The Chatty Homemaker

The Great Blessing of Rest

We have been on a rollercoaster ride since my last post. I know this post has taken me a bit longer than normal to post. I am sorry for that. A bit more rest was much needed this past week than normal. Allergy season is in full swing around here. I have been much more fatigued because of it, too. That combined with working hard with the kids and Aaron to make sure both homes were ready for the move meant more sleep for me. By the time we put the kids to bed each night my eyelids were too heavy to stay open any longer.

One thing we are all benefitting from right now is the great blessing of rest in this house. We thought for sure that it would take a while for everyone to adjust to sleeping somewhere new. We were wrong! Each of us woke up the morning after the big move elated by how well we slept the night before. We all felt great. The kids keep talking about how quiet it is out here, and how they do not miss the train, gun shots, or sirens going all night long any more. I’ve not heard a single siren since we moved in.

Great Blessings During Crunch Time

The Lord gave so many great blessings during crunch time I’m not sure I can name them all. One of the biggest blessings were the awesome friends and family members who came to help us finish up the packing. My cousin came one day and helped get the classroom all done. My sister came and helped me get all of the clothes gone through, and decluttered. The day I took Ruth and Mary to pick out flooring for their bedroom, a friend came and helped finish up the kitchen packing. I felt bad because I left her there for most of the day with the boys.

Another huge blessing was my cousin and is lovely wife watching our little kids for us while we cleaned and prepared this house for paint and minor construction before moving in. It was a bigger blessing than I think they even know not having to worry about them so that we could just focus on the task at hand. My dad has been a huge blessing as well. He has been my chauffeur a few times through all of this. He enjoys a good treasure hunt, I am sure that I inherited this character trait from him. We had fun out looking for flooring and lighting. Now we, along with two of my aunts are on the lookout for a great deal on a large sectional for this great big living room.

Great Blessings in the Unexpected

There were some unexpected things that Aaron found when he was prepping for paint. One of which came when he pulled out the washer and dryer that came with the house. We have an electric dryer, but the one that was here was gas. It needed to be converted to accommodate mine. Another was when we cut out the handicap accessible stove top and found that it was wired into the wall, not plugged in. This was obviously a much easier fix than the dryer.

The Lord sent great blessings in these also. They came in the form of a friend who could not wait to come over and check things out in the attic, crawl space, and furnace room. Aaron found these problems while this friend was here and was able to put him to work. He went to The Home Depot and got everything he needed and set to work. He even installed the new lighting I found when the girls were choosing their flooring. We did pay him for his help, but it was nothing I’m sure than if we had to hire it out. It was also a huge blessing to not have to stop what we were doing to fix it ourselves.

Great Blessings on Moving Day

The Lord provided great blessings on moving day in the form of hard working friends and family. I felt bad for my poor sister, though. She was at home sick with a newborn wile her husband was here. He was such a blessing to us here, and was on top of the important stuff. He made sure that my sewing machine and other fragile things were handled properly. As soon as I get oil back in it I will be making more diapers. If you know anyone with a little one in diapers or expecting a baby send them my way.

There was a fiasco with the U-Haul the night before moving. We had rented a 24 hour 26′ truck. When we went to pick it up at the time we requested we found that the location we rented from does not do the 24/7 pick up. They allowed us to reserve it that way but did not have any way for us to get the truck. So, we got on the phone with the 24hr customer care team, and got it figured out for as early as we could the next morning.

When I went in to get it they informed me that instead of honoring our 24 hour rental agreement that they had double booked our truck and we would need to return it by 1:00 that afternoon. I don’t know about you but 6 hours to move your entire life 30 miles from where you are currently is cutting things a bit close. At 11:00 I called to ask for more time and they told me they had figured out that there was a different truck available for the 1:00 pick up and we did not need to return it until the next day. What a relief.

Great Blessings and a Resurrection Day Miracle in my Silly Shoes

Sunday morning was a blast. As I mentioned before, we all slept wonderfully Saturday night. Sunday morning, however, was quite interesting. I woke up feeling great, and I knew that there was a lot to be done before we would be ready to leave for church. It was Resurrection Sunday and we had planned to take the Lord’s supper that afternoon with our church family. I went Saturday evening and got the juice, but was way too tired to bake bread. So, that was number one on my list of Sunday morning tasks.

As I bustled about trying to find things to make this process easy, the reality that we were surrounded by boxes, filled with the things that make life simple set in. It made me stop and appreciate the simple things God allows us to have. As I began to thank him for all that he has given me over the years, my eldest daughter came into the room, and asked what I was doing. I told her I was thanking God for our life and the things in it. Then told her that I needed to find anything that I could bake some bread in. She quickly said, “Mom your cast iron is all right here.” I felt a bit silly at that point. I knew I was going to use it to scald the milk but didn’t think about baking the bread in it.

Once that was figured out I started in baking the unleavened bread. I also had nothing to measure with so I eyeballed it. I also mixed it in the skillet. It worked out great. That was the best unleavened bread I ever made.

I then unpacked my clothes and got my beautiful Easter dress on. Things were going great so far. Then I realized I had no idea where my shoes were. Or socks. I ended up wearing tennis shoes with no socks. I felt a bit silly again, but honestly the Lord gave me a little miracle in my tennis shoes. The color matched my dress perfectly.

Great Blessings Making our House a Home

When we were preparing to move, my husband mentioned the time that a few of my aunts came, and helped me unpack, and decorate our first place as a married couple. It was a wonderful blessing to both of us. Having boxes piled up around you is no fun for anyone. So, we both thought that it would be a great blessing if I could get them to come again and help make our house a home. I called Aunt Toni and she said that she would love to help. Two of my aunts are still hanging out in Florida until the middle of the month, and another works all the time. I was excited to my one aunt come and help out.

To my surprise, though, Aunt Toni called Aunt Tina and told her that she was going to come help, and she wanted to help, too. She decided to just go into work later than normal and come help us here. It was wonderful having them both sacrifice so much of their day yesterday. We were able to get my kitchen all the way put together. The living room is all set up, and the classroom is almost all the way done. We just have to put a few finishing touches on them and then it’s on to the bedrooms. Things are coming along fast and beautiful.

Thank You

To any and all who are reading this that have helped us in any way throughout this entire process, Thank You! From the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU!

Help has come in many different forms: Michelle McKnight – our realtor, Bill Gray – our lender, friends and family – praying, packing, moving. Our church family – praying, love gift, moving. All of my faithful readers here at TheChattyHomemaker.com – for your prayers and continued support. Saving the best for last, GOD – everything!

I had some good pictures and footage for you all, but somehow in all the hustle and bustle I have lost my camera! Please pray that I find it.