My Little Daredevil

Call Me Bob Villa

So we've been in the new house for a week or two now, but today was the first day that I really felt at home.

Why?

Because it was my first attempt at lawncare and outdoor maintenance at the new place. Here's what I accomplished today:

1. Bought a 26 foot ladder
2. Cleaned out gutters (some 10 feet off the ground and some 22 feet off the ground...)
3. Washed out gutters full of mud and sand mixture
4. Attempted to clean out a gutter with a bird nest at one end (complete with mother dove and two or three babies underneath her)
5. Unplugged 3 downspouts
6. Attached gutter elbows (must have been removed by previous owner)
7. Raked lawn (with help from Tammy)
8. Mowed the lawn for the first time
9. Swept all the lawn clippings off the driveway (we live in Granger now...)
10. Attempted to fit a 26 foot ladder in an already full garage
11. Had a nice long shower...

I Stand Corrected

The other day Allison brought a cup home full of dirt, with a piece of plastic wrap over the top and a rubber band holding it tightly in place - she said it was a plant they had made in school.

Tammy and I took off the plastic wrap and set it on the counter, but Allison quickly protested, "No, you have to leave the thingy on the top."

Now Tammy and I (having years of experience in gardening) assessed the situation and determined that since the dirt was almost touching the plastic wrap, there was no possible way it was meant to remain on the cup once it made the dangerous car ride home.

So much for deductive reasoning...

This morning Tammy called me to tell me that the plastic wrap was supposed to stay on - some sort of project to teach the greenhouse effect and that the condensation building up inside would help the plants to grow (I guess it didn't really matter that there was no room for a plant to grow - it was more about the lesson learned and the fact that it would probably be in a landfill before long...)

Sadly I thought back to Allison's simple protest and the look of uncertainty in her eyes. Now I feel bad and I have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do when I get home tonight.

Since it never works out that I'm right and God's wrong, the only spiritual lesson I was able to learn from this little situation was related to the way we feel when we try to share our faith. It's that feeling you get when the Truth you love and cherish is not loved and cherished by the other person. Or when they "intellectualize" it and deduce that faith is simply (scientifically) not possible or necessary. I think I feel just like Allison in those situations - sad that they do not understand the truth that is right in front of their eyes.

Oh that the smart people would give it up to find the Truth!

Exhausted - But Revived

So the move is finally over and all that's left is the unpacking. The house is in VERY good shape so there will be no late night painting marathons like in the last house. But we did find out about the "Granger water problems." We officially have the rust and the odor that comes with it. But we had the water expert out to the house and we should have that problem solved soon.

Furniture is late, but something had to be...

Hopefully we'll get some pictures up soon so everyone can feel at home with us.

A HUGE thanks out to the people that helped us move and set up rooms this past weekend - we couldn't have done it without you - seriously - we'd probably still be doing it...

Right now I'm blogging from a small western suburb of Chicago. I'm on a trip with a couple members of the communications team at GCC to visit the main office of our web design company [Aspire!One] We've had a great day brainstorming and will be heading home soon. Just thought I'd stop and give a quick update since it's been a while since I last blogged.

Cheers!

Moving Day

Well today is the day. Last night we slept in our house on Winston for the last time. I have to admit it was a little wierd. I had a hard time falling asleep, just thinking about all the things I had forgotten to do and all the memories we will be leaving behind. Don't get me wrong I am so excited to move and cannot wait to get into our new house, but it is kind of sad to leave this house. We have brought all of our kids home from the hosiptal here, we have had lots of laughs and lots of tears in this house. I have a lot of memories of my mom in this house and I know when I move there will be no memories of her in the new house.
Even though I am sad to move out, I am ready for the next phase of our lives. As I type this Daryl and his dad are moving our things out. We close today at 2:00pm and then we will officially be owners of a house that I plan to live in for a VERY long time. We have our best friends coming after work to help us move in. I cannot wait to have "Saturday night" at our new house and maybe if they are lucky I will turn the new gas fireplace on!
See ya in Granger!

Acting Like We Belong

It feels normal driving through a neighborhood when you don't live there yet, but to get out of the car and walk the neighborhood is an entirely different story. Not sure how it felt to Tammy, but for me it was strange.

We drove the van over with wagon and bike in the back. When we got there Allison rode her bike and we pulled Tyler and Rachel through our new neighborhood.

There were a lot of people out doing yardwork, but we didn't stop to chat. We just walked and talked as if we belonged there...

We walked around the house and checked it out again from the outside. Lots of sticks in the yard and leaves to rake - but that can wait. We will be in the new house in less than a week!

Tyler Learns Quickly

Not the greatest swing, but he's working on it!



Tammy showed him how to slide one time and that was all it took!

Sorry Bud - I Still Love You

Mom's can be so mean. Tyler, I won't tell anyone if you won't...

Dating Your Spouse

The concept of "dating your mate" really hit home today for me. I was at work in Plymouth, IN when my wife had to make an infrequent trip down for a meeting in the same little town. We coordinated it so we were able to go to Applebee's (or Happy-bee's as I call it...) together for lunch.

Not the first time we've gone on a date - in fact we do date nights bi-weekly to keep things interesting. But this was one of those out-of-the-blue type dates that really brought back (pre-marriage/pre-kid) memories.

Just thought I'd tell you that. Thanks for lunch Hon! I had a great time :)

We're Almost There

It has been awhile since I have filled you in on the where things stand in the house buying process, so here it is. The inspections and negotiations about what we will fix has been completed. We were hoping to close this next weekend, but much to Daryl's dismay that is not going to happen. It looks like right now it will not be until April 21. Their lender could not get everything together quick enough to close next weekend. We were really hoping to get into the new house as soon as we could, but hey what do you do. It probably is a good thing since I sprained my ankle this past week and probably would not have been 100% by next weekend anyways.
So the countdown has begun. The packing continues, our house is looking very bare. Everything is off the walls and the crawl space is almost empty. I have been furniture shopping and I think we have found the couch (thanks Jami and Beck for your 2 cents), and the refrigerator will be ordered tomorrow. There are still times I have to remind myself that within a month we will be living someplace different, weird!