What We've Been Doing

This is pretty much what the boys have been doing, eating and watching TV.  We are in survival mode right now in this apartment.  There has been way too much tv watching and wii playing, but I am trying to let it go for now.  We will be fasting from both for a long time when we finally move into our new house!  

Henry's Birthday...7!!

We celebrated Henry's 7th birthday today.  Sometimes I look at him and expect him to still be a toddler.  He is such a caring, helpful, smart boy.  He was so excited to get new Legos and a tackle box so he can go fishing more with Daddy.

 He wanted a football field for his cake.  It could have been MUCH better, but we are in an apartment and I don't have the space or my usual things to make it.  I think he still liked it!

Making the Best of It!

Things are going okay here in our new city, we have good days and bad days.  Let's just say my St. Joseph pray is getting a little tattered :)  Thomas' company hosted a day at the amusement park last week and of course the boys were dying to go.  Here are some pictures!

Adjusting

We are here!  The big move is over and now we are in our new "TEMPORARY" place.  I emphasize temporary because it is a three bedroom apartment.  Moving from a very large 3200 sq. ft. house to a 1300 sq. ft. apartment has been an adjustment.  The size isn't that bad actually, we really do fit considering we only have about an eighth of our belongings!  The hardest part about the apartment is the fact that we are on the third floor and there is no yard. As if getting the kids in and out of the house wasn't hard enough, now I get to lug a one year old, purse, groceries and many times a screaming three old up  and down 37 steps (yes I counted.)  I need to stop complaining though.  I am very grateful that Thomas' company has provided a place for us to stay, I am just starting to freak out about selling our house.  The idea of living in an apartment for 3-6 months...or longer....really scares me.  

We have been begging for St. Joseph's intercession and are praying two different novenas at the same time for his help in selling our home.

I kept telling people before we left that I thought the boys were going to be really upset.  It turns out that they are okay, I am the one that has had a really hard time.  I am still on the verge of tears many times a day.  I keep thinking about our wonderful neighbors, our empty house and great friends we left behind.  When we left it was so dramatic, like something you see in a movie.  The neighbors were all playing outside and then we said it was time to go and our kids got in the van.  The kids stood outside their house and waved and one even ran behind us waving "Bye!!"  It was so sad.

Here are some pictures from that day.

Unfortunately, I know that these pictures will always make me sad, not happy.  I am trying to be grateful for the people God put in our lives, but right now I just miss them.

Leaving Friends

When we moved here we didn't know one person, not one.  I remember thinking for quite a long time that I would never have any friends.  Joseph was three, Henry was 18 months and the highlight of our day was going to the Y.  I prayed and prayed for friends and slowly but surely God provided.  I was so unhappy for a long time and wanted to move somewhere else.  I finally began to meet other moms like me after a couple of years and things improved.  Now we are leaving and I look around at all of these people that I have been blessed to know.
It is so hard to leave what is familiar and safe, but I know that God has other plans for us.  I just want to say thank you to all of my friends who offered help with the boys, brought meals when we had a baby, helped me learn how to knit, brought lunch over, put up with the noise level and sometimes rudeness of my sons, taught my boys, listened to me complain about school problems and prayed for me.  I am going to miss each one of you.
I definitely do not want to move again.  I pray that this is the last time and that we can really settle down and be happy with where we are.  Hopefully there are friends to be made in the future that are as wonderful as the ones I have here.

Moving

In two weeks our entire world is going to change, we are moving!  After being in denial for a couple weeks, I think the reality is beginning to hit me.  

This is something that we have wanted for a long time.  We have been so disappointed with the Catholic schools, cost and lack of faith formation, in our current city and have been trying to find a better place to raise our boys.  Homeschooling was never my plan, thankfully we were blessed with a wonderful group to be a part of.  I really could not have homeschooled on my own.  My boys have loved being a part of their co-op and I have been blessed with wonderful friends also.  Ultimately, we want our kids in Catholic school because I am not willing to homeschool for twenty more years!

So, in two weeks we will be moving 10 hours away!  I am nervous about how the kids will deal with this transition.  One of the hardest thing for me is that we have amazing neighbors.  We have the kind of neighbors people dream about, our kids play together everyday, we borrow things all the time.  They have the same standards as we do for our kids so we have never had to worry about what they are watching or talking about.  The kids will be leaving their t-ball team, scout troop and friends from co-op.  It is going to be a rough transition for all of us, but I hope that we will soon have them in school and they can start to form new friendships.

I am trying not to completely stress-out about selling our house and living in an apartment with 4 kids for the summer, thank goodness there is a pool!!!  We have faith that God is leading us and I hope that His plan also includes our house selling very soon!  

Playing Dress-Up

Since we have boys the game of playing dress-up doesn't happen that often.  The exception to this is Oliver.  He LOVES pretending to be "Father" and occasionally a fireman.

Grandma even made him a chasible to wear while play Mass!