No, not again. I just never blogged after we moved the last time. The night we moved into our new house I got sick – horribly, terribly, miserably sick. I don’t know if I’ve ever been that sick in my life. My Pops used to say, “I was so sick I’d have to get better to die.” I now know exactly what he meant, since that’s exactly how I felt. It lasted a full 10 days. Fortunately, I recovered and had my parents close by to help with the kids and to take care of me while I rested and regained strength. Unfortunately, about the time I got better, Steve had to return to work; and we did not get moved into our house as quickly as I usually like. However, I am happy and proud to announce that we have moved in! All boxes have been unpacked. All rooms have been decorated. (I have a few more items to purchase, but all that we have is in its place.) We have moved!
One of the sweetest stories about our move was a conversation that Claire and I had the day the movers showed up to our apartment in Houston to load the truck. As the movers arrived, I put Claire and Cale in the van and headed to the mall. Claire asked who those men were. I told her that they had come to help Daddy load our stuff into the truck so that we could move next to MiMi and PopPop’s house. She said, “But I don’t want to move.” I asked why. She said, “Because then I’d be lost. I won’t know where I am.” I told her that she would learn her way around Tulsa very quickly as it’s much easier to get around there than Houston. She asked if I would be moving with her. (It never occurred to me that she thought she would be moving without me!) I said, “Yes, Claire, Mommy is moving with you. And Daddy and Cale are moving with us too.” She said, “I’m scared.” I told her that she didn’t need to be scared because Jesus is always with us. She sighed and was quiet for a few minutes. Then she said, “Mommy, we’re going to be OK. As long as I have you and Jesus, I’ll always be OK. Right?” I assured her that she was exactly right!
OK. Now for some pictures.
The outside
The entry
(We’re currently decorated for fall and for Steve’s birthday which we celebrated this weekend.)
Then on to the best part of the house – the kids’ rooms! The angels over the doorway leading to their rooms were given to me by my parents when I was a very little girl, just a little older than Claire. I LOVE them!
Princess Claire’s room
And behind this door is what Claire calls her clubhouse. One often needs a secret password to get in. (The password is “Princess.”)
Inside the clubhouse
Claire’s bookshelf
The Boy’s room
The airplanes that hang in the corner of Cale’s room are model airplanes that my dad put together when he was a little boy. How very cool that they now hang in his only grandson’s room.
The posters above Cale’s bed are the control panels of the SAAB 340B.
There are several airplanes in Cale’s room that belonged to his Great-Grandpa LeRoy. And, of course, many of Steve’s items have helped to decorate this room, including flight manuals, control panel charts, pilot’s licenses, pilot’s hat, flight maps, etc.
And Steve’s favorite feature – a ball pit!
The kids’ bathroom – There are rubber ducks “floating” in the “bubbles.”
Behind the door, I have hung the kids’ first swimsuits along with pictures of them wearing them.
The gallery
Yes, I know the cut-out is bare. I have decided how I want to fix it, but I haven't yet purchased the item going in there. Hopefully, I will get it done before Cale’s birthday; and you will see it in his party pics. The pictures hanging above it are all pictures of Steve this month since we are celebrating his birthday. They include a picture of his first time in an airplane when he was 11, a picture of him on the day of his first solo flight, a picture of him while serving on the Honor Guard, a picture of him in Saudi Arabia, baby pictures of him, etc. The pictures will be changed out monthly depending on the celebration.
Our laundry room / Steve’s home office
Behind the laundry room door, we have created our own height chart. The first mark was the day we moved in. Both of our children have grown about an inch since that day.
The master bedroom / love nest
The living room / kitchen / dining room
Claire’s desk with her artwork framed above it.
And just in case you were wondering just how closely we live to my parents, here is the view out of my back door.
“Through the backyard, across the alley, to MiMi’s house we go!” (Sung to the tune “Over the river and through the woods”) I love having my parents so close. We don’t see each other everyday, but it’s nice to be able to send Claire over for a visit once in a while and to invite my mom along for shopping trips and to call Daddy when I have a problem that needs fixing. My parents are great, and this works out great for us, especially when Steve is traveling out of town.
We love our house. We have found a church in Tulsa that we LOVE. We’re attending Church on the Move. For those of you who are familiar, Gospel Bill is our pastor. Claire loves church and has learned so much. Last night when we picked her up from her class, she was very excited and said, “Daddy, Jesus heals us!” WOW! How amazing! I love that my three-year-old is learning this!!!
It’s so nice to be near my grandmothers again. I love being able to stop by and visit and hug them any time I want. How precious those visits are!
Steve is commuting to Minneapolis every week. It’s not been easy to get used to his being gone, but we are settling into a routine of sorts. Steve leaves Monday morning and comes home Wednesday night. He leaves again Thursday morning and returns Friday night. The mid-week trip home really helps. (He doesn’t get to come home every Wednesday, but we love it when he does.)
Steve turned 33 yesterday, and Cale turned 10 months yesterday. I will post about both within the next day or two.
