Back from the Flip Side

It's late and I'm a little punchy, so I'm not quite sure my title makes sense, but it's been a pretty zooy couple of weeks so I'll just go with it. 

We are now officially back on the Right coast, over the jet lag, and HOMEOWNERS! The day after Don's 10 year CG anniversary we closed on our very first house. We've looked forward to this time for our whole almost-eleven years of marriage but never knew exactly when it would come together for us, given how often we move and all the different parts of the county we've lived in. I'll spare you the nitty gritty and just summarize with the obvious statement that God is So Good and has plans and timing more perfect than anything we can scheme up. 

D still has to go back west to work a few more weeks at the old job before he rejoins us out here, and we are planning to spend a good chunk of time on "vacation" at my parents house. So we aren't totally and officially living at the new house yet, but it's OURS, and that's very exciting. 

Meanwhile, a few pictures from the last week or so, just to catch up. I'll write more about the house in bits as we settle in. Here's just a couple from closing day: 

Since our HHG were not ready yet we spent a few nights in a hotel which was perhaps the best decision of 2016, given that we were all pretty tired of camping in a house with no stuff by the time we left Oregon. 

Plus, well, a pool 

And a nice cool hotel room with fluffy white beds. 

Back at my folks' for a bit and we've had beautiful weather for roaming about the yard and garden. 

And lots of good inside play with all the favorite in-house toys

I'll be so happy to have this move completely behind us. This project has been taking up all my mental RAM for months now and I'm ready to move on. The truck arrives tomorrow; D's handling that one. After that it's all fun and games. Right? 

More soon, best wishes for a lovely start to summer! 

Last Day

Oh my, the emotions and the to-do list are both overwhelming, but before we fly out tomorrow afternoon I wanted to share the briefest of thoughts on this, our last full day in Oregon. 

But first, must mention that on Sunday my sweetest tender-heart William turned SIX years old! 

He graciously celebrated his birthday amidst boxes, as our packers came the day before and the truck came the day after his special day. He's a pretty awesome boy. 

The school year goes for three more weeks out here, but awhile ago we had to accept that the kids wouldn't finish with their classes due to arrangements with Don's job, travel, and our house closing. They were all smiles about the plan, but when it came to the end it hit William pretty hard. Amy, the ever-cheerful, optimistic, intellectual one took her goodbyes in stride. We went out for dinner, and while these pictures aren't the greatest (I was trying to be all candid and discreet in my picture taking) they sort of capture the day pretty well in my mind. 

And in hasty closing, because it sounds like the little guy is waking up for a late-night snack, here's one last pretty view to remember: 

We will miss it here! 

May, so far

I appear to be in danger of letting the month slip by without a word here, and that can't stand. Sometimes I feel that when I can't say everything I might as well say nothing, but really that doesn't get us anywhere. These last three weeks have been incredibly busy as D has been away away for the longest stretch of the last two years. I used to be accustomed to month-long patrols, but this is our first with four kiddos, and our first of that duration since being out here. So, yeah, not trying to throw myself a pity party or anything but oh my! It's been a lot of work. But on the whole, the kids and I have been having a really fun time and the school routine propels the days along pretty quickly. I've been wanting to write "big thoughts" about our impending move, and about the tremendous growth on display in each kiddo, but I just never have it in me by the time I get to my blog at 11pm. So instead I think I'll just share some recent pictures, with minimal explanation. Enjoy! 

I almost retired the rock-n-play when Matthew went through a spell of trying to crawl out of it at every chance. He has now realized that that would not be a wise idea. 

We've had some great after-dinner art time...and some colassal messes. 

Toes!

Caroline loves this show on her kindle called Creative Galaxy, where they feature different art projects, and the one that all the kids wanted to do was tie-dye t-shirts. This was a new one for me but now I can see the appeal, it was such fun, and each of our shirts turned out really well. C did hers all herself and was the proudest of all. 

There have been a lot of McDonald's lunches. Just saying. 

Amy is devouring the Baby Sitters Club series and has continued to be my go-to girl to help with Matthew when I need an extra set of hands. Her rapidly increasing maturity astounds me. 

He's been sitting on his own for a full week now and has graduated to eating woodchips at the playground. Guess it's time to start real food. 

