Back Where I Come From

Yep, that should make you think of Kenny Chesney if you've got an ounce of country in you. But I'm really talking about Perry County. 

I'm back where I come from. For three and a half glorious weeks, I'm soaking in the fresh air, well water (seriously!), green mountain views, and - best of all - family. 

For years I've said that when I get here, I feel like I can breathe again. There SPACE. Space between towns. Space between houses. Space to just be. 

AH.

Admittedly, the kids have been a bit bored with no school and few toys. But we've been able to see family and get together with old friends, and that's been a lot of fun.

Last Saturday we went to a Corvette car show. Luke and Cade enjoyed the Corvettes only slightly less than Grandpa. 

The boys were rather impressed with the Camaro too.

Ya like that CAT hat? Yeah. Aunt Kelli wore her Deere hat, so we snapped a picture of the rivals.

We spent a day at DelGrossos' amusement park with cousins earlier this week. It was our kids' first trip to an amusement park, believe it or not. They had a fun day, but there were definitely some rides we would not ride again! 

She wanted to ride the teacups but had to ride with an adult. So I rode.
Whew. Not going to make that mistake again anytime soon!

A fun day! Thanks, Aunt Janelle!

Another day we hung out on the beach at Colonel Denning State Park lake with my best friend from my younger days and her kiddos. The kids splashed around in the water and even caught 151 snails. Bleh. The mommies just soaked up the sun. 

the snails

Yesterday we visited with another old friend. The kids loved the creek that runs behind her house and got on well with her boys...but alas, no pictures. Ok, I did get a few pictures of popsicle faces, but if I post her popsicle face, Tiff might decide to dig up some lovely old pictures of me, and we just don't want that. 

So how about just a few pics of the kids' popsicle faces? Here you go...

Drawing has also been keeping the kids busy at Grammie and Grandpa's house. Last night two of them were drawing CAT creations. Here they are...

We are at T minus 10 now. Ten more days till we see Daddy!!! And our new house, too. 

I'm thinking life in Washington, Illinois, will be a bit different from life in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Of course, that was the idea from the start. Slower, quieter. Yes, please! 

We are ready and waiting!

And we're off!

The house is sold, our belongings are sitting in a warehouse somewhere in Illinois, and the kids and I are hanging out in Pennsylvania with my parents for a few weeks. Stephen is in Illinois working and waiting for closing day on the house there to roll around and for us to roll into town. Three more weeks...

I won't lie or try to gloss it over. This process, this separation from my husband/their daddy, has been harder than I expected in lots of ways I didn't expect. We will all be glad when it's over and we're all living in the same house together again!

But at least it seems like progress is being made now that we've moved out. I admit that it was sad to leave friends there, but I wasn't nearly as emotional I thought I'd be. I suppose that's because Stephen was already gone, and we're going TO him. It's not so hard to leave dear friends when it means you're going to be with your husband again. 

Having sick kiddos during moving week made everything SO much more fun. However, we had movers who did all of the packing and loading for us, and that was a huge help. It did require more organization on my part, though, because those guys just pick it up and pack it. No organizing as to which box it should go in. They were super-excited about our loads of books - haha - and all of my teacup collection, but I guess they get paid to pack no matter what they're packing. 

The kids were super-excited to hang out in the basement bedroom playing videogames and watching movies for two days straight while staying out of the way of the movers...except for Caroline who kept getting her brothers to bring her to me wherever I was in the house. 

There are lots of friends in Virginia that we'll miss. And we'll miss our church family most of all. What a blessing to have had so many of our children's formative years spent at GBCA / ABC! The teaching and preaching and examples of walking with Jesus have shaped and encouraged us all. We pray that the Lord will lead us to another church in another place where we can be fed spiritually, challenged, and encouraged in our faith as we have been for the last six years. 

A new job, a new home, a new church! New adventure all around! You can pray for us as we adjust to all of this new-ness. :-)

Passing the Time

April has rolled around, and we're still here in Virginia. Stephen has gone ahead of us and is already working at his new job. So we're holding down the fort (read: trying to sell the fort). We've been thankful for the longer days and nicer weather which has drawn us outside more. The kids have been rediscovering the joys of front-yard baseball, sidewalk chalk, and races around the house. 

I tend to forget to bring my nice camera out for everyday pictures, but I'm trying to remember more. I did get some shots of the kids on Easter a few weeks ago, and I had fun taking some pictures last evening, too, while they played outside.

Girly girls!

All my lovies

The getting-so-big boys (seriously, Luke is almost
as tall as me now).

Decorating the driveway with chalk

Luke had fun giving Caroline wheelies.

Elsa on "Elsa"

Can't get enough of this girl

She is a major ham and loves to make her siblings crack up.
This is her "bad" look.

Happy face!

Um...I really don't know which look this is...

Tricks on the tricycle

Everybody wanted a turn. Luke was too big.

She's taking my picture while I take her picture.

Love her!!!

Running fast!

Running fast...with a very determined look on her face.
Her comment on seeing this picture was, "I'm a BAD GUY!"

Our Before and After

The last six weeks or so have been spent working on the house and getting it ready for the market. We've done a lot of work ourselves, but we hired out the big stuff...like drywall, kitchen, and bathrooms. 

I tried to remember to take before and after shots in all the rooms, and I got a few progress pictures too.

It's lovely now. But mostly I'm just glad it's done. Living through even a minor kitchen remodel is not fun, and when there are bathrooms being remodeled at the same time, it's even less fun. But we made it. Now we just have to keep the house clean and pray for someone to come and buy it!

Light Fixtures

I think I was in trouble for taking his
picture...

And it works!

Ugly old thing

Much better!

No words for this one...

So much better!

The Master Bath

BEFORE

and AFTER. Ah.

The Powder Room

BEFORE - Broken ugly tiles

AFTER

The Kitchen

BEFORE - with original laminate counters

I HATED this cooktop. It did not get clean...ever.

The beautiful vinyl floors. Bleck.

AFTER - With granite counters, tile backsplash, a new cooktop, sink and tile floors. Yay!

AFTER

Listing tomorrow! Woohoo!!

CAT people

There was never any doubt in my mind that Stephen was a cat person. And way back when, he was glad to find that I'm a cat person too. We don't hate dogs or anything, but for us, cats are just, well, the cat's meow (c'mon, you know I had to say it). 

For the last fifteen years of our marriage (yes, it's fifteen years this week - hooray!), we've been cat people. And now, as it turns out, we're becoming CAT people. 

Yeah, CAT people.

Last month, after a long interviewing process, Stephen was offered a job with the Legal Division of Caterpillar. He accepted, and we're in the middle of prepping for a move to Peoria, IL, where Caterpillar's headquarters is located...and where the term "CAT people" means something different than it means to the rest of the world.

Coming from a family of John Deere loyalists and even John Deere employees, the change from green to yellow might feel rather foreign at first. But I suppose I'll come around. 

After all, I really do love cats.