Farewell 2009.......

It's been an eventful year. Some of which has managed to make it onto my blog, most of which has not... Today as I say 'farewell' to 2009 and 'hello' to 2010 I thought I'd take a moment to update those missing months.


July came and went with a bang befitting a fireworks display. In the course of that one short month I said 'See you on the flip side' to my brother-in-law, his wife, and their 3 children as they headed off to South Korea courtesy of Uncle Sam. I still miss them even with Facebook and Skype keeping us closer than we ever could have hoped for 10 years ago. Then 2 weeks later we packed up as much as we could fit into the Uhaul and moved to Indiana. Russ has a wonderful job now. He's so happy, so peaceful, knowing he's doing God's work where God willed him to be. It's an amazing thing to be living in the perfect will of God. We may still make mistakes, but there is a peace we have never felt before.


Our home is situated at the back of the church grounds. From our carport we can look out to see the beautiful church building. Russ has his own office where he can go and work on his schoolwork without interruption from the children (or at least a LOT less interruption from the children). There is a large gymnasium where they can run around and be children, as long as there is no food being served! The members are so warm and friendly. It's like we've known them our whole lives. It's everything we could dream of and so much more. I just wish family wasn't an 11 hour drive away.


Summer melted into Fall as Russ, the children and I tried to make a new schedule and get used to the new normal. It took me all fall to get used to having a church service at 8am. That's a little early in the day for me to be completely church presentable. I've learned to let go of a few vanities like makeup and jewelry in favor of 10 more minutes in my warm bed. School has gone well for Zach and Josh. Josh was placed into the High Ability Language Arts within a month or so and seems to love it. Zachary came home this Christmas break with a permission form to administer the SAGES Test for Giftedness on him in early January to place him into a similar High Ability group. Alex began preschool at the church, and he LOVES IT. It's just sometimes a challenge to get him off the computer and out the door. LOL!


Winter has been an adjustment for me so far. Snow here has been dustings. I'm used to Pennsylvania winters where they got a 12" snowfall already. We traveled back to PA for Christmas and we all enjoyed getting in the snow and having a snowball fight. My kids are pretty smart, they used the van as a bunker and Dad and I had a hard time getting to them without risking damage to the van. Christmas with family was a great time. I saw many of our family members, and several more friends. I even managed to surprise Russ with a brand new baton for Christmas among other little things.




All in all, I have to say that while it was a lot of change to take place all at once, it's all for the better, and I am very much looking forward to 2010. I'll have one son hit double digits, all my sons enter full time school, and hopefully pay off a few major headaches in the bill department. It's going to be a good year, because I know who holds me up.

PACKING! Aaaaaagh!

I'm done working.
The kids are ALL HOME with me!
Alex is finally successfully adapting to the potty training.

And....

I am packing.

I am packing for a four day weekend interview that will more than likely change our lives. If successful we will be moving 3 states west and starting a whole new adventure. I am packing up cute short sets for a BBQ. I am packing up swimwear for the hotel. I am packing up church clothes for the interview and vote day. By the end of the week, I will be packing up the van, packing up the cooler, and finally packing up Russ and the kids and heading out.

I am also so hopeful of this weekend's vote that I am packing up the house. I'm not super packer yet, but I'm putzing around getting a few things done. Already checked off my list, anything that was formerly hanging on the family room walls, anything resembling a longaberger basket, all my boyd's bears, all candles, and all Christmas Decor. Next up, craft supplies, dishes that we don't use everyday, and excess clothing (such as winter clothes).

Keep praying, friends!

Overwhelmed, but all positive

Tomorrow is my last day at work.
Friday is the kids' last day at school.
Vacation Bible School starts on Sunday evening.
Russ is on vacation here at home with us all next week.
My cousin Emily gets married next Saturday.
I'm hosting a Pampered Chef party on June 23rd.
.......

AND.... The biggest news.....
The interview went SO WELL that within 30 minutes we were all asked (even the kids) to come to Indiana for a long weekend in mid-July for a BBQ on Saturday, Russ leading all the hymns and music on Sunday morning including singing a solo for special music, and a church vote in the evening.

