It BEGINS...Day 1

I woke early this morning to find Zander sleeping on the love seat in the living room.  This clued me in to fact he was processing "the move." He woke up as I finished my quiet time and we chatted about moves and change...and why he was sleeping in the living room. 

He sums it up well, "I'm excited to move, but I don't want to leave here!"

We were pretty confident we were ready for the packers.....

Cupboards, closets, laundry room and shower rooms sport nifty red "do not enter" signs cut out by Stacia.

We waited. They were late. My mind flashed back to the last time our packers were late. It was the second day of our pack out from Anchorage, AK. Happens our packers went out after packing the first day to a well known watering hole, got drunk, decided a mid-night climb would be fun...fell down the mountain...one died, others in hospital....

Today, they were just late as they were doing a quick ship pack out for another family.  Eventually five men showed up.  This is actually our NEIGHBOR'S home and packers. I got lots of Ethan holding time today - YES. 

Yuuki is ever watchful! 

We decided to keep her bed...and the kennel is secured for the flight.  She seems to think we are all crazy! 

The kids settle in to watch...and then they went over to a neighbor's to play, have a picnic and enjoy themselves.....

Zander was driven to walk home and watch the packers "touch everything." This is bothering him....but it is good for him to be around to watch the transition. Change can be hard. He did a great job cleaning out the kayak for the movers.

Four crates and a Sofa Crate were sealed and ready to go today. A few concerns....one being that the boxes don't seem to be marked by room....it was too late to do anything about it when we noticed....the other Michael took care of....unwrapped shepherd's crook (garden hangy thing) packed with a projector nearby....it's a long trip...some things don't do well with a steel rod inserted into them. ::snort:: 

After lunch, 5 - 7 more packers showed up. I really can't say how many were in the house...more than 8 less than 15....things got hopping.

Ahem.....this wall art caused great merriment...and I had to run and get Michael to deal with the situation as they took a hammer to our bed....they take things down to tiny pieces...the bed gave them trouble and so they took off ALL the hardware...the coat rack is now about 6 inches long....you get the idea. The movers are going to LOVE putting all the furniture back together on the other side of the move. ::grin:: 

We were told REPEATEDLY we "have very heavy furniture." Our furniture IS bigger than the typical Japanese furniture but not bigger than most American furniture...we did buy a step tansu....anyway they got it all packed, lugged down the stairs and crated. 

 One of our neighbors brought dinner over....what a blessing. It was great to sit outside and sort of picnic. Nolan came down with a fever and headache and spent the day on a mattress in his room.  He was sorry to miss dinner - but there's plenty for tomorrow too.  Note, Yuuki doing her best to talk to Zander about sneaking her some cheese laden food - she doesn't get any.

It was a productive day. Michael and I enjoyed the time to talk. He kept up with the Spurs highlights and game replays online and I read out in the driveway in a rocker! 

The highlight of my day was Lacey driving by so we could hug goodbye before she attempted to fly home to CA. I love my gals.

They took a break every hour and a 1.5 hour lunch break...left at 4:00 p.m. but they STILL got a lot done. Tomorrow they'll begin at Michael's office and then finish here at the house. 

Choosing Joy!

©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

We.Are.Tired.

We are ready for the packers to show up bright and early in the morning. 

The day began with more sorting....(ship now, ship July 10th, pack in the suitcases, give to missionaries, take to a thrift store, call the garbage company). 

Our garbage man LOVES us. We've heard HORROR stories about how expensive it is to throw things away. Zander has run out to meet the truck twice a week for over a year.....he takes our garbage out to them, exchanges greetings, and bows.  It looked like we'd experienced a minor explosion when they showed up today as we were "sorting." The plan was to CALL the garbage company and arrange a special pick up - but they asked if we wanted them to haul things away. They took EVERYTHING we'd sorted for garbage. They also told us they will do the same for us each pick up day until we leave...but I can't imagine generating too much more garbage. They took a driveway full of stuff for Y2000 ($20). 

We are now 50 days out from our plane day....but we aren't going to dwell on THAT.  Here's a few shots from the day....

Some may remember the story about a trip I took with the children to America. One night in the hotel Zander let me know he'd put a snake in a bucket in our garage. I alerted Michael and Jared which resulted in a wild search. The conclusion was he must have dreamed it - there was no snake. He agreed he must have dreamed it. This story, however, was forefront in my mind when I reached up and found THIS...

I screamed.....they laughed.  I'm not sure we'll ever know the full story. The kids assure me THIS skin is one they found on a walk through the rice fields. 

Yuuki continues to stay close to HER things....

We worked.....

We've cleared the shower rooms and laundry room for stuff we don't want them to take now. We've made little red "do not enter" signs for doors and cupboards we don't want packed. We've purchased a couple of cases of water, muffins and chips. We've packed clothes...we've TRIED to get  my new laptop to access my OLD itunes....no luck. 

In family circle tonight Michael told the kids, "We're about to begin the marathon!" We pointed out we've been running since January....he agreed...this is the final lap or two. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...