Whirlwind

This has seriously been the most intense month of my life.  Quite honestly.  So let me fill you in on the drama...

Tim applied for a job back in Johnson City, TN in early July and we didn't really think much of it because he didn't hear anything for a while and whatever whatever.  Anyway, he was asked to come down to J.C. for a more extensive interview the second week in August and by the end of the week (Aug. 17th - my birthday, no less) we were told he got the job!  We were pretty excited to be moving back to a place we'd lived before and had fond memories of, not to mention lots of good friends too.  The catch was that we only had about a week and a half to move!  Eek!  Tim had lots of other work obligations and I'd already planned to host a baby gender reveal party (pictures soon - I promise!!!) on that following weekend, so I had no idea how we were going to get everything done.  Keep in mind that I had to do all this while balancing an almost 4 year old and a 20 month old.  Awesome.  AND that I am 5 months pregnant.  Somehow, we were able to pull off that crazy party and manage to pack our entire 8 years worth of living-in-that-apartment in time to make the move Labor Day Weekend.  For that, I have many people to thank. You know who you are...

Our original idea was to move Labor Day Weekend and hire movers and all that.  We got estimates and were quoted anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000.  Uhmm... What?!?  Who has that kind of money?  And because it was a holiday weekend and at the end of the month, rental trucks were 3 or 4 hundred dollars more expensive than normal.  Ick.  So, we decided to drive down from New York to my parents' house in Virginia (8 hours) on that Thursday night before Labor Day with bags packed for the month and leave the kiddos with my folks.  Worst drive EVER.  I'll spare the details but I was so ridiculously tired and I popped a tire and all kinds of crazy happened. It was just dangerous crazy.

Tim and I drove down that next day to J.C. (4+ hours) to look for houses so we could start that process going.  We'd already gotten an agent and had been searching online for houses we wanted to see.  The two of us looked at houses all day Friday and on Saturday signed a contract on a house, then drove back to VA for the kids.  I then stayed in VA with the boys while Tim drove back up to NY with my dad on Sunday.  Our good friend Jeremy flew all the way up from NC to help Tim load the trucks (yes, plural) on Monday and on Tuesday they all caravaned back to VA.  

(Are you still with me, reader?!?  It's a lot, I know!)

Wednesday, Tim and Jeremy drove the trucks down to J.C. while I followed them in the car so we could drop off all our belongings into a storage unit.  It's a strange feeling following behind two moving trucks, knowing that all your stuff is crammed in there.  When we got to J.C., we were met by lots of great guy friends who helped us unload the trucks.  Afterward, we drove Jeremy halfway back to Raleigh to meet up for dinner with his wife (my BFF) and then back to J.C. where we crashed hard for the night.  That next day was filled with meeting a mortgage banker, having the home inspected, getting Tim's letter of employment, and getting a temporary P.O. Box.  Tim had his first day of work that next day (Friday) so that he could be on the books for health insurance for October and that afternoon we drove back to VA to spend the weekend with the boys.

We didn't rest, though.  No sirreee.  We spent that whole weekend going through all the stuff we had stored up in my parents out-building.  I'm talking a crap-load of stuff.  This is stuff we haven't even seen for 8 years.  It was weird.  It was all the stuff that we just didn't have room for when we moved up to NY, but just never had the time to deal with.

Tim had to leave to head back to J.C. Sunday afternoon so he could work the next week and I stayed in VA with the boys.  That whole week Tim worked on paperwork for the house while I geared up to have a massive yard sale for the following weekend.  When Friday rolled around, I just about nearly killed myself having this stupid yard sale, moving boxes bigger than myself and placing things so it looked appealing from the street.  I had some big items, like a refrigerator, a futon, a table and chairs, some bookshelves, and so forth.  I ended up making about $800 over the 2 days I had it.  Almost enough to help pay off all the moving expenses Tim's new job couldn't cover!  I was thrilled with that... oh so exhausted, though.  Tim arrived late Friday night and was able to help run the yard sale on Saturday, which I was so thankful for.  I literally could not move my legs by 9pm on Friday night.  It was insane.

Sunday (Sept. 16th) was Tim's birthday, so after all that yard sale-ing I had to bake a freaking birthday cake.  He is the only person in the world I would have done that for.  That is some true love, ladies and gentlemen.  Tim and I had a little date afternoon to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library while my parents watched the boys for a couple of hours.  That next day began Tim's work week in J.C. again.  Killer! 

By Tuesday I decided that we needed to be in Johnson City with Tim and so I packed up the boys and we drove down Wednesday.  I got a speeding ticket along the way (curses!) and there was a whole lot more drama and tears involved in the decision to come down to J.C. but regardless, we made it safely and are currently staying with my sweet friend Linda while we wait to close on our house.  And today we got word that the closing date is set for this coming Friday!  Yippee!

What a long and C.R.A.Z.Y. road this has been.  I'm so thankful for our dear friends who have just gone above and beyond for us. It's really shown us who we can count on. And I'm thankful that we've been able to get a closing date so quickly.  We were fortunate to have a good family connection that gave us great advice and helped us get the attention we needed.  There have been days filled with tears of anger and frustration, days of sheer exhaustion, and days that I just want to erase from my memory, but through it all I've also been so proud.  I'm so proud of the amazing friendships I have, of the strong resilient children I've raised, of my incredible indefatigable husband, of the strength and courage I never knew I had, and of my drive to keep going even though things got scary intense for a while.

We're still technically homeless, but tomorrow we'll be celebrating my 4 year old's birthday.  I bought silly string and Tim is downstairs baking a "chocolate CHOCOLATE" cake (as per request).  We're also taking the boys to a local delight - the Bristol Motor Speedway - to see some Monster Trucks. Then I guess we'll wait to hear if we can get into the house a bit sooner than the closing next week so we can get some painting and cleaning done!  Cross your fingers for us...

Here is a view of the mountains...  What a sight! 

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13