This morning Amelia was up early.  She came and crawled into bed with me, and when Lilly was ready for her morning bottle, Amelia offered to help hold the bottle.  A while later I looked over and both girls were sound asleep.  I know I’m always tempted to doze off when I’m nursing a baby, but I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep while holding a bottle for a baby.

The two of them snoozed for a while before Amelia woke up again and found me in the kitchen.

It sure is nice to have kids who are willing and able to help with the younger children.

These days of unpacking and sorting and arranging don’t really lend themselves to gripping blog posts.  Each day is much like the last, so it seems a bit drab to log in and say, “Hey, another day of unpacking and wondering how we accumulated so much junk.”

This morning I wrote an e-mail to Michael that I thought you might like to read.  I usually snap at my children for “reading over my shoulder” when I’m on the computer.  But I’ll give you permission to read my e-mail.  Have a great day!

I was having such a good morning, getting lots accomplished, and then I set out to do the very simple task of submitting time sheets.

After I got it all entered in (with children milling around me, getting into things, asking a gazillion questions, etc.), and I exported it to save as a Word doc… for some reason it would NOT show up in the files.  I looked and looked, re-exporting it, overwriting the file, etc.  Lilly got knocked over and screamed.  Luke was banging things with a piece of pipe.  Isaac left a hot-cocoa ring on the counter.  I was sweating, roasting hot, so frustrated, not understanding where the file could be.  I looked.  I typed in different things. I checked my spelling.  Everything.  Finally I decided to restart the computer before hollering at you for help.  Of course, the restart failed because iPhoto wouldn’t quit.  Since the restart aborted, I decided to look one more time for that blasted file.  Of course, there it was, in plain sight, sitting there listening to its iPod with its ears plugged, blissfully unaware that I had been calling and calling.  I couldn’t decide if I was happy to find it or mad that it had eluded me.  Off it went in the e-mail, whistling a happy tune, while I was swearing and kicking at it wishing it would at least realize how upset I was.

Love, Christie

Sorting stuff is painful. It’s exhausting. Yet, in some ways, it’s like losing weight. Every agonizing pound that comes off is so liberating!

I’ve been listening to the podcast Life Zero and trying to soak in some of the principles. I do not agree with everything I read there (for sure!!!), but I find that there are many valid points regarding living simply.

Yesterday I sorted through our towel collection. I filled a huge box with old ratty towels that we almost never use. Even so, it was amazingly difficult to push the box into the garage sale pile. I kept thinking of all the reasons why I needed to keep a collection of old towels. I can’t believe what a hold those towels had on me! But finally, I released my grip on the box, stepped back, and marveled at the free feeling of not having a huge pile of old towels to keep organized. I also thought about how nice it will be to have a smaller pile of towels in the bathroom that we will not have nearly as much trouble keeping tidy.

Today I worked on my kitchen utensils. I won’t even start on the agony of choosing between two spaghetti servers or multiple measuring cups. I think I need to go see my therapist before I go any further in my sorting.

Our days are filled with sorting and carrying and thinking and arranging.  We’re cleaning up dressers that have been in storage and figuring out who will have which things where.  Each day we accomplish so much, and yet each day reminds us of how MUCH more we still have to do.  It reminds me of attempting to row a boat across the ocean.  Even when you make good progress, you still have so much more to do.  Onward!

We aren’t yet up to speed with our computers and technology, but we do have internet access here at Monroe, so I will give you a quick update on the weekend.

Thursday was fraught with roadblocks.  First, as we arrived at the Monroe house, the van decided to burst a little piece in it’s engine and spew antifreeze and steam all over.  Michael left work early and came home to take care of the problem.  Amazingly, he was able to remove the cracked piece, find a replacement. and put everything back together again.  The van thirstily drank down over four gallons of water once all was said and done.  I guess it was pretty dry!

