we-move-in-a-year-and-I-have-to-repack-everything" fear.

Crazy. I know.  So is the idea of living out of something besides a suitcase!

Moving Day!

It was moving day!  I could go on and on about the wonderful people who have helped us get to this point.  Melissa, Joni, Virginia, Josh, and Cecilia who helped me scrub the house.  Mom and Dad Gates and L who have spent hours on cleaning, fix-it projects, and packing.  Church family who has helped track down help and unloaded our boxes. And other friends (more than I can list) who let us borrow their hand trucks, use their paint sprayers, and organize our kitchen.  Friends who let us call them at 9:45 at night to move a 600lb piano, fix our pipes, or share an air compressor.  We are so blessed!

More stories than I can tell and more credit than I can give.  But I'm exhausted, so a few pictures will have to suffice...

Tuesday Night.  10:00pm.  10 degrees outside.  Snow on the ground. Mr. Amazing.  A wonderful dad.  Two incredible friends.  Unloading a 600 lb piano.  Wow.

 Sunday afternoon.  Signs up for the moving party.

The start of furniture in the baby room.

Lots of boxes to unpack!  (And couch cushions that Josiah and Benjamin thought it was fun to jump on!)

Moving friends.  (Minus Bob and Patti and Dave R. who had to leave early.)  Love the diversity of the group.  One friend from GFA.  One friend from Sterling.  One friend from Taylor. One friend from Atlanta. Two friends from our local life group.  All live in our area now.  And family! :)

To the bump addicts: too bad I left my jacket on... ;-)  But yes, that is my bump, not just jacket pooch.

New House Photo

And a quick picture of the new house...

Except it's not for sale any more... :)

New House - WHAT?????

Wow - I've had so much to blog recently and so little time.  Between returning from a road trip, buying a house, packing, cleaning, moving, LightSys work, Spring Break Code-a-Thon prep, and ICCM prep, we've been just a bit busy.

Moving day is officially Sunday, but tonight is the first night to sleep in our new house.  Mother had packed up and moved so many kitchen things today that I said, "Let's just stay here tonight."  So we are. :)  Sleeping bags, sleeping mats, and a make-shift bedroom window curtain.

So, yes!  Mr. A and I are officially homeowners!  Can I tell you how strange that feels?  Me, the girl who has lived at 13 different addresses in the last 10 years, is now in a house that (Lord willing) I'm going to be in for the foreseeable future.  I have a dining room table (actually, the one I grew up with).  I have recliners in my living room.  We're choosing paint colors for the walls!

I've been slowly realizing just how many of my house-habits are based on moving every year.  I buy a certain kind of shelf liner for the kitchen because it's easier to roll up and take to the next house.  I don't cut the shelf liner to a custom size unless I have to because it might fit differently in the next kitchen.  I pack everything in carefully labeled boxes and then store those exact boxes after unpacking so I know how to pack things for the next house.  I have plastic totes specifically for packing my kitchen dishes so they don't get broken in the moves between houses.

I keep saying, "No, Mother, do it this way because..."   "Never mind.  That's fine. We can do it that way.  I'm not moving in a year."


My sister-in-law-to-be Sarah snapped photos at our family Christmas in Kansas in December.  Here's a photo of Mr. Amazing, myself, and Mr. Wiggly. :)  Enjoy!

House update!

In this post, I shared that we're in the process of signing a contract on a house offer and asked for prayer for logistics.  We had signed the offer and overnighted it to the property manager in another state.  We were hoping to have it back yesterday/today.  When we hadn't seen it, our realtor emailed the property manager asking for an update.  He got a "out of office" auto-reply in response.  Apparently the property manager was out of the office this last week.  *sigh*

PLEASE continue to pray for God to work out the house details and the timing for our upcoming Christmas/ministry trip.  My siblings start arriving in Kansas on Thursday and I'd really like to see them!  THANK YOU!

The downstairs "Guest Suite" that is just waiting to house our visitors. :)