A new home

We moved into our new home on Friday and all the details went well. We closed on both homes and we are so grateful that the next chapter has started. No more house on the market, no more having the house perfect, no more long commute for Chuck. We changed that all for unpacking boxes and finding the right place to put things.

And speaking of things...we have way too much. It took 2 trucks to move our things and lots of help from the great guys at DJ. After 3 nights in our new home it is starting to look more and more like home. We still have to paint and do some work in the kitchen and the master bath, but it is going well. The girls love their new rooms and they look so cute. We are trying to get the guest house ready for Friday, when my parents arrive to help. I have a list of things for them to work on. In the mean time, we are so glad to be here and are enjoying this next chapter in our lives.

Moving Day

Today is our big day. We just closed on the home we are selling and are on our way to close on the one we are buying. We just dropped Chuck's truck off at the new house and got a peek at the hard wood floors and it looks great. All the details have come together smoothly and we are surviving the transition. Yesterday was a huge day. We had 3 guys from DJ come and help pack the trucks. That's right...I said trucks. We filled two 24 foot Budget trucks. Plus the mattresses, bikes and leftover stuff in a trailer that we pulled behind Chuck's pickup. Pics to follow when I can get to it.

The girls are doing great and have been big helpers. We are so tired and ready for this all to be done. After sleeping on the floor last night and working hard to clean this morning, we are ready for a little down time. More guys will show up this afternoon and help unload and move in. We are so thankful for all the help. My good friend Leslie took the girls yesterday afternoon and kept them while Chuck and I drove down and back to do our walk through. We appreciate all the help that we have had durring this transition. More later when I can...

Light at the end of the tunnel

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are on the last lap (racing term just for you CP). I am beginning to hear the echo in the house because it feels empty. The truck gets loaded tomorrow and the last boxes will be sealed today. The chaos on this end is ending and will begin at the new house on Friday.

This place is turning back into a house, it is not a "home" anymore. What makes it a home is the memories and the things that make it personal. Pictures, decorations, the smell of homemade bread. Now it is full of packing tape, boxes, bubble wrap and our Wendy's lunch trash.

I didn't realize how important order and routine are for me. I am choosing to focus on the positive and let the rest of it just roll off my back. Again...God is so good and we are so thankful for his guidance.

Just call me "snake killer"

As I was taking out another bag of trash, I caught sight of the snake I killed yesterday. I know, I know, it sounds so...primal. But, let me explain. I saw him when I was getting out of the car and heading into the garage. He was sitting right next to all my boxes and I really don't want to "bring" him with us to our new home. I had the girls keep an eye on him while I went for my hoe (learned it from my grandmother). Since my garden tools are already tied up in bunches and not available, I had to grab a hatchet. After I was done and I was telling Chuck about it, I realized since we have been here, I am the one killing all the snakes, he hasn't killed any. It's only been about 3 or 4, but the most memorable one was the one I stomped to death while I was wearing Crocs in the garden.

The Morning Commute

I just got an email from my parents who are in India right now. They mentioned that the traffic on one day was really bad, due to a religious celebration. If you have ever traveled in a foreign country with "loose" traffic rules you can understand that our daily commute here in the states is really pretty easy. We don't have much to complain about. It may be heavy traffic every now and then but at least it is organized. I found a picture from Chuck's last trip to India. Just a glimpse of what the rest of the world deals with on their morning commute. (I think one guy is riding without shoes.)

Enjoying Family Time

We spent part of our Saturday just enjoying spending time as a family. We have had little of this over the past 8 months with Chuck driving 3-4 hours a day back and forth to work. We are coming to the end of this, as we move this week. No more 2 hour commute for him. On Saturday we enjoyed a local festival in a cute and quaint old town. We are ALL about the food...corn dogs and homemade fries, kettle corn and root beer floats. And the weather wasn't too hot. We had a blast.

"Do what's right"

All my life growing up, a phrase I heard from my Dad was "Do what's right". You know, you are heading out the door to spend the evening with your high-school friends and you get that little reminder that you need to make good decisions and do the right thing. I believe that God has honored that and has really given me the desire the do the right thing. Another word for it is DISIPLINE. Doing the right thing even though I don't feel like it. Think through how much of life is full of discipline. Eating, time management, money, exercise, homework, job duties, cleaning the home, paying the bills on time. All of those things require discipline. The list could go on and on.