Then we went and got the trailer, but Michael couldn’t get the lights to hook up properly to the van lights, so the trailer was probably technically illegal to drive.  He decided to check at the U-Haul place and see if they could help, but they closed minutes before he arrived.  

While we were out, a friend pointed out that the back tires on the van were desperately needing to be replaced.  So we hurried and made arrangements to borrow a different truck to use with the trailer for our move, and then tried to drop the van off at Walmart for new tires.  Turns out, the tire guys couldn’t work on it until Friday morning, but they wouldn’t let us leave the van there overnight.  So we brought it back home to wait until morning.

All in all, by the time we were done running all over with pointless errands and dead ends, we were quite discouraged and couldn’t do any of the moving we wanted to do Thursday night.  The one good thing we did was we went and picked up a “new” fridge that we had found earlier in the week.  So at least that was done.

Friday morning dawned beautiful and sunny, so we got to work right away (after we dropped off the van) loading up the trailer.  The children pitched in and worked cheerfully, and Michael’s mother faithfully cared for the littlest family members to keep them from being neglected or squashed.

Back and forth we went to Monroe, trip after trip, and finally the last trip was made.  We picked up some Pad Thai and headed back to Bobwhite for our “Last Supper”.  We loaded up one more time, piling our exhausted crew into the vehicles and headed to Monroe.  Michael’s brother, Todd, helped unload once we got there, and then Michael hurried to return the trailer.  We weren’t able to get all the beds set up before kids needed to crash, so we made enough places for everyone to at least sleep, and we all crashed. 

What a beautiful rest we had Friday night.  The night breezes were cool, and everyone was tired enough to really enjoy a good sleep.

Saturday morning Michael and I woke up early.  I made coffee, and he hurried to the church to do a few last things on the van before it headed out on its youth group trip for the day.  I started working to bring order to the chaos, and when Michael got home he joined me in doing all the little and big things that needed to be done.

On Saturday afternoon I took my older girls and Luke and we went to a special storytelling supper at a conference my parents were hosting.  We had a wonderful time, and Isaac joined us just in time for dessert.  After that was a storytelling concert which the children enjoyed immensely!  

Again we were exhausted and crashed into bed.  This morning, Sunday, we found enough church clothes to get everyone presentable, and we trundled off.  Unfortunately, I could not find Lilly’s bottle anywhere, and Grammy didn’t find it at the Bobwhite house, so after I dropped everyone off at church, I went to purchase a new bottle.  It’s the price for moving, I suppose, and I feel fortunate to get off with only a $5.00 penalty.  

I took a very long nap this afternoon, and have been working to bring order to the kitchen this evening.  Michael went out to get some things from Lowe’s and another load from the Bobwhite house.

One big blessing this weekend has been the food that has been donated to our family several days in a row, thanks to the storytelling conference going on.  Every day as they packed up the leftovers, they offered a majority of it to our family, and we have gratefully accepted.  So we have had bagels and cream cheese and fried chicken and sandwich supplies and yogurt and sodas and juice boxes and bags of chips.  We’re spoiled!

Soon Michael will have his computer system all set up, and then I’ll be able to have my laptop upstairs where it’s more accessible.  Right now it is in the basement, so I’m typing while standing at our “station” where the internet cable comes into the house.  :-)

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for us.  We’ve been working very hard and are so glad to be home again with a fresh start.  

This week is full of packing and preparing to move.  We’re planning to move this Friday, the 20th.  During the day I’m working on packing, and then in the evening we’re working at Monroe to prepare for our family and our stuff.  Last night Michael was finally able to start building the shelves in the basement.  The basement room that we’re working on has a nice double-coat of paint on the floor, and it’s getting a double-coat of dry-lock paint on its walls.  It’s amazing how the bright paint makes that room look so much better.

Last night I also finally painted the ceiling in one of the rooms that got overlooked before.  It’s nice to finally have that done.  I also have other painting projects that need my attention, but I really wanted to get the ceiling done before we moved things into that room.

