Updates

-We are starting to make noticeable progress on unpacking the boxes. Tomorrow will mark one week since our movers unloaded our shipment. Today I unpacked the living room, family room and playroom. I lined the cabinets and drawers in the master bathroom and the cabinet in the kids' bathroom. I can't believe it has taken a week to get this far. I usually wipe everything down when we move into a new place, but this one needed more deep cleaning. It takes a bit longer because I have to move boxes to clean around them and then unpack. But I felt like today was very productive.

-Yesterday P.K., Hannah and I found a very nice mall a town over. We took a different route home to explore. We discovered a Target Super Center, a Super WalMart, Kohls, Home Depot and various other stores less than 5 miles from our house. The WalMart and Target we had used earlier in the week were farther away than that. It is the little things that make this girl happy.

-Rachel is loving school. She has a list of friends already. I knew she would make friends quickly. She is very outgoing. Her teacher issued me a written apology regarding the "less than warm welcome" and followed up in an email to see if I found the note. During my morning quiet time I try to read one chapter from Proverbs every day that corresponds with the date. The kids' started school on August 19 so I read chapter 19 that day. I haven't been as faithful with my morning quiet time the last couple of weeks, but when I went to pick the kids up from school that day I read the chapter while I was waiting in the pickup line. Verse 11 says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." Needless to say, I already felt convicted to forgive her and give her a second chance.

-Aaron hasn't really made friends the way Rachel has. He is much more reserved. I am like that. I know I don't seem shy, but I hate new situations. Once I warm up I am fine. I can relate to the poor little guy. He says recess is his least favorite part of school because he doesn't have anyone to play with. What I have discovered this move is that the things that bother my kids the most regarding the move are the things that break my heart. Although I can't wait to make a true friend here, it would make me much more happier if Aaron would make just one. He did come home today with a paper to sign up for an after school Spanish language program at their school. It is a thirty week program. He will start on Thursday. He also received a paper for Scouts. I know he is anxious to get back into that.

-I appreciate the prayers and although we have had several unexpected things to deal with here, I have been at peace. That is from the Lord. One specific prayer request I would like to throw out is that we will find a church we love. We tried one on Sunday morning that was nice, but it wasn't the one. We attended a different church on Sunday evening and I went last night and signed up for their Women's Bible study which will be on Tuesday morning. They have a good program for children, but just Sunday School. We really want a church that has a program for the children during worship. We also want it to be one where they are learning not just coloring pictures.

-P.K. got his work schedule yesterday. We knew he was going to have to work every Sunday because he is the chaplain and services are offered at the prison on Sunday. We found out yesterday that he also has to work on Saturdays. He will be off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and doesn't have to be to work on Thursday until noon. That will be nice.

I guess that is all the updates I have for now.

Move Update

I really should not be posting right now. My list of things to do is about 3 pages long. At the top of that list is to finish packing so we can be on the road at O'Dark Thirty in the morning. We are off to check out our new stomping grounds and hopefully find a new place to live.

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it on the blog before, but I love family road trips. If there is a road side attraction or oddity to see, I will stop. (One of these days I'll have to post about the "live" buffalo we stopped to see after seeing signs for them for seriously 100 miles before. Yes, the signs said "live" buffalo.) I prefer to leave early instead of driving late. I'm not a chipper morning person but I function better in the morning.

My kids are great little travelers. I have learned a few tricks over the years. Since some of you who regularly check the blog have young kids, I thought I would pass along some of my traveling tips I have learned and used with the kiddos over the years. As I post our adventures this week, I will add a new tip. Some of you have traveled more miles than our clan. Please feel free to add your tips in the comments. I would love any helpful ideas. Here is my tip for today with a picture to explain what I am talking about. First the pic...

Other than showing you that the kids need some lotion on their knees, I would like you to notice their comfy clothes. On trips where we plan to leave extremely early, I have them shower and sleep in the the clothes they are going to wear the next day. Now before you all think I am an awful mom, I only do this when we are going to be in the car all day. They go straight from the shower to bed. Once we have the car totally loaded, the last thing we do is wake the kids. All they have to do is go potty and get in the car. When we take our first rest stop, I fix the girls hair and they are set. We usually visit some good friends in Virginia each year. Since I know they don't mind if I do laundry there, I wash the kids traveling clothes. The night before we leave to come home, they sleep in their comfy travel clothes. That can be considered a second tip because it makes less to pack. This trip we will be staying in a hotel so I packed comfy clothes for the return trip.

Please keep us in prayer for safety as we travel, ease at finding a new home and ease at getting the kids enrolled in school. I'll be posting updates. Now I really should get to bed since we are scheduled to pull out of the drive-way in less than six hours.