Where I've Been, Where I Am, and Where I'm Going

Well hello friends!  It's been awhile.  I apologize.  It wasn't something I had any intention of doing - taking a month + off in my writing and updates on the house.  Things got busy, technology and compatibility of continents betrayed me.  What's a girl to do?  To get us all back up to speed, I will review, update, and make promises for the future.

WHERE I'VE BEEN

We moved.  It finally happened and in a process of miracles aided by earthly angels, we moved our entire household into a new house.  I cried.  I had moments of regret.  But it happened and now we can step our feet firmly on this new path in this new house.  I'm pretty sure I will have enough material to keep blogging for years to come about this house, so get comfy.

We moved on one Saturday, closed on the old house on the following Thursday, went to a lake with friends for Memorial Day weekend, and flew the entire family to France the third Saturday (two weeks after moving).  It wasn't pretty, but we made it and settled in for a 3 week vacation of a lifetime eating yummy cheese and bread, being taken aback by the beauty of old french towns and breathtaking landscapes, holding onto our seats navigating the streets of Paris in a 9 passenger van (stick shift I might add), and trying to take it all in with 4 kids and 2 grandparents in-tow.  It wasn't the perfect vacation.  In fact, I'm not sure having 4 kids along even qualifies it as a vacation, but it was great and I'm glad we did it.  It settled my mind in away and gave me a break from the last few months.  I will blog more about it later.

WHERE I AM

This very moment I'm lying in my bed, awake much earlier then I would have planned because of jet lag, trying to keep my boys quiet enough to not wake their baby sister.  I'm surrounded by boxes filled with my clothes facing a closed bathroom door which on the other side holds a gutted bathroom, pipes that leak into buckets we empty every few days, wondering how I'm ever going to organize it all.  The "To Do" list is so long I don't even know where to start and I have a toddler who is in a stage that is going to make it very hard to make it happen without burning a little midnight oil.  My kitchen cabinets have no doors, everywhere you look there is a pile of paper or boxes to be dealt with, but it's all good.  It's home and it's ours.  

I find myself contemplating what to do for the remainder of the summer.  Most pressing is a family event this weekend in Washington DC.  Do I go?  After such a long time of travel do I jump in the car again and make the 14 hour trek?  It's a solo trip.  Am I up for it?  Is my car up for it?  (That is a real question)  I know my kids will love it.  I will love it.  Today I will decide.

WHERE I'M GOING

From here on out we have piano lessons, Farm Camp, and general summer stuff.  I want there to be peace and harmony with my children and myself.  I welcome the lack of schedule but also loath it and it's push for laziness. 

My heart longs for the west and it's cool dry summer nights.  Perhaps I will make a trek to Colorado where a friend would like my help in decorating and my kids can see their other grandparents.

So much possibility, so much fun, so many decisions, so many blessings.

Before I know it, school will be back in session, and my house will fall quiet(er) between the hours of 9am and 4pm.  Kidlet #4 and I will be left to pave a new schedule and routine together and I will terribly long for Kidlet #3 who has been my faithful buddy these last 5 years.

Soon the hot and steamy days and nights of Midwest summers will turn crisp and cool.  The light will start to fade and turn more amber and orange in hue than it's summer brightness.  The smell of campfires and falling leaves will fill the air.  I will get an increased spring in my step with the change of the season, a desire to cook yummy food again, and an excitement for the upcoming holidays.  

The welcoming winter months will allow me to snuggle in by a fire and under soft blankets.  Soon sparkling lights and flickering candles will grace my mantle and banister.  Christmas music and the smell of cookies will fill my house.  We each will be given the chance to reflect and anticipate the moment we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  

Birth.  The beginning of something new.  A promise of the future.  This year has been one of many new births for me and our family.  But the one I am anticipating the most, the one that will matter the most in years to come, is the one of Kidlet #5.  He or she (my bet's on a he) will be the pinnacle of quite a year.  I am blessed beyond measure.

So to you my faithful friends, there is much to look forward to in the writings I have ahead.  I hope you will join me.  I hope I can inspire you.  I hope you will be motivated to move forward on your own paths.  I promise to not wax too "poetic" on too many future posts, but sometimes it's just who I am that day.  

Have a great one!  Make it a great one!  Where are you going?