You know that game called Balderdash? It's that game where each person makes up a definition to an obscure word and then you try to guess whose is correct? I always use the definition "a swift moving whirpool" and get lots of points. Not sure why...except that it gets me lots of points. And my dad is my all time favorite person to play this game with. He was a toxicologist and all his definitions were very scientific with words that were 23 letters long. But really...that has absolutely nothing to do with this post. Except that the title is whirlwind...which reminds me of whirpool...which reminds me of Balderdash. Which reminds me why my sister and I always say, "This doesn't relate, but..." And Chris laughs at us. But really--everything does relate. We just do you the favor of not explaining the whole train of thought that got us to the next point. Anyway. Such a long post...why not make it longer? So...this doesn't relate...but:
What a crazy whirlwind. Within a 7 day period at the end of August, we
1. Accepted an offer on our house
2. Found a new house just a few miles away and put an offer on it that was accepted
3. Caleb started kindergarten
4. Chris was offered and accepted a new job
Can you fit anymore life events into a one week period? I guess if we were pregnant or had a baby. Neither of which happened.
Oh my gosh. Moving. Wow. What an adventure.
We worked for months trying to finish projects we had started on our house that was kind of trashed when we bought it. I wish I had pictures of when we bought it. Chris has done SO MUCH! New flooring, light fixtures, crown moulding, chair rail, base boards, scraped and painted ceilings, painted every darn part of that house, installed lighting in the living room where there was previously none, new doors throughout the house, new sinks, new toilets, new bathroom cabinets, new blinds, new deck...you get the idea. You name it, Chris probably did it.
And we had come a long way...but there was much to do to get it ready to sell. Which you could only appreciate if you saw the house when we bought it. So all last summer and fall and winter we were doing projects. I'm exhausted thinking about them. If I never paint a paneled door EVER again...it will be too soon. 13 of those darn doors. Just suffice it to say we worked hard. Really hard. And yet...when we left there was SO MUCH more we wanted to do to make it nice for the next family. Especially since we happen to know and love the family that bought it!
But let's back up a bit and talk about the adventures in showing the house. Oh my. Did you know it is hard to keep your house clean with 2 crazy boys? Actually, they were a huge help. It's just hard to live in a house and show it! It was just simply an adventure. Like the time they called at 5:28 and said there was a showing at 5:30pm right in the middle of a dinner I was making to be delivered to a friend and while the house was full of 500 neighbor kids. As soon as I put the phone down, there was a knock at the door. I'm shooing all 500 of the kids out the door, trying to find shoes for everyone and meanwhile shoving food in the microwave and oven. Then there was that time when I was teaching Joy School at our house and had a last minute showing. Let's just leave it that backyard preschool is adventurous. Let's also think of the number of trips to McDonalds and Sonic during other showings.
Bleh. Oh and then there was the time when we were watching a couple friends at our house and ended up having a "movie theater" in the parked car up the street complete with popcorn and juice during another showing. (Ok...that was kind of fun. But still adventurous). A lot of time spent in the car running here and there wasting time during other showings:
Suffice it to say--9 months worth of adventures. Whew! I am exhausted just thinking of all that cleaning and last minute adventures. :)
Oh, and then there are the fun adventures of closing on our new house. And the time when I flew in on Tuesday night after a cancelled flight only to be greeted Wednesday morning (24 hours before closing--3 days before we said we would be out of our house for the new owners) when they called and told us we couldn't have the house. And then by the end of the day saying...oops. Sorry about that. Yes you can. But the closing day is going to be pushed out. Again. Or how about the time when we showed up to closing and they said...you can sign the paperwork...but the bank still doesn't have all the stuff ready.
And then there is the actual move. Of course we move the weekend of our big church service fair that Chris and I were both heavily involved in. Thursday night we pack the truck. Friday morning we go to sign the paperwork on the house, expecting to have the keys by 10am. But the bank doesn't have everything done. Chris spent the entire day babysitting the guy. Signing more paperwork. More babysitting. Did you sent that to the title company yet? Not yet? Hurry up please. How about now? No? The entire day. Seriously. Then we unenroll Caleb in one school. Find out the person we need to talk to at the new school isn't in for a couple days. Wait for keys. Get stuff ready for the Service Fair the next day. Wait for keys. Clean the old house. Wait for keys. Pack last minute stuff from old house. Wait for keys. Start to worry because the truck has to be back by 6pm for the next person. Wait for keys. More babysitting of crazy bank guy who has messed our stuff up through the ENTIRE process. Wait for keys. 4pm. Title company closes at 5pm. If we don't have our keys, we won't be able to get our keys until Monday. Stuff is still on the truck. Truck still has to be back by 6pm. More phone calls. More waiting. Finally get keys! Yay!! With the help of AwEsOmE friends, bust an entire truck full of stuff into our new garage in 50 minutes. Go to bed late. Drag boys out of bed early to be at the church Saturday morning at 7am to set up for the Service Fair. Have fun. Finish cleaning up at 1:15pm. Be at Caleb's violin recital at 1:30pm. Go back to old house to clean. Ugh. More work than we should have left until then. Lifesaver friends help. Go to IHOP with no shoes on because they somehow got packed up with the last remaining stuff. Do NOT care AT ALL. Boys go to bed late. Chris goes back to knock out our final list at the old house. His cell phone dies and he doesn't have the list we made. Does the best he can. Comes home at 3am. After the time change. Up early for church the next morning. Up to our eyeballs in boxes. Caleb's church clothes that we set aside are suddenly lost. Ok...ok...you get the idea. I'm exhausted just thinking about the whole process. I never want to move again.
It was a whirlwind in every sense of the word. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. And yet...we are learned so much and we are feeling totally and incredibly blessed. We can't believe we are finally in our new house and are totally loving it! Already we have almost forgotten all the headaches. And what a sweet reunion we had with our stuff that was packed up for over a year.
Thank you to all of you that helped make this possible and worked along side us tirelessly to help us move. You know who you are--and we love you dearly.
