2 days to go, and I have too much stuff!

I have 2 days left until we begin our journey to our new home in North Dakota. My sweet friend and adopted sister Melinda was going to help me move last night, but she had other things she had to get done, so instead she sent her sweet husband Randy with the best gift anyone could have given me....4 of my boys from church. Gavin, Kit, Tyler, and Erik came over and loaded everything up before YM. It was so great to see them one last time. :)

So most everything is in the storage unit, yet there is still all this stuff in my room. I have spent the better part of this day packing and unpacking. Trying to figure out how to make a pile of stuff fit into my car. I have been know to be ingenious when it comes to this kind of stuff, but this may be more than even I can handle. I have a tiny trunk, lots of kids, and lots of stuff.



I guess we could leave our hygiene products behind, and only take one change of underware. Who needs pillow and blankets, or makeup, or even clothing. I may have to end up mailing them to myself, but I am going to try everything to avoid spending one more dime. I figure every penny I save will buy me warmer clothes :)

Saying Goodbye Makes Me Cry - 4 Days To Go!

Only 4 days until head out. It was -80 degree with the windchill in Williston this morning, this does not excite me. I am getting a block heater installed in my car today, for those of you who, like me, have never lived anywhere really cold, this is a devise installed by your engine block that plugs into an outlet and keep your gas and other liquids from freezing so it will start in the morning, gah! That is not promising.



I had to say goodbye to my sunday school class on sunday, and just writing this makes me want to bawl. I will miss them so much, I will continue to pray for them, that are the most amazing teens ever, and they are a force of strength. Thank Goodness for facebook, we can still keep in contact. Here is a picture of my class. I am missing a bunch of them, but I will take what I can get.





It is a lot easier to say goodbye to the adults in my life. They are going to be the same(ish) the next time I see them but so much can change so fast when your young. They will move on, and thats the part that makes me sad and happy.

Got a storage unit today for the last few things I can't cram into the one I have now. Melinda and her family are helping me move everything tomorrow. Weds will be finishing the laundry, and thursday will be packing the car, and two days worth of clothes. Friday we will grab our overnight bags, pillow and blankets, and head to school. As soon as the bell rings we are outta here. My sister Lacie is letting us sleep at her house, and then we will be off to Williston Sat. Morning. Huray!

Santas Lap and Dead Snowmen!

We went Ooohing and Ahhhhing the other night (looking at christmas lights) All of a sudden Alora shouts look at the dead snowman. She is so funny.

The kids and I went to our Ward Christmas Party, and they got to sit on Santas lap.

Talli was not impressed until she saw that candy cane, he could have been any crazy, but as long as he gave her that candy cane she was happy!

Boston was less hesitant. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said...That Candy Cane. He was all business until he handed over that cane. Then we got a smile, oh yeah and he wants a bag of balloons....I love this age.

And this is what remembering the Christmas party Starts in 20 minutes looks like.

Brooklyn and Alora have got this drill down. Tell Santa's helper what you want for Christmas in case he lost your email. Better safe than sorry. We want a $10 fur real friend, and an Ipod? 17 months makes a big difference.

Chase was a great sport. He wants an mp3 player with video capabilities. :) They grow up so fast.

The kids are excited about having a homemade christmas this year. We are making a tree and ornaments from paper( our is burried in storage), and we are buying only the things we need. Like Warm Clothes :) So if we don't get you anything for christmas, know we love you and we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Christmas Caroling with the Youth!

My Sunday school class invited me to come Christmas caroling with them on Tuesday for their YM/YW activity so we could spend some more time together before I had move. Okay first of all talk about feeling loved, I was on cloud nine. It is always nice to know the people you adore feel the same way about you. Second of all, It was frickin freezing, a nice reality check that the clothing I currently own is not going to cut it in North Dakota. The third thing I learned is there is a temperature where you can't sing because it is too cold, and your vocal cord go on strike...good to know. Here are some pictures

6 Days and Counting!

6 days until we leave for North Dakota. People keep asking me how I am feeling about moving...If I am nervous or excited. I haven't actually felt much of anything or taken the time to figure out how I am feeling anyway. So I decided to do it and and here we go.

1. For the first time in my life I am moving somewhere I don't know anyone. That scares me. I need people. I have always made friends pretty easy, but there is that scared little girl inside of me that worries that no one will like me.

2. The house we are moving into is the size of our first apartment when we got married The Dungeon) . Yikes!!! So that converns me, and moving there with no furniture, beds, or kitchen table will be interesting ...like camping but in a house. :)

3. I am moving somewhere that is not predominatly mormon, also another first for me. This one I am actually a little excited about. The lds community tends to take itself too seriously and forget that you can't be perfect in this life. God wants you to be happy and not to beat yourself up all the time over your inperfections, keep improving, growing, learning, but don't forget to enjoy the journey. We are such a blessed people to be living here and now in this free country.

4. I am worried about my kids adjusting. we are moving into a small school of only 250 kids. That is less than 25% of our current schools population. This will either make it easier or harder.

5. Saying Goodbye. This is hard for me. Especially to my Sunday school classes,past and present. They are the best kids ever. Most of my best friends are between 13 and 18 years old. These kids remind me how life should be. Laughter makes all the other junk you have to deal with in this life easier because you know there is joy and hope. So to my friends and family I am leaving, know that I love you, and I tend to keep friends forever so your stuck with me, and to my friends that I have already parted with in the past, I am so glad to have you in my life even if we only talk once a year or see each other rarely. I love you and think if you often.

6. We get to be together as a family. This is number 6 but it really is the number 1 reason it is all going to be okay. This has been a tough year, and the fact that we have a job, a roof over our heads, and the chance to be together, makes it all okay.

So I guess I would have to say I am nervous, sad, scared, worried, and unsure, but most of all I am happy, and I have faith that it is going to be great! Cold but great!

Counting Down The Days!

We have just 11 days left until we head to North Dakota. I have been very busy sorting stuff, throwing stuff away, and trying to figure out how to pack my car that is already full of people with enough stuff to live for 6 weeks until our stuff gets moved. I considered renting a small trailer, but too many people freaked me out about it. So I will just have to get creative, which is Code for I am to broke to buy anything that would make it easier. :)

We have had a lot blessing these last few weeks. We all sat down together and picked a day to move. Dec. 19th - the last school day of the year. We planned to just live in a hotel because housing there is so scarce. Phil was really worried about having a home for us, and then the news came that the hotels didn't want anymore families living in multiple rooms for long periods of time. Phil also got a call that he would be leaving for 3 weeks to go to the truck driving training center on the 4th of Jan. Just 15 days after we moved there. Still we planned to go. Poor phil was feeling so stressed.

We had the opprtunity to go to St George for Thanksgiving, but Phil stayed in North Dakota. We sure missed him, but his choice offered us our series of miracles.

He got a call that a spot opened up for the training center, and the people who were next in line had gone home for Thanksgiving and couldn't get back in time, so he was in... Hurray! He will get back to North Dakota the same day we get there. Perfect timing, only now he had only 4 days to find us a place to live. We are moving to a ward full of great people. When they found out that someone in the ward had a rental opening up they informed phil and helped make it happen. So we have a 3 bedroom apartment to move into. It is small but it is a home. So many other little miracles have been poured out on us these last few months.

So here is sit packing and trying not to overthink. We are leaving behind some great friends and family. We are moving to a place I have never seen, where it is -30 for weeks at a time, without anything, and without knowing anyone. Strange how knowing we will be together makes it better. Well - back to packing trying to figure out how my kids are going to breathe when I am done packing the car. Later Days