Oh, and the piano is scheduled to be moved tomorrow, and I scheduled a tuning for next week. Michael has sworn off moving pianos any more in his life, so that’s one thing we splurge on hiring someone else to do.

This move is really happening!  I’m quite excited about this next stage in our lives, but it’s a lot of work.  So if I don’t write much here over the next few days, you’ll know what’s going on.  I’m probably busy staring at an empty box wondering what to pack next, or I’m splashing paint all over, or perhaps I’ve crashed into bed  hoping a nap won’t throw off the schedule too badly.

In other news… Judah sees the doctor again tomorrow morning.  I’m hoping we can get his surgery scheduled so we can put this whole “appendix adventure” behind us.  Until the surgery is over, there is a chance of a relapse, so we keep watching him very closely.
That’s all for now!

I invited Laura to come with Isaac and me to visit Chico, and what should we find there at the bird rescue but a beautiful white cockatiel sitting and waiting for Laura. She has been wishing for a white cockatiel for a long time, but they are hard to find around here, and usually cost over $100 when they are to be found. My heart melted when I saw Laura and the white bird together, so I asked if we could adopt that bird, too.

Laura chose the name “Martin” for the bird, since she’s reading lots of Redwall books right now. Most of the time, Martin seems to enjoy Laura’s attention. But a few times he has bitten Laura, and this morning he bit hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. Fortunately we have already experienced biting birds before, so we know it’s not uncommon for a bird to bite as he’s getting used to a new home. That doesn’t make the pain go away, but it does keep us from losing hope that soon Martin will be a wonderful birdie friend.

For months I’ve been wishing to give Isaac a new bird to replace his beloved “Jack” who died. But Michael said we couldn’t adopt any more pets until after we moved. Once it was final that we were heading back to Monroe, I started asking around for a bird for Isaac, and the right one popped up. We went to visit Chico on Saturday and came home with him that night. He is a Hahn’s Macaw, the smallest of all the macaws, and he is 17 years old. He has quite the attitude, and can talk, but most importantly he needs lots of interesting things to do and see. Our family is the very definition of “lots of things happening”, and we are home most of the time, so we think it’s going to be a perfect fit for Chico.

The evidence of Chico’s need for attention is that he has been plucking his feathers, which leaves him totally bald on his tummy and the tops of his wings. We are eager to see if his feathers will grow back now that there’s something more interesting than feather-plucking on the agenda.

Isaac is thrilled to have a new bird to love, and he has been very patient and persistent in working with Chico. If you can imagine the big-dog attitude that a little dog has, you can imagine the big-bird attitude that our mini-macaw has!

I hope Chico is our family friend for many years to come.

The last few mornings have been perfect for carrying our coffee or tea out to the back deck. Today was another cool, breezy morning, so I even served breakfast outside. (Breakfast was Baked Oatmeal with Michigan Wild Blueberries.)

Yesterday and today I’ve carried our Green-cheeked Conure, Bambi, outside to enjoy the beautiful weather with us. He sits quietly on the side of the railing and watches everything and enjoys feeling the wind ruffling his feathers. Occasionally he is offered a bite of whatever we’re eating, which he accepts like a little birdie gentleman.

This morning, after Bambi had enjoyed his serving of baked oatmeal (and even had stolen some of Laura’s baked oatmeal from her bowl), and after he had taken a ride on Judah’s shoulder, he was delivered to the dead tree in the back yard where Amelia was climbing and snapping off small branches. Bambi was happy to climb the tree, and soon he was out of Amelia’s reach. Not to be thwarted, Amelia simply broke off the branch to which Bambi was clinging.

“I got him!” she hollered.

Bambi took it all in stride, and just continued to hang on to the little branch. He is such a good-natured bird.

Now it’s time to get busy and do something besides sit outside and sip coffee and watch birdie antics. My goal for today is to pack up the girls’ room. Wish me luck!