New bedrooms, new rules?

I put Trevor down for his nap the other day. After 2 hours I decided to go wake him so he'd still go down at night without a problem. I crept into his room, peeked over to his bed only to find he wasn't there. My heart stopped. I scanned the other 3 bunks in the room...no Trevor. What the heck? How does a 2 year old disappear during naps? I got down on my hands and knees and looked under his bed to find this.

That is where he took his nap.

In other news, I've just about conquered the laundry. I went TEN days without doing a load! The washer got fixed, but then the dryer didn't work. We brought our old own from the apartment, made the necessary alterations to the venting, so I thought I was good to go. I started a load and discovered that there is still a slight drip to the washer issue, but I didn't care! The laundry had to get done.

We had our first little dinner party. Colombo's Uncle Joe graduated from massage therapy school, so we hosted a little celebration for him. He's worked very hard for 2 years to realize this. Both grandmothers came from Maine, as well as Karen, Andrea & Gabriella, Nick & Ann, and Nick's friend Bob.

Uncle Joe and Mimi

Nathanael comparing eye color with Gabby

Today was the last day of moving out of the duplex. Again, I cried as I said goodbye. I'm so grateful for our time spent there. I'm so overwhelmed by God's goodness in my life.

New House News

Well, we've been busy, busy. Colombo and I have both had bad colds, so we've had to muscle through that to get some things accomplished. We finished painting the ceiling and walls in our bedroom, so we slept in our own bed for the first night.

The roof is about half way completed and I like the way it looks. It's interesting having a 'crew' here everyday, although I've been surprised with their unusual construction hours. They work from about 9 til 3...more like bankers.

We're about 2 loads away from being totally out of the duplex. It's a relief to be near the end, however, I got crying over there today. It's really not our home anymore. It was such a happy place for 5 years. I brought 2 babies home there. Lots of family gatherings, lots of guests, lots of laughter, lots of pitter-patter. Our homeschool journey commenced there. Our 2 by 4 stays in that basement with all the kids' height measurements over the last 5 years.

It was a great place for us and we leave behind only happy memories. Still, it's change. And even though we love the new place, change is hard.

As I unload boxes, I try to find a good 'home' for everything I put away. It's fun setting up house. We feel blessed beyond measure. I spend a lot of time praying over each room.

A bit of irony...the duplex we were in is 112 years old. Obviously there had been updates done, but for the most part everything worked and functioned normally. I think the biggest maintenance job we had to do there was replace a hot water heater on the tenant side. Well, now we have a 'new' house. Well, it's 20 year old construction, but I'm amazed how it seems like every time we flip a switch, something needs fixing. For example, I went to do a load of laundry and discovered leaks where the water comes from the wall. Soooo, that meant several days with no washer. During that time, the kids took on the challenge of filling the laundry chute (a fun feature of the house). They thought that would be just great. One morning I noticed Madison and Nathanael were wearing t-shirts under their shirts. When I asked what that was all about, they said they were trying to create more laundry. Great!

Last night, Shaun came and made the necessary repair...THANKS! I ran a load and put it into the dryer. Two hours later and trying 3 different settings, I still had a wet load in the dryer. So, it's actually been one week since I've successfully washed and dried a load. But I refuse to go to the laundromat after our last adventure there.

the bottom of the chute

But life is good. Lots to do, but life continues.

The Big E

Monday was 'Homeschool Day' at the Big E which meant free tickets for the kids, which meant we were there. It was our first 'down' day since closing, so it was a nice (and well-deserved!) treat. We went with good friends and met other other good friends later in the day. We did all the usual...Better Living Center, States buildings, sheep dog trials, parade, FOOD. I won't even write what Colombo ate through the day to save him the embarrassment and readers from grossing out. We got our Maine baked potato...tradition! I LOVE traditions!

Our family tie-dye made it easy to spot kids until I put on TJ's camou sweatshirt.

Then we got the kids bracelets for unlimited rides...a first...but after about 4-5 rides, it's worth just getting the bracelet. And on a Monday night, they were pretty much able to go on whatever without even waiting in line.

By the end of the night, I was freezing and had had enough fair. But, we all had a great time and even got a full moon to watch all night.

A Nathanael Question

Nathanael's good at coming up with VERY random questions like, "Which is first, plan A or plan B?" That came as we were sitting by the pool. I have no idea what he was thinking about, but he really wanted to know if plan A is first or plan B.

Another such question came this morning over breakfast. "Mom, did you adopt any kids?"

Well, my knee-jerk reaction was to say, "Yeah, you" and tease him a little. But I quickly fast forwarded 20 years to expensive therapy. Next I thought I'd say Madison, but again decided against shaking her identity. So I decided quickly and said, "Yes, C4 is adopted. We went to Russia and picked him up." Nathanael, replied, "He's a Russian?!"

Nathanael and Madison's jaws dropped and without skipping a beat, C4 turned to them and started speaking "Russian". It was too funny!!!

After giggling and teasing for a bit, the conversation moved into the more serious side of how they all came out of my belly. Then we talked about how Madison and Trevor were planned, but C4 and Nathanael were surprises. As their faces turned very inquisitive, I realized I was in way over my head with this material and better backpedal out...quick!

Workin' On The New House

I realize to most this will be completely boring, BUT one of my reasons for blogging is to journal which I then turn into a 'year book'. So this post is mostly for me, but you're welcome to join.

After we closed (on a Thursday), we went straight to the new place to get to work. We had hit Home Depot before and gotten some supplies. We were geared up and ready to go to work! Priorities were cleaning, bleach everything down, and start painting the kids rooms before moving their furniture.

