This past weekend, we moved Mom out of her house and into ours. In January she dropped the bomb on us that she wanted to go ahead and move to Iowa this spring. For years, we knew she was going to move to Iowa when she retired but she still has a few years for that so mentally I had time to prepare, or so I thought. I keep trying to convince myself that I'm strong enough to handle this but the reality is that I'm not strong at all. I keep it together for the kids but I'm weak and I'm sad and my heart is breaking. I am relying solely on the Lord to carry me through this. My friend shared this verse with me and it's helped me so much..
About the sale of her house... we spent a good month decluttering and getting her house stage ready to put on the market. She hired a realtor and the house officially went on the market on Friday, March 18th. On Monday, March 21st, she had a written offer for more than she was asking. PRAISE THE LORD! As if things were not already moving to fast for me (moving 2 years ahead of schedule), now her house sells in record time which means she's moving sooner than my head (and heart) can process. She packed the remainder of her items and this past weekend we moved everything to a storage unit. We still have a few items to get from her house but closing is scheduled for this Friday so God willing, all will go well!
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9-But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10-That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
He is carrying me through this difficult time. I will continue to be weak and sad but I will look to Him to guide my path and give me strength to get through these difficult days. I'm so excited to have Mom living with us for the next month. I want to use this time wisely and soak up as much of her as I can. She thinks I'll be ready to get rid of her after being under the same roof for a month. I don't think I'll let her go, maybe I'll just hold her captive here.
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| Kiarra and Mom - Feb 2016 |
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| Jayden and Mom - April 2016 |
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| Taryn and Mom - Nov 2015 |
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| Me and Mom - Dec 2015 |
About the sale of her house... we spent a good month decluttering and getting her house stage ready to put on the market. She hired a realtor and the house officially went on the market on Friday, March 18th. On Monday, March 21st, she had a written offer for more than she was asking. PRAISE THE LORD! As if things were not already moving to fast for me (moving 2 years ahead of schedule), now her house sells in record time which means she's moving sooner than my head (and heart) can process. She packed the remainder of her items and this past weekend we moved everything to a storage unit. We still have a few items to get from her house but closing is scheduled for this Friday so God willing, all will go well!
Jayden has finally healed from pulling a muscle in his leg during the first track meet this season. It was a long boring recovery for him but all is well now. He played in his first AAU basketball tournament of this season over the weekend and it was a little sore but nothing he couldn't handle. He played well. Friday night was his 8th grade dance. He looked so handsome and Alex looked gorgeous. They said they had a great time. He and Alex will celebrate their 6 month anniversary this weekend (this is a pretty big deal for 14 year olds).
Kiarra got a new job and loves it. Baskin Robbins was a good first job for her but the management there was terrible. TERRIBLE!! She was reprimanded for doing homework while working... There are HOURS that go by that no customers come into the shop. So... she (and others) would use that time to study and do homework. Her boss called her while she was at school the week of finals to reprimand her for doing homework... the week of FINALS... He should be happy she was doing her homework and not leaving the store to go to the car to smoke weed like some of the other kids that work there. Seriously! Think about this... he called her to reprimand her for doing homework on the job when she was at school... didn't he basically just do to her what he didn't want her doing..? Following me here? I was NOT happy with that situation and we make her quit. No need to work for someone like that when there are plenty of other places to get a job. Before quitting, she had another one lined up. That one fell through (a whole lot of unfortunate circumstances) but after a few weeks and many applications to restaurants and stores in the mall, she landed a good one making $3 more an hour than the others she applied to. She's now working for a Swim Academy as a deck monitor but was trained to give swim lessons too. So, when she is ready they'll promote her to be an instructor. Her boss has already talked to her about it but for now she wants to continue to be a deck monitor. Kiarra and Harvey have been dating for 5 months. He is so good to her, such a sweet guy to steal her heart.
Taryn has grown so much, physically, mentally... I can't believe my baby girls is such a big girl now. She grew 3 inches just from December to April. She has been through a lot this school year. She's been bullied to the point of saying "Mommy, I just want to die"... WHOA - talk about pulling at the heart strings and wanting to kick some boys butt! It is so frustrating when the teachers do nothing about it. She finally moved classrooms and things are so much better now. Her grades improved and she no longer cries before going to school in the mornings. She is still struggling with reading so she participates in an awesome program,iStation, at school that has helped a lot! She'll be re-zoned to another new school next year so hopefully we get good teacher and an awesome principle. This will be her 3rd school and we've not moved! Our area is growing so fast, new schools are popping up every few years. She got braces on her top teeth 2 days before Christmas. These are not to straighten her teeth (although that is a great benefit), however they were put on to pull 2 teeth forward that were growing way far back in her mouth. They were causing her jaw to be out of line and giving her headaches so the braces have helped with that. She'll get them off next month (I think).
Tamia is graduating next month!! Whats the heck, not even sure how this is possible. We've not seen her since Thanksgiving but have been in contact here and there. We miss her soooo much. She'll be headed to college this fall, we are so proud of her. She is so excited to turn 18 this summer.
When did I become old enough to have a kid that is old enough to date, let alone 2 of them??!! These past 6 months have brought so much fun into our family, challenges too, but mostly fun.. I'm not sure I was ready for both of them to start dating, at the same time, but we jumped in feet first and here we are. Our rule has been very clear for years. No dating until high school, period! And even in high school, we may or may not agree to it and/or allow it. We also made it very clear that we are not going to let them practice divorce. If you want to date, after prayer and discussions, fine but don't think you are breaking up after your first little disagreement. Well, Jayden is in 8th grade, which definitely is not high school, but he was very mature about it and asked if we'd make an exception to our rule. After praying about it and having many conversations, and praying some more, we agreed to it. Even after we agreed to it, he waited a few weeks to ask her out. They are too cute. And the best part of it, she and her family attend our church now. I love how the Lord places people in our path at just the right time.
Jeff and I are hosting/leading a small group in our home on Sunday nights. This has been sooooo good for me/us. We have 10 adults and 15 kids and it.is.awesome. Of course anytime you start a new bible study the enemy wants to creep in to attack but it's not happening... Not in MY house! We are doing the Love and Respect marriage study and it's soooo good! We did it years ago with some dear friends but times were different then, it's almost like I'm doing it for the first time. In January, we attended a Life Action Summit that rocked our world. If you ever have the chance to attend one of these, do it! It is soooooo worth it. We went to church everyday, for eleven days, for hours each day. Some days (during the week) it was 3 hours, other days it was 5 or 6. I will never be the same, I had life altering experiences at that summit, new friendships were built and I am closer to the Lord than ever before. PTL.
In February, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law had another baby. She is soooo precious and so cute. They have their hands full with a newborn, 2 year old and 4 year old. We love those girls so much and they love their uncle Jeff. He plays on the floor with them and lets them beat the crap out of him (tee hee). They are so funny. I forget how cute and funny toddlers are.
We made a trip to New Orleans last month to visit Jeff's parents. We had a great time. We haven't been there in years. We spent one day in the French Quarters and it was so nice. The weather was beautiful and it was good to see the city alive once again. The next day, Jayden, Jeff and Perry went to a basketball game while us girls had a day of shopping and nice dinner. Sunday was Easter so we attended church with them and then had a nice breakfast before heading out to come home. On our way home we stopped to see some old friends who we hadn't seen in a couple of year.
We'll be headed to Iowa in May for Morgan's graduation (Teiges youngest son) and that is the same weekend we are moving Mom up there. Looking forward to seeing the family again!
Until next time...
