Catching Up

It has been a busy summer here!  Lots of things to update about ... so here goes:

1)  We closed on our House.
Monday, August 12th, we signed the contract for our house, squeaking in as the last appointment of the day at 4 pm, not sure if all the papers would be ready to sign or not.  They were!  We had 10 minutes to get to the Title Office and go over an inch thick stack of papers and sign our life away.  Oh, and provide a downpayment too.  The bank balance sure looked bigger with the money in it prior to closing.

2)  We moved - Part I
We got a few family & friends to help us pack up and load up the big items on Saturday, August 17th.  We moved our king size bed up a tiny, narrow flight of stairs with several turns to get to the top.  Yeaaahhhhh ... should have bought a new bed and had someone else move it.  It took a lot of effort from the three guys to get it up the stairs.  It is in our bedroom, fits like a dream, and is staying there until we saw it in pieces and get a new bed!

3)  We moved - Part II
We had until the end of August to get the remainder of our little stuff out of the rental house, so we moved the necessities and slooooowly moved the rest of the stuff.  We were going to be charged rent until a new tenant was found (per our lease agreement, although we had given 2 months notice), so I'd been praying to St. Joseph to find someone.  No such luck until the very last few days.  We had a big push Thursday and Friday (Aug 29/30) to get the last items out we hadn't moved yet.  (I swear, there was so much stuff this time compared to our move in March!)  As we were down to the second to last van + trailer load, a couple came to look at the house with their daughter, not once, but twice.  We took that as a good sign - and sure enough, it was rented out, so we didn't have to pay for the rental house and our current one.  Very blessed with how that turned out!

4)  We unpacked, decluttered and had a Garage Sale
DH and I spent quite a few days going through all the items we brought with us during this last move and decided that we didn't need it all.  After spending the last 6 months with most of the stuff still packed, it made it that much easier to decide what to keep and what to toss.  We went through our old childhood momentos (for the second time - the first was a few years ago) and made a tote / truck for each of us, then kept only what would fill that.  So much stuff, I didn't remember what it went to ... or I'd saved it for a stupid reason.  So into the garbage it went.  We hauled two van loads + two trailer loads of stuff to my parent's house to have the garage sale (they have a prime location) and made about $300.  It was a long few days, but it was worth it!  I have so much peace of mind about less stuff, the things I have being organized and the extra money.  :-D

5)  A Kitchen Remodel
It seems like I can't buy a house without fixing up a Kitchen.  I don't do it on purpose.  Honest!  There are just terrible Kitchen layouts/cabinets/countertops/etc.  Why did men think they were all that when they did the design & layout?  'Cause this one certainly sucks!  I can't open the refrigerator door all the way as it hits the peninsula countertop.  One cabinet in the corner I can't even open the door.  I think I have 3 base cabinets (two are totally inaccessible) and three wall cabinets.  And a set of decorative posts on top of a half-wall between the Refrigerator & Stove.  WTH?  I just sigh and roll my eyes.  We have Cabinets ordered and will have them in the middle of November.  Hopefully we can gut and start putting things back before Christmas, but as all projects go when you do it yourself ... they take FOR-EVER!!!  Updates to follow on that end of things

6)  Luke has begun the terrible 2's at 1-1/2 years old
We didn't see this one coming out of our sweet and adorable and smiley little guy.  Oh, no.  Luke would never misbehave.  WRONG!  You definitely see us head out to the cry room at each Mass, hear Luke wail and see us furiously stuff Cheerios into his mouth to keep him from wailing.  Two Sundays ago, he threw his bottle and sprayed milk all over the people standing behind us and our pew.  This last Sunday, he couldn't look at his Mickey pop up book (yes, it is terrible that it isn't religious, but it keeps him entertained) as we were standing up for the Gospel ... or before the readings ... I honestly can't remember, I don't think I remember anything about the Mass, so he got mad, flapped up his arms to hit me in the face (his standard "I'm mad" tactic) and pulled my hair quite a few times.  I had to carry him out, arms held together, as I did the "walk of shame" down 1/2 the church as the people seated watched me try and contain my screaming child.  Oh, so many of you received prayers that day.  I truly tried to be patient with him.  He's got a mind of his own!

I think that's enough of an update for now.  :-D  It was quite a variety of topics.  I wanted to post before I felt obligated to read up on how everyone has been.  I catch snippets here and there, and cover all my blogger friends daily in prayer for all the intentions of your hearts.