It's going to be a whirlwind around here for a LONG while. I hope everyone has their tray in the upright and locked position and their seatbelts securely fastened.

And then the volcano erupts...

I woke up on Monday morning thinking "Ok. Today is D-day. Today is the day the seminary said we would know if they have an apartment for us." I went to work intending to call them at lunch. I simply could not remember the phone number. So then I thought "well, I'll call them when I get home from work" and then I had to do something extra at the end of the day and didn't make it home in time. I was starting to get depressed that I hadn't managed to get the information that was so important to me. I headed home, and found that Russ had very sweetly handled the whole thing over his lunch break.

So ... what's the word? Wait. Once again we were told to wait. The seminary in an effort to eliminate he said/she said sends out emails so that everyone has everything in writing and they anticipated those letters would go out on Friday June 5, and we'd have a week to make our decision if we were offered an apartment.

An hour later we got unexpected news, the church in Indiana would like to have a conference call with Russ on Sunday evening June 7. If he got this job, we wouldn't NEED an apartment from the Seminary!! YAY! Ok so we wait for the email on Friday and the call on Sunday and then we'll have nearly a week to make the decisions.....right?

NOPE! The next morning we woke to an email offering us an apartment at the Seminary. It's not available July 1 like we had asked, but it is available August 1. The only catch. We now have to tell them June 8th. That's right, less than 24 hours after the phone interview/conference call, we have to decide about the apartment. During those hours we also have to sleep and work. If we take the apartment we're locked into a year long lease at a pretty substantial rental price. If we count on Russ getting the job and decline the apartment and the job falls through, we go back on the waiting list, and start over. In that case, we'll be moving NEXT YEAR.

I'm so glad I have a stead fast, rock solid, faith filled husband. I'm going out of my mind, and lucky for me, he's picking up all the pieces. I love you, Russ.

8 years already...

Today my Joshua turns 8. Ok tomorrow afternoon, but close enough. It's so hard to believe. It seems like only yesterday that I became the panicked mother of 15 month old and 2 minute old sons. The moment I looked into those deep deep blue eyes I was lost in love.

Your hair was so blonde it was white, your eyes so deeply blue they looked nearly purple and your ears came out slightly rumpled to the point that your daddy said "AH! He's an elf!" You were not a happy baby. Chronic acid reflux made you sick almost constantly for months and you'd cry incessantly at times. The only person who could make you happy was your Grampy.

You outgrew your troubles and became a happy funny child. You love to laugh and make the rest of us laugh along with you. Everyone who meets you loves you and you are your Aunt Cindy's favorite (don't tell your brothers!) and you love others with a fierceness that no one else can touch.

You are my little helper as long as I'm not asking you to clean, but that's okay, there are other jobs to be done.

Today is your day. We have some surprises in store for you, and the whole school is even cancelling class in your honor. Okay, okay, so they call it "Field Day" but we know better. *wink* Have a happy birthday, son. We all love you.

Two steps forward.....and then.....wait.

No updates to post to the initial phone contact, but this is how it works. Two steps forward and then wait. At least there's no dancing backwards. My mood, however, is definitely 2 steps backward and I'm battling a round of depression today. Working on it though...as usual.

Exciting News!

We got an initial contact call from the church that Russ applied to in Southern Indiana. The conversation seemed very positive, and we learned some very interesting things...

1) the apartment at the Seminary is 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms 1,000 sq ft and the house at the church is 2 bedrooms unknown number of baths and 800 sq ft. This panicked me until Russ and a friend convinced me to borrow dad's laser room measure and find the sq footage of this place we live in now....miraculous answer... 805 sq ft. Downsizing? Puh-shaw. Not so worried about it now.

2) the community where this church is located has about 3,000 people. Hmmm... I think my high school graduating class had almost 700.

3) This church has 2 services with 230 members. The pastor has been there for 26 years.

So in an effort to prepare a demonstration packet I uploaded some raw video to You Tube. Not the traditional approach we would normally take. Here enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8unawYpXGHA