Week 36--cRaZy cLoSiNg wEeK

Monday, Aug. 31st

Morning Walk!

One week old...TJ's cannot be beat!

Colombo helped his parents again this week, their closing day of Friday quickly approaching.  Lots of sorting, purging, packing, trips to storage, and burning.

Tuesday, Sept. 1st

Renna and I hit up TJMaxx after Moes.  I needed to get some specific clothing options for the dress code in Jordan.

 Treasures form the basement.

Me and Kate.  Friends since 1980, the night before our August wedding.

Wednesday, Sept. 2nd

Pictures from Renna, who is not supposed to have her phone visible in school.

Thursday, Sept 3rd

FINALLY!   My gosh.  People behind desks finally picked up the file and signed the thing.  Wowweee!!!  After DAILY / HOURLY check-ins and an all-star lineup of brokers, the deal was done!  I changed clothes and was elbow deep an hour later.  If anyone in the Hartford area needs a realtor, Christy is your girl!

In keeping with DiSalvatore tradition, we did Chinese at the new house.  Only one of my crew was available, so it made for a very sweet dinner!

Colombo, Jon, and the girls were off on a road trip to Pittsburgh for a hockey 

Friday, Sept. 4th

After a mega push and all hands on deck and many late hours, Colombo and Karen closed on 1742.  They pushed their bodies and the deadline to the breaking point, but they got it done!

So our attention was 100% swiveled to rehabbing the 2nd floor unit at Ridge and getting that rented.  I had 11 days before I left, so after Kelly picked up Baby Bo, it was off to the races!

Rocco ripped up some carpet and began the pain-staking task of pulling staples.

Trev loves this spot for naps.

A beautiful evening, beautiful sunset, beautiful Night of Worship.  So well-attended and 80ish people got baptized!

Check-ins from Pittsburgh.

Saturday, Sept. 5th

My home away from home, with a paintbrush in my hand.

Fan and Tina captured it best!

Sunday, Sept. 6th

We had our family Fantasy football draft.  Lisa hosted most of the gang at the Lake for the afternoon and got some snuggle time with Bo.  How sweet is this?!?!  Gifted bonus time for her and now her great nephew knows his very bestest Great Auntie.  Forever the GOAT.

I worked at Ridge up until draft time and then went home to make meals for treatment week while drafting. 

Week 31--My Favorite Dump Run

Monday, July 27th

We unexpectedly found ourselves kidless so we set out on a dinner date.  Rocco and Renna spent two nights with family friends at their campground.

Tuesday, July 28th

His mama sent a pic of him with his beloved giraffe in his new giraffe jams.

Wednesday, July 29th

I think this was his last bounce.  He'd rather be sitting on the floor with toys now.

It's so unbelievable, yet all so normal to us after twelve years.  Lisa's call determined that because of some slightly detectable new growth, it was time to start chemo again after a glorious year and a half break!  I just shook my head like, "Well....we know what to do.  Here we go......"   It's crazy how desensitized I've become to parts of the story AND how utterly sickening, sad, and devastating it all is.  All we know to do is keep walking forward, ever grateful for whatever time God gifts us.  Round #48- absolutely nutty!  Lisa's courage and resolve is unmatched.

And because we can hold two things at the same time AND because God is so gracious and kind, Lisa would also learn on this day that her grand baby due in December is.....a BOY!  

Thursday, July 30th

Lil hosted Girls' Night Out.  It was so very sweet and she is just so gifted at hosting.  Meg and Lil were so patient to listen to our stuff.  We all have each other's backs, and that is a gift.

The sweetest one-sock boy.

Friday, July 31st

A very foggy morning walk.

Fridays with Maymee.

After Bo got picked up, I made my way to Jack and Avery's brand new-to-them house.  It's perfect!

I did what I could to help unpack the kitchen.  Thankfully, there were quite a few hands working together to get the move done.

Saturday, Aug. 1st

I went back to Jack and Avery's to do some yard work.  Nice, hot, sweaty weeding and hedge-trimming.  So when Lisa said, Ame, do you want to go with me to the dump?',  I said, "Sure."  

