scenes from a move

Thanks to Veggie Tales, Blue's Clues, the Cheney Army, infrequent washings of my hair, Chick-Fil-A, and two air mattresses, we're in. Let me say that in other words: WE LIVE IN A HOUSE.

 

It's sometimes surreal, but we love it. It was perhaps the most chaotic week of our lives, but we survived. Let me lay it out for you:

Saturday, November 24: The paint is finished. It looks AHHHHHmazing. Later that day, the Cheney Army moves almost our entire apartment (save random junk, the kitchen, two air mattresses and the girls' beds) into the garage and tiled areas of our house. We (read: Jess) decided to do this last minute and we were literally throwing stuff in boxes the morning of the move. If you know me, you know this kind of chaos gives me ultra anxiety. I get acne just thinking about that day.

Monday, November 26: The carpet is installed. It too looks wonderful. We took a leap and chose a dark carpet. I couldn't love it more.

Tuesday-Thursday, November 27-29: We continue moving random bits of junk (seriously guys, JUNK, what is all this crap?) to the house. On Thursday, I take the girls to the house equipped with the Kindle and a mini DVD player. They allow technology to entertain - ah hem - educate them and I move everything that was stuck in the kitchen back down to the garage to make room for the appliances arriving the next day.

 

Friday, November 30: We (read: Jess) finishes moving EVERYTHING (save cleaning items) out of the apartment. He was a work horse. I made sure our children stayed alive. Lifting boxes? I'll pass. Later that day the appliances are installed. We sleep for the first time in OUR OWN HOUSE.

 

Saturday, December 1: Our Black Friday sectional is delivered. I spend five hours cleaning our apartment. Um yeah. I prefer to just block that out of my memory.

 

Sunday, December 2-current: We've been decorating for Christmas and unpacking and finding random bits of treasure in boxes. Like this lovely straw hat (from Annabelle's birthday party in July). And hanging curtains. Because the neighbors can see us everywhere. Except the hallway upstairs, which is where we do all our changing. It's kind of awesome. Like our own little changing room.

 

To say that this house is a blessing is a major understatement. I have waited for SO LONG to move. Until the right time, until everything was right. And this house, which we saw on a whim and threw in a ridiculously low ball bid, was seriously meant to be. It's a twin home, which isn't our ideal, but it doesn't seem to matter. It has the space we need. And it has views of the valley and the mountains. It's as though this house was made for us, and we couldn't be happier.

The girls can jump and dance and play without a thought. There are no downstairs neighbors ready to pounce (and seriously - our downstairs neighbors were awful). The girls are often getting lost in the deep corners of the rooms because, hey, there are rooms! I've found Belle asleep in the most random places, something she has never done in her life. Ever. And at night, even though we're still unpacking and their stuff isn't all located, they sleep. Soundly. Without blinds or curtains. Something Lou hasn't done for months. It's as though our souls have settled into home. There's a sort of peace that just rests about us, even amid the chaos.

 

It's such a beautiful relief to be here. I'm so grateful to have this holiday season with my family in my house. Happy holidays all.