Even though I don't feel like doing the right thing all the time, I know that the payoff is worth it and the results of not being disciplined is not worth it (at least to me). I can see how it is my job to instill this habit in my own children's lives and demonstrate for them the example of a disciplined life.

All, this to say, I don't feel like putting on my running shoes and getting out there, but I know it is the right thing to do and the pay off is worth it. (And by the way...thanks Dad)

I've been tagged

As per request from my long time friend Courtney. (I do love these.)


Jobs I have had in my life

-homeschool teacher
-office assistant
-pre-school teacher
-youth group leader
-camp counselor

TV shows I like to watch

-The Office
-Amazing Race
-Seinfeld (reruns)

Places I have been to

-About 40 states
-Honduras
-San Juan Is.
-driven across the US several times (worth doing)
-Colonial Williamsburg (great vacation)
-Bolivia

Fave Foods

-homemade pizza (every Friday night)
-good Mexican (easier to find in California)
-smoothies
-chef salad
-Cadbury chocolate (not the Easter eggs, but the bar with almonds)

Books I've especially appreciated lately

-Carolyn Haywood (author) children's books that I read to my kids. They are so sweet and from the 40's -70's.
-The Rest of the Gospel

Things I enjoy

-I am really loving Biblegate.com
-blogging
-General Foods International Coffee ( I mix 2 kinds every morning for a treat)
-talking on the cel to Chuck on his way home from work
-MY CHILDREN, they truly are a joy to be with
-running (one of my new passions)
-letterboxing

Growing Up

It seems like my kids are growing up right before my very eyes. You know what I mean. You have a moment where you see them from a different perspective and realize that they are not as little as you think they are. For some strange reason I still think of my kids as little, you know, like 4 and 5. Maybe that is because that is how old they were when we moved the last time.

Yesterday I had a moment when I realized they are growing up. We needed some shoes for Tally and we were hitting the clearance rack at a local department store. The largest size in kids shoes were 4 and they were too small. We got her size 6 in ladies sandals. And that is because the 5 was too small. Did you get what I just said??? I got my 3rd grader an adult size shoe. Wow.

They are still sweet and tender at heart even though they are out growing the little girls sizes, they still love to play pretend and dress up and oh how they love their American Girl Dolls. I desire the preserve the innocent little girl stage as they appropriately mature in to young ladies. Maybe that is why Tally got so many doll clothes for her birthday. =)

...And the nominees are...

Well, Chuck found out on Saturday that he has been nominated for 4 Emmy awards this year. He joined the National Television Academy and is part of the Suncoast Chapter (south eastern states). He submitted in a few different categories and he is more than thrilled to have been nominated. Two of his DJTV web shows are nominated and he is also individually nominated for writer. As you can imagine, we are so very proud of him and his accomplishments. God has really blessed him with talent and it is neat to see it being recognized.

Trials vs. Temptations

A pastor at our church is just starting a study on the book of James. Yesterday was a message from the first chapter and he introduced the idea of the difference of trials and temptations. At first they didn't sound very different. But after examining that trials are the struggles in life that bring you closer to God and make you more Christlike and how temptations are things that when given into draw you away from the deep relationship with God. This all made me think...I truly am grateful for the trials. Any type of a transition or struggle in our life or difficulty is an opportunity to grow. God cares enough about me as his child that he wants me to mature. Just like I want my own kids to grow and mature. I take comfort in knowing that all these hard times are for my own good. And I have the chance to cling to him and respond in the right way and pass the test. Flee the temptation and embrace the trial. =)

The Lighthouse

We went on another great field trip with our home school group. We spent the morning at a marine science center learning all about taking care of sick sea turtles and birds and other wild life. Then had a great picnic on the beach and enjoyed a guided tour of the sand dunes and jetty. The volunteers were so informative and gave such a great tour of the facilities. When we were done with that we went to the lighthouse next door. We got to see the keepers historic homes and tour the grounds there. Tally and I climbed the 175 feet to get to the top of the beautiful old lighthouse. She had such courage and determination. Tristen was able to brave it halfway, which was better than most of our group. Only problem was that I had to take her back down again and start for the top one more time to catch up with the group. It was a great day away from the mess of our move and the chaos waiting back home.

