handsful

Taken in “their tree” when we drove down to FL a couple weeks ago.

Sorry for the blog drought, we’ve been a little busy around here.

Tomorrow will be 1 week since moving into our new house…in some ways it’s flown by, and in others it seems like we’ve been unpacking for weeks already. Sometimes I feel like we’re making huge progress in settling in, and then I look around and see boxes and things out of place. And, I inhale…exhale…and realize it’s going to take some time. Clutter has a tendency to “wig me out”, so it’s a challenge!

Re-cap of last weekend, without pictures (taking pics was the last thing on my mind, but I wish I had!). We were up early, with Randy picking up the 26ft truck and me going for doughnuts (hey, we had to eat breakfast, right?). Friends started showing up to help, some we weren’t even expecting. Some of those brought friends. We were silly with helpers and it was such a blessing! We also hired a group of guys with a Christian moving company, and they were work horses and did a great job. Truck loaded, Randy drove it over to the new house, and the unload began. Repeat the whole process over again, and the day was done. Well, not done exactly. We’re renting another smaller truck tomorrow to unload the rest of the garage.

Re-cap of this past week…took Payton to the doctor on Monday, he now has Mono AND Strep. Funny thing is his throat doesn’t hurt very much, but he’s been very tired and napping a lot. We did let him go to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games (tickets ordered weeks ago), and he did fine. (a few pics to come…) Most of the other big kids are knee-deep in allergy issues, with red eyes, lots of sneezing, and tissues ankle deep. (Abbey is currently beside me on the couch, feeling rather miserable)

We’ve done a lot of unpacking, sprinkled in a little school here and there, and I’ve even cooked a few meals. Not bad for a first week. Again, though, no pictures to speak of. I just can’t document clutter, it’s against everything I believe in!

I did pull the camera out last night for a few minutes. Like I mentioned, the big kids ordered their movie premiere tickets weeks ago, and were EXTREMELY excited about going to the theater at midnight. We had 6 extra teens here, hanging out until Randy piled them into the van to drop them off. Abbey and her friends Jaiden and Kayla dressed up as some of the characters. Yes, they are HG fanatics.

Taken from the family room…kids everywhere.

Abbey as Katniss

Abbey and Jaiden (dressed as Peeta) laugh ALL the time. Seriously, they do.

The trio, Katniss, Kayla as Effie, and Peeta…they worked on these costumes forever.

All the kids, ready to head out. Randy handled the late shift, dropping them off and then staying up till 2am to pick them up. I love that about him. They all crashed at our house for the night.

This morning, Marley, Payton, and Ethan had an EARLY orthodontist appt, which means they had about 3-4 hours of sleep. But, they all agreed the movie was worth it.

Tonight, we sat down for our first “all of us at the table” dinner. We’re beginning to feel at home here, and how thankful we are.