We have been at our new home for one month tomorrow.  And, although it has been quite the adjustment, I know that we are finally feeling like it is home. It is also amazing how 300 feet of home can be enough.

Honestly, it hasn’t been easy, and I have had my fair share of meltdowns, but then I keep in mind what our focus is and why we are taking on this challenge! It is easier to do when I am spending most of my afternoons and weekends OUTSIDE with my children.  We talk, we play and we laugh together.  Something that I didn’t really do when we were at out other house.  My time spent cleaning and doing laundry has been shortened significantly, and so I get the quality time with my kids I have always wanted.

The laundry mat has been an experience for sure.  I have met some interesting people along the way, chatted with people about our journey, and surprisingly been supported in it.  And getting 10 loads of laundry done in 2 hours feels like such an accomplishment!  Each week I take 2 “Laundry Pro’s” the the laundry mat with me.  It is a great way to hang out, and get stuff done, along with so many other things, like teaching basic skills such as how to do your laundry, how many baskets it takes to bring our stuff home, how much it costs to wash one load, and how many times the laundry spins in a washer.

Here are 2 Pro’s this week spying their clothes and toys spinning!

Somehow our budget will come into order, we are having to play catch up a bit from all of the expenses of moving, I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  My job with South Hill Designs has taken off, and so we are hoping that will help.  I am stepping away from Discovery Kids computer classes to take South Hill on full time.  And I am hoping to work at the school our kids attend next year to help with tuition expenses.  I told Mia today that we have a minimum of 23 months left here….

Anyways, it’s is late, I have been jumping in the trampoline for a majority of our day, so I need to hit the sack….tomorrow is another day.

We finally have internet at the Cottage!  So I can now check my email, work, and of course update this blog from our kitchen table!

There has been some progress on the land we are planted on! Our landlord dug a hug hole and placed our sewer tank in it….YAY!   We should be up and running soon!

The best part of this experience so far is having the children outside, they are having a blast!  Who wouldn’t love this?

We have had a week of rain….that means mud.  Tomorrow we will do some more work on the outside of the Cottage, we will be leveling the land to put down out Astro Turf….photos to come.  This will hopefully cut down on the amount of dirt being tracked in!

I will leave you with a view from my kitchen window…..this makes doing dishes a little easier….

We have made it! This is our second night in our new home. I am calling it our “Cottage” so far. And I love it! We don’t have Internet yet, so I am writing from my phone.

Moving was a challenge to say the least, and I am still trying to find space for everything, without looking like we are hoarders! My sister sweetly reminded me that everyone looks likes a hoarder when they move, that gave me some room to breathe. For those that know me, you might know that I like to get things done quickly!

This past weekend prior to our move, I went down to Aneheim to run the Tinkerbell half marathon. While I was there I picked up some astr-turf for our front yard! We will put it in this weekend, after we level our front yard. I have included photos of it. I was stoked to get lines!

I will post more tomorrow after we get our hot spot set up for our computer.

I have been dealing with this move for almost 3 weeks now.  24/7 my thoughts, actions and planning have all been about this move.  Today, my head hurts from all of the above.  As much as I love the process and what we are doing, there is a lot of stress associated with it.  Along with the move, we still have our daily activities such as work, school for the kids, homework, cleaning, laundry, dogs, cats, commitments etc.  

So today, when Paul was gone hunting, I arranged for the girls beds to be sold, meet someone to exchange an item, meet our buyer to sell our washer and dryer, buy groceries, get dog food, and keep sanity between us all…..my head began to ache.  It has yet to stop.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to this stage of the move being over.  Looking forward to having this mess in my house gone, having this house gone period.  And the simple life being a reality.  As much as I recommend what we are doing to others, the process is taking it’s toll on me.  So if you see me in person, and I look a little off, distracted  or don’t even realize you are there, please forgive me.  I am trudging through, and will hopefully be fully present again within a few weeks.

WOW,  8 1/2 years ago we moved into this house.  There were 3 of us, one of us was only 7 months old.  Now we are a family of 6, needless to say we have filled this house with love, laughter, fun and…….STUFF!!!  Oh my goodness!  The back of my closet hasn’t seen the light of day for a few years….back packs, bags, shoes, toys, etc have been uncovered.  Some of which I thought were gone for ever!  I swear we are going to find a lost binky, or the toy we thought had been tossed or lost years ago!  Good will has been the recipient of most of our extra items, but I have also had the chance to meet some pretty neat people along the way.  People that are moving, buying, going through transition etc.  I have also been blessed by some of the encounters.  I honestly believe  that choosing the Title “Living On Blessings” is no longer a random choice, but one that God had given to me.

This past week, we met with our new landlords and I was in awe of the beauty of their land.  It is over 10 acres of green pasture with this gorgeous old red barn in the middle.  I will be adding a photo sometime soon.  I was blown away when they asked us where we wanted to place our trailer, and what view of the land I wanted to have while I wash dishes!  Oh my!

A friend has also blessed us with a free trampoline!  I can’t wait to spend time bouncing on it with the kids!  

We are about 1/3 of the way done with our packing.  Measurements have been taken of the trailer storage, and a trip to the container store has been made, although I see another in the near future.  A few dressers in our home are gone, and now we are living out of the containers. 

We have 2 weeks to get this done…….