Finding Old Toys

Our house is such a mess as we pack up our things and sort and toss and organize. The girls have had so much fun finding toys that have been stored away while we were showing our house when it was on the market. They have spent days playing with the Lincoln Logs. The latest is playing Narnia or Little House with the Lincoln Logs and their stuffed bears. I love their imagination. (Can you tell we read A LOT?)

Butterfly Garden

We went with our homeschool subgroup to a butterfly garden. The kids had a great time learning about butterflies and then got to go into the tent and hold fruit for them to land on. What a neat experience.

House Inspection

We went down to the new house yesterday for the house inspection. It was a chance to get inside and measure for window treatments and carpet. I got a picture of the front of the house even though the inspector had his ladder in the way. We spent several hours checking things out and learning how somethings work from one of the sellers. We are very thankful for this new house that God has preserved for us.

Chuck's Telly Awards

Just wanted to share a picture of Chuck with 2 of his 3 Telly Awards. (Television awards) This year he got one silver (the highest) and 2 bronze awards for some of his work on shows that he has done for DJTV. These are national awards and we are so proud of him. He has submitted to hopefully receive nominations for the Emmy Awards. He already said "It is an honor just to be nominated." I know that he means it, he would be thrilled to be nominated and so excited to win an Emmy. A life long dream for him. We will keep you posted.

Buster- the 2 week dog

The girls had been wanting a dog for so long and we had been doing research on a breed that would be a good fit for our family. We narrowed it down to boston terrier and daschund. One day the girls and I were in a pet store and found a puppy mix of these two breeds. After falling in love with this sweet puppy and an OK from Chuck we brought him home. Well with in a few days we noticed that both Chuck and Tally were really struggling with their asthma cough and we knew it was from the puppy. Long story short...we had to give the dog to another family. We wanted to share a picture of him and remember him in our family forever.

Back From India

Chuck recently went to India for work. Digital Juice has close to 200 employees in the city of Bangalor, southern India. He has wanted to go for about 3 years and has had his Visa ready to go. He had a great time. He really enjoyed interacting with the Indian people there and he was so glad he was able to connect with Dave, the owner of the company and other DJ workers. He hopes to go back sometime soon.

Here he is in the factory making a box for one of the products. He spent most of his time in meeting with the leadership but was able to get a tour of the different parts of Juice and also site see in the city a little bit.

5:00 a.m.

What is it about 5:00 a.m.? Why is it that it is then that my mind starts to race and I start thinking of the tasks that lay ahead? Well...right now with moving, my list of things to do is what is waking me up this early. Boxes to pack, things to sort through, rooms to clean, calls to make and people I need to confirm with for one thing or another. Then I start thinking of these things and listening to Chuck breath (maybe snore would be more accurate), and I can't get back to sleep. And sleep is what I really long for. But if I am honest, it comes down to details that I need to lay at God's feet. Things that are on my mind or on my list of things to do or concerns about getting all the details of closing our house in just 3 weeks. These are all details that God cares about too. When I remind myself of the truth, and cling to that, it is there where I find comfort. God is still in control. He is trustworthy and I choose to rest in Him. So...now that it is almost 6:00 a.m., I might as well enjoy the quiet morning and the chance to unload my burdens on him.

Catching Up...

Now that I am getting the hang of this, I want to catch you up on some pics. Tally had her 9th birthday just a few weeks ago and here she is at her bowling party.

On the Move

If any one has been following our life over the past 9 months, you know that we have been trying to sell our home and find another one. We finally have signed a contract on our home here and signed one in our new town.

We are praising God for how he has answered our prayers for a buyer and for preserving the home that we had picked out 8 months ago. Though it has been a hard process and relocating is never easy, we have seen how God has worked and we march forward with eager anticipation.

We plan on closing escrow on both homes before the end of the month. The next few weeks should be a bit crazy, but we are excited about the next stage for our life.

I have been wanting to start a blog to share with friends and family all the appropriate details of our life here. We hope to hear from you all and be patient with us as we start our new "blog".