finally home

I thought I'd drop a quick post before all the craziness starts today. 

Tuesday was the first night in the new house, and although it's been chaos, we've loved just about every minute in our new home and neighborhood.

It's been a little extra crazy this week with the movers being late, our fridge not fitting in the kitchen, and various surprises (such as a leak in a pipe in the wall that's resulted with water damage specialist coming out to tell me not to use the kitchen sink for a day or two and not having a cabinet for several days.  Poor Joe in his room has no closet.).  But we are taking it all in stride and focusing on grateful hearts.  Nothing makes you more grateful for running water than not being able to use it in the kitchen for several days.  ;)  It's been great to really just EMBRACE what comes our way.

We are busily unpacking, setting up a swing set, clearing and cleaning out our old house, trying to help the kitties adjust to the situation, preparing for our horse to arrive next week (yes! You read that right....we are so excited!), trying to get everyone settled as quickly as possible since school is starting soon, and just dealing with regular crazies of everyday life. 

Life is good.

I am anxious to get back to writing.  Not only here, but also on Power of Moms.  I felt like I was just finding my groove and then suddenly I was signing off for a month.  Things are still chaos here, but I have noticed a huge difference in my stress level without being able to write (and horseback ride, or do anything other than packing really), so I want to focus on our family settling in quickly, but allotting us plenty of free time in the process.  We've all been so busy for so long, I want to make sure everyone has what they need to feel good.

Some things that have happened since I've been gone are:
-Wes and I had out 7th Anniversary.  We've decided to postpone the celebration until everyone is settled in and unpacked, but of course there were extra hugs and kisses, and sweet words that day.  In addition to Wes buying me a horse!  (I got him this wicked awesome volleyball net he'd been crusading for to have at the new house.)
-Jonah is in the process of being weaned.  Other then the fact that he is a bottomless pit, things are going pretty well.  He's such a good little sport.  I love that little boy!
-My big boys are going through this storytelling phase.  I absolutely adore it.  All day, every day, they are following me around asking me to tell them a story.  It's awakened my imagination and I have had so much fun watching their delighted faces light up in excitement as I luck out and say something particularly interesting of funny.  I love having their undivided attention and sharing in these sweet moments.  Being a mommy is so much fun!
-We had a fun time at my family reunion at Bear Lake.  Despite the fact that Jonah and Micah got croup the first night there, we were able to rest and relax and enjoy the beauty of that wonderful place so dear to our hearts.  We watched movies, took naps, played volleyball, rode bikes....we even lucked out and made it to the beach a few times as Jonah got better.  It was so much fun!
-Out tadpoles turned into tiny frogs.  They boys have been having a blast with them.  We have learned so much through the process of watching tadpoles turn to frogs. 
-Micah flooded the house....twice....while I was packing to move and Wes was gone working extra hours to save up and also pay for all the extra fun things as well as the move.  It was not fun.  I'm so glad it was only twice!
-I've been gradually adding gluten back in my diet.  I do well most of the time, but can definitely tell if I've overdone it.  I've also been adding raw food back in.  I'm feeling so much better already and I haven't even had a smoothie yet!  In fact, I've decided that maybe I don't have any of these darn diseases that they think I have.  I think I've developed certain tendencies that seem to present themselves when I'm stressed - especially if my sleep is affected.  I've wondered before if the reason I feel so good when I'm pregnant is because I live in my bed and sleep all the time.  So, sleep, exercise, and diet are going to be major components in everyone's routine around here.  We are all excited to get back on the healthy bandwagon.  :)
-Wes's brother, Joseph, decided to move in with us for a few months.  We haven't seen too much of him yet with all the water damage mumbo jumbo (a lot of it is in his room), but once everything's fixed and we're all settled, we'll enjoy having him here and having some one-on-one time with him.  He's such a great guy and we're so glad he's decided to hang out with us for awhile.

I'm sure there is more, but for now, I am signing off.  Today is going to be full of lots of last-minute moving stuff and garage organizing (We went from 1400 sq. feet of unfinished storage to about a 5 x 7 room and the garage. It will be good to get rid of some things and get more organized, but it'll be a project to figure it all out.  Part 1 is today and I am excited to see how it goes.).  Wish us luck!