We  bumped along in the truck, happy to be together chatting away in the AC.  It wasn't until we stopped at the Lake house to "load up" what was there that I was like, "Wait a second...the two Grammas were elected to do the dump run?"  

No offense, and she'd say it herself, but Lis was gonna be no help.  So I hauled and heaved and pushed the pile for the dump onto what was already in the truck, and we were off again.

Only when the man at the dump asked, "What do you have?" did we look back and realize what we (the two Grammas) were tasked to do.  Dude!!!  Actual furniture.  A weight bench.  Rolls of nasty carpet.  So Lisa coached me on the best way to shimmy and leverage and flip and eventually, the job was done.  I was a sight.  Hair in every direction, dripping sweat.  Hedge clipping stuck to my neck and shoulders.  But we had laughed through the entire event, determined to rise to the challenge.   We laughed all the way back to Vernon wishing Renna had been along to vlog it all, because WOW.   As we bumped along in the truck back to the house I thought, I'm going to remember this day with Lisa for the rest of my life.

...and that's how a dump run became a treasured gift.

Sunday, Aug. 2nd

On a bit of a whim, Rocco decided to attend a week of Word of Life's camp with Trevor.  He literally registered the day before and decided logistically it made the most sense to drive himself up and back.  Up until this, he'd only done up to 30 minute trips.  Three hours and 15 minutes had me nervous, but I knew he could do it.  I gassed him up, lectured him about safety, gave him the best halfway spot to stop, hugged him tight, and waved goodbye.  Then I got in my car and cried.  Just another super obvious signal that my "kids" are quickly becoming NOT kids, and I know it's all good and how it's supposed to be, but I don't always love it.

He made it!  So excited for him and his week ahead.

Week 23--MVP

Monday, June 1st

I did the dumbest thing.  I backed out of the garage 1/10 of a second before the door was clear.  Snapped this off, ripped the wiring, and dented the entire roof panel.  You wouldn't believe the damage it caused from just clipping the top little millimeter.  So now I'm in the middle of resolving that.

Tuesday, June 2nd

How cute!

"Taco Tuesday" was used for our May / June birthday celebration night.   (Rocco, Trevor, and Mason) The boys picked Longhorn.

Wednesday, June 3rd

Speaking of Mason...

Rocco had his Tennis banquet where he not only had the only winning record (12-6) but also won MVP for the season and earned All-Conference.

Thursday, June 4th

This girl was the first one in and has logged some good pool time so far.

Trevor and/or Rocco invited the crew over for the afternoon / evening.

Girls' Night Out to see Water For Elephants at the Bushnell.  It was meh, but we all had fun being together out and about on a gorgeous evening.

Accidentally twinning because that's what we do!

Friday, June 5th

Trevor working hard around the yard during his break.

I went to look at this duplex.  We ended up putting an offer in a week later and ultimately would not be accepted, but it was a great property!

We went downtown for date night to Taste of Hartford and ate our way through several local vendors.  The perfect spot to be on a beautiful, warm evening- live music and happy people!

Saturday, June 6th

Sunday, June 7th

We called a family call for two purposes.  1) to recap their last 6 months and give everyone a clear picture of what they've been doing, what day-to-day life looks like, and to really share the "why" of why they are there since the siblings never really saw the powerpoint before December departure.  Mason did such a great job sharing stories and pictures.  So fun to get the big picture again and how they are doing as a family unit within that context.  They are loving their place, their city, and their team.  They've had some great experiences and are still just very excited to be there.

2) Our second agenda item was to review travel plans and set expectations so that we are all on the same page.  With 8 adults, 2 teens, a toddler, an infant, international travel, two countries, and two Air BnB's....we're effectively a small tour group with multiple 'households' merging, so we are doing our best to have 'most' details in place and be sure that wishes are expressed before they turn into disappointments.

C, Kell, and Bo stopped by to use the pool.

Colombo had flown out of town for a conference and C4 asked to use the house for his football draft with about 13 guys, so Renna and I vacated to let the boys have the house and we went over and met Kelly and Bo at Cane's.

Renna and I ran a couple errands including getting a new tank (that doesn't leak) for Esmeralda.