House of Five+1

Some very good news.  It isn’t final of course, but we think our house has a buyer.  The lady accepted our counter-offer and they do the structural on the house next week.  I don’t think they’ll see anything major, and the gal who’s buying has been through the mill before so we hope she won’t be too picky.  If all goes well, the house should be under contract before we leave.

We’ve got one week from today before we head out.  I’ve got a lot packed, but as soon as I pack one box I realize how much more we need to do.  Hubby got a stash of boxes for me, which is a big relief, I’ve been saying, “We need more boxes!” 

I’m praying for our family to stay connected and be a good family unit through all of this.  Yesterday I went to the park with the kids and it was just them and Mama time.  It was good because lately I’ve felt that they’ve been on their own a lot as we get things ready to move.

The plan is for us to head out on Saturday.  Hubby will drive the moving truck while me and the kids drive the van.  I’ve been establishing a plan that will best suit this situation.  And have been praying that the kids will travel well.  We hope to make it an adventure and not put too much driving time in in one day.  We’ll take three days to get to TN, stop there for a day to look around, have a down day and put our stuff in storage.  Then off to OKC.  I’m in the process of making a map for Gabe and Chloe to track where we’re going and where we’ve gone.  Including our trip to Montana, we’ll be going through about 11 different states.  It should be fun for all of us to learn a little about each one and make a trail as we drive through (we’re flying to MT though).  And Gabe is such a map guy, I think he’ll be pulling it out the whole time, “Okay, Mama, where are we now?”  (Sadly, I need a little refresher in US geography too!)

My pregnancy is going well.  I thought that I was gaining more weight than I should be, but I saw yesterday that my prepregnancy weight was 140 and I now weigh, at 4 months, 144.   I guess there’s just a bit more cushion from my last three that make it look like I’m gaining more wieght.  Ugh.  The kids are so involved and it has been really fun discussing with them about the little baby growing in my belly.  When at the doctor yesterday, Chloe tried to quiet the other two while the midwife got the baby’s heartbeat on the Doppler.  She said, “Shh, quiet guys, that’s the baby’s heartbeat.”  Then last night I showed them a pamphlet that I really like that has great pictures of the fetus in utero at early stages.  Gabe was enthralled.  He went through every picture with a very close eye.  And Chloe would say, “When will our baby look like that, Mama.”  Just really fun stuff.  I’m excited for this baby’s arrival for many reasons.  One of them being the childrens involvment and another reason is so that Sophie is not our last!  Oh, man, she is a riot, but just not suitable for the last child!  She needs a little compitition on the lower end to put her in her place.  I do pray that it’s not too hard on her though and that she will adjust well.  She sure does love babies, but I don’t know if she will after she see’s this baby needing so much of her Mama! 

There is much on my list of things to do today.  I hope to document our trip and if all goes as I hope in OKC, I’ll have much time on my hands to do so.  I won’t expect it, I’m just hopeful.  But, for now, I’m off to pack some more boxes (and pay attention to my son who is desperatly trying to conversate with me as I grow irritated because I can’t finish this sentence more quickly).

“Yes, son.”