When we got to the house, we unlocked our new front door and Colombo swooped me up and carried me over the thresh hold. By the end of the day, we had painted Madison's room 2 walls lime green and 2 walls pink...totally girly. We had also painted C4's room, 3 walls khaki and 1 wall denim. In between there somewhere, we had Chinese on the floor of the living room just as we did 5 years ago when we closed on our duplex. (Just a note...this is with all 4 kids)

That Friday I spent most of the day cleaning. Saturday, me, my sister, my aunt, and my mom stripped the wallpaper in the kitchen while Colombo and my brother-in-law ripped apart the recessed lighting soffet in the kitchen and fixed a drain. Sunday, Colombo scraped the popcorn from the kitchen ceiling. His dad spent the next few days repairing that. He used to do drywall for a living.

Me, my two sisters, and my mom dedicated one whole day to the overgrown landscaping...only two of us got poison ivy. I also painted Colombo's office and some of my bedroom.

It's been crazy though, cause it's been two places. Working on the new one, packing up the old one. Every time we would go to the new one, we'd take a pick up truck load in my Dad's truck. Last weekend (Sept. 13th) was the 'big move'. We had several friends come and help us do the heavy lifting stuff for several hours. As you can see, we've had a lot of help!!! We are very appreciative of everyone's help and encouragement through the process. As it stands now, the kitchen is painted, my new fridge is in, and I think once the pendants are installed Thursday, the kitchen will be complete...for now. Our bedroom is a construction zone. We decided to strip the popcorn ceiling in there as well since there were a couple of spots with water damage anyway. Speaking of water damage, the new roof starts tomorrow.

Next on the list is the dining room (but probably not til I can afford a new dining set) and the 1/2 bath which has wallpaper resembling Monet getting sick in there. After that, it will be little projects, but nothing pressing.

BUT, we're here! We're in! And we're loving it!!!

Our New Home

I figured it was FINALLY time to start blogging about our big move. We closed on our new house on August 28th, 2008. It all happened so fast and we've been so busy for the last 2 months, that i figured I'd better start journaling it all now before I forget it all.

It all started back in July when we were on the Cape with our friends. We were telling them our 'plan' to get out of our duplex in 2011 and buy something then. We talked about what we were looking for, why we were waiting, how we were still happy in the duplex, despite the walls closing in at times, etc, etc. Two days later, Bob called and said, there's a sign on the lawn of the house across the street from us. We LOVED his house and the area, good proximity to church (where we plan on spending more and more time as the kids get older and more involved). Then we found out it was a foreclosure. We walked the outside of it, peaked through windows, and thought, "If the inside is this nice and fits our family, we're in trouble."

I told my realtor, a close friend, that we were NOT going to buy this house, but if she didn't mind taking us that we'd love to see it. As we walked through, we both felt like it was 'our house'. It had what we needed and wanted. An office for Colombo, enough bedrooms, rec room in the basement, ample space for school, cul-de-sac...basically everything on our list. We were SOOO excited of course, but I tried to stay reserved in order to protect my heart.

Well the next 4 weeks were kind of a whirlwind. Back and forth with offers and counter-offers, lining up financing, a LONG week of waiting to hear if they accepted our offer or not. Then we heard....IT WAS OURS!!! Packing, packing, packing. And we closed 4 weeks after seeing it for the first time. We really feel that God orchestrated every detail.

The day after we closed, we had our Pastor come and we prayed over it and dedicated the house to God. He prayed that it would always be filled with love, that it would be God's house, used for God's purposes and that everyone who enters would sense His presense.

We've spent 2 nights here now. It is definitely a gift from God. We're still pinching ourselves. We're very grateful and pray that the kids would have many happy memories here.

I will post some more of the journey and the work we've done on it since closing in another email. Still lots to be done...

Nana's 80th

We spent the weekend in Bangor, Maine. Colombo's whole family still lives up there. We try to get up there once or twice a year to visit everyone. The kids love going. They have lots of doting aunts, uncles, cousins, great-grandparents.

This time we went to surprise Nana for her 80th birthday. Colombo's Mom and 3 siblings pulled off the surprise and a great party, complete with cake, flowers, favors, a live band, and a dance floor that my kids never left.Some of the cousins hangin'.

Trevor and 2nd cousin Aria get acquainted

We spent the day visiting with about 120 family and friends who have been touched by this wonderful woman. Nana is very, very special; amazing really! She's a beautiful, vibrant woman. She loves life and loves anyone she meets. She's fair and forgiving. She's an endless giver. She has a huge heart and loves like she's never going to get hurt. She always wears a smile and warms every room.

During the party, Nathanael told a couple of jokes and Madison did her Hannah Montana dance. Another highlight was Nana's 9 grandchildren all standing and reading, "80 Things We Love About Nana". The grandkids in birth order from right to left: Colombo, Nick, Sara, Jonathan, Courtney, Meaghan, Brandon, Ashley, Annie

We (and about 40 others) went back to MaryJo's (Colombo's aunt) for the 'after-party'. It was a memorable day for a very deserving person.

Lobster Fest

For the last 4 summers, when my Mom's sister and family come to visit, we pull together a FEAST of lobster and steak with all the extras. This year my sister Bethany hosted the event at her new house. She's got the perfect home for this sort of thing...wrap around porch, playscape, plenty of yard for volleyball and football. Everyone had a great time and we were happy to keep the tradition alive. I LOVE traditions! Missing this year were Tim and Beth (sad).