This weekend was fun. Spaghetti dinner at church (school) on Friday which was memorable, but unpictured. Saturday we went to the local museum and C cared for this baby cow (not real) which was part of the agriculture display. Sunday we went to a different park, one with lots of awesome, older equipment. 

And beautiful trees. Ah, this place. We'll be leaving so soon, but we'll be taking so much with us. 

27-30, Not Pictured

I have exactly half an hour left in the month of April to compose and publish this post to properly conclude my little series. I didn't quite get all the images I wanted to collect - and some, like the window-screen shot above just don't do any of it justice. There are also places that have been photographed and mentioned in other posts but I didn't include here. And there is plenty I'm forgetting, I'm sure. 

Beneath the quiet hum of all my flower pictures and pithy words this month has been the frantic paddling of my little ducky feet as we go through the process of buying our first house, clear on the other side of the country. We will see it for real for the first time on the day we close. I'll share more about it once it's a done deal. This move will be very much of a homecoming for us, returning to the state we grew up in, yet haven't lived in in ten years. D's job will be the "easiest" of any tour we've done yet, and we will be getting used to a different style of work life for him. We are also anticipating staying put for at least the next five years, another unprecedented stretch of time in one place for us. 

The blessings are overflowing in the months ahead; I just need to remain focused on them and not be consumed by the stress of moving our household, having to leave school and friends and our home of the last 22 months, traveling back east, and pulling off this whole homeowner thing. 

I plan to spend the month of July napping. 

Thoughts are big and time is short, but I hope to pop in with some light and easy kiddo posts in the coming month while we get our schtuff together and prepare for the next big adventure. Wish us luck! 

26, Typos

Oh, how embarrassing: that would be Dewy not Dewey in the title of my last post. Here's another picture, to make up for it. 

23, 24, 25 Rhododendrons and Dewey Mornings

Did I talk about the rhododendrons already? They are in full bloom right now and are far and away the whole town's favorite landscape plant. We've always had a big rhody at my parents' house, but I have never seen anything like these. They grow so big they can hardly be called shrubs, and are covered in blooms in every color imaginable. This was all on display at the mall last Saturday, with blooms on display for judging. This table above was only 1/4 of the whole spectrum. I was dazzled. 

Later that same day Amy and D returned from a day volunteering and brought me a clipping, which went right in my crowded kitchen window. 

I love sinks with a view, and the deep sill here features some of my favorite treasures and my few houseplants. With the swingset right outside there is always something interesting to watch, especially now that all 3 big kids spend more time playing outside without my immediate presence necessary. 

I warned you that I'd be overdoing the flowers in this series. But here it's the dewdrops that caught my eye. Or maybe it was an overnight rain, but these damp mornings have such a fresh quality out here. The air has a faintly pine smell from all that timber down by the water, the same smell that a walk in the woods by the ocean has. So clean and fresh, even in this little urban enclave. It's a unique air quality that will always remind me of Oregon. 

21 and 22, Regulars

This is not a good picture, and it isn't even my "usual" coffee drink, and frankly this particular one gave me such a case of her jitters that took the entire day to shake off, BUT it is here because of the fact that when I pulled up to the window the gal inside leans out and says "you want your usual?" And I just said "yes but make it iced this time, please". And that's the point where I know I've come to be a part of a town. Usually right in time to move. The thing I've learned about moving is that the hard part isn't leaving friends; those stay close in our hearts and Facebook pages. It is much more difficult to part with favorite routines, familiar cashiers, friendly (yet anonymous) faces that become part of our days. And don't even get me started on the kids' teachers, or my dear midwife who delivered Matthew. Sniff sniff. 

The best thing I've come to realize is that while these partings are hard, they only mean that there are new faces, places, and favorites yet to be met at the next home; I wouldn't have known any of them if we had just stayed in our little newlywed apartment ten years ago. 

One more picture, from Friday, on a related note: 

Dear husband patiently smiles while I take casual photos trying to capture the vibe of this little breakfast restaurant we go to from time to time. This has been as close as we get to a date out here - taking the smallest ones and going out to breakfast while the big kids are at school. It is lovely. This place is full of locals and local conversation, and has such a throw-back feel for me - a sense that I was at a place just like this many times before, somewhere. 

And that's the beauty of it all. There are some wildly different places throughout this great country but in each one there is a thread of the familiar and always a chance to feel at home.