Two weeks from right now we'll be on the road

You may all think we're crazy, but it looks like we're actually going to do this! The house is slowly but surely getting packed away and I'm hoping that this will be the week we sell the house so that will be taken care of. In the meantime, Aaron is trying to get in contact with the owner of all the McDonald's' in Waco, so that hopefully he can have a job by the time we leave here.

Today was supposed to be my last day of work, but I talked my boss into letting me work four more days next week, just to give us a little more padding as far the funds for this adventure go. I'm exhausted, but looking forward to the week off before we leave, in which I plan to finish packing, sell the house, possibly trade my car, and make all the little last-minute arrangements that need to happen in order to move, such as cancelling services, changing addresses at banks, schools, and subscriptions, turning in uniforms and library materials, getting my hair cut, giving away and/or selling and/or throwing away anything we're not going to take... the list goes on.

Also, we're trying to make the most of every last minute we have here by going to all the graduation parties, goodbye parties, church events, family get-togethers, camping trips, etc. In a lot of ways, it will be quite a relief when we pull away from Des Moines on the sixth. I'm so thankful for all of Aaron's help and encouragement. Even after a long day of work, he manages to put on a smile in this disaster of a house that we live in and do little things like take out the trash and stack the boxes once they are full. Keep praying for strength for me, and for emotional stability as I try to deal with all this change... as we all know that can be really hard for me! For Aaron, pray for peace. He's a little nervous about the job thing and anxious about the move. It's scary to go somewhere you've never been before so far away from anywhere you've lived up 'til now. Anyways, that's what's up with us! I'll keep you updated more once we actually make the move!

The Stress of It All

Today I officially finished my job at Drake. Also, I turned in my two-weeks notice resignation letter at McDonalds. Which means I have two more weeks before we really are actually leaving Des Moines. Of course, I'm quitting a week before the big move to finalize sales (car and house), packing, and all the other minutia that needs to be done. Meanwhile, I'm feeling weighed down by all the stress of moving and dealing with all the scenarios we've been running through. Our options are: rent a moving truck (too expensive), buy a truck (too much to deal with and also very expensive), use Kent's friend's trailer (too annoying to attach, fill, pull, and then too much to deal with once we get there, also too expensive), or store stuff for a few months and pick it up in October and/or December (which is probably what we're going to do, but the question is where to store?). So that's one thing I'm dealing with.
Also, I'm packing the house. Being overly organized, this means a lot of sorting, packing, repacking, donating, selling, and giving away stuff. Two people can really accumulate a lot of stuff in one year, I hate to think what a family would accumulate in a lifetime. Of course, I eagerly started packing way to early, which means that now I'm sick of it all and just can't wait to be done. Also, Aaron is super annoyed that we're down to only one couch to sit on and a bed. Everything else has been sold and/or discarded by now. I have food sitting out on all the counters, and I have books stacked on every free surface until I can go through the piles and decide what to keep, what to take, what to store, and what to get rid of. My goal is to make the whole thing less stressful. Unfortunately, I think I'm accomplishing the opposite.
Yesterday two men came to look at the house. They are trailer-flippers. And they seemed to maybe probably want to actually make an offer in the next few days, which is really encouraging. I'm SO thankful that we actually have a place to live in Waco, and we're not really worried about when to leave or where to go from here. I'm super-thankful for our supportive family on both ends who are willing to let us stay with them. Also, I'm thankful for jobs we can leave here without too much problems and that Aaron's bosses are so supportive and willing to help him get a job right away when we get there. Also, I'm glad that we have so much to look forward to in June and July so that I (hopefully) won't get too bad of post-move depression (which, knowing myself, is inevitable anyways).
Really, I just need something to think about other than the move and the upcoming events. I keep reminding myself to focus on here and now and cherish these last few weeks in this place I have come to call home. No matter what I say about the crazy weather or crazy people or even this crazy house, Des Moines has really become home for us, and it will be a wonderful place to come visit and maybe someday come back to. I will really really miss my Layla-Bear and the dear people at Bondurant and my wonderful coworkers at McDonald's. I will really miss being so close to my amazing in-laws and all the love and support they provide. But we're really ready to move away and start a new chapter, now if I can just finish packing, selling, and moving, we'll be home-free! :)

The Heart of Texas

Waco Country AKA McLennan County is known as the Heart of Texas. Seeing that written on every webpage I go to always makes me think of this song:


The stars at night - are big and bright
Deep in the heart of texas.
The prairie sky - is wide and high
Deep in the heart of texas.
The sage in bloom - is like perfume
Deep in the heart of texas.
Reminds me of - the one I love
Deep in the heart of texas.
The cowboys cry - ki-yip-pie-yi
Deep in the heart of texas.
The rabbits rush - around the brush
Deep in the heart of texas.
The coyotes wail - along the trail
Deep in the heart of texas.
The doggies bawl - and bawl and bawl
Deep in the heart of texas.

Living Simply

“Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly.” – Epictetus


New favorite website: http://www.becomingminimalist.com. Please go there and see what I've been thinking about recently...