Tuesday, September 17, 2013

What's life like here in Oregon?

First of all I still can't believe that this move really happened, but apparently it did because as my husband so eloquently posted to Facebook, "now all our crap is in Oregon!" Yikes!!!
Well here's what life is like for us right now....
 
We're staying at my mom's house in Jefferson and enjoying farm life.
 
My hard working husband wakes up and leaves for work at 6:00.  He's liking his job so far, but definitely having to adjust to a slower paced day.   
 
The kids are up around 7:00.  We wander downstairs, Sadie and Wyatt go to find Grammy, and I get their breakfast started.
 
We sit down for breakfast and usually at some point during breakfast Uncle Robert and Uncle Ryan come through the house.  Uncle Ryan comes to check the fridge for cold pizza and other acceptable breakfast items and to say good morning, and Uncle Robert comes to get an early start making the kids laugh.
 
We spend the mornings grocery shopping, running errands, helping Grammy weed the garden, and taking the kids on little outings.  If it's up to Wyatt the morning is spent feeding cows with Uncle Robert.
 
Then it's lunch and naptime.
 
Then Daddy calls to say he's coming home, dinner, baths, and bed.
 
In addition to all this everyday stuff,
 
we hold baby goats,

 

we play in the cottonseed,


 
 
the kids dress like little rednecks...just kidding, only once in a while,
 
 
we play with corn,

 we drink Dutch Brother's coffee and smoothies,


we help Grammy in the garden,

we have p.j. parties and movie nights with Auntie Kendy,

we act silly,


 we pick peaches,


we get spoiled by Uncle Robert,

 and we fall asleep exhausted after and during busy days.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Welcome to Oregon

We left for Oregon around 3:30 am on Tuesday, August 20.  Our plan was to sneak out quietly, kids asleep, no long drawn out goodbyes, no extra reminders of what we were leaving behind.  However, to our surprise our neighbors the Scullys and Tottens were out on our driveway to see us off even in these wee hours of the morning. Our neighborhood really was the BEST and we are so thankful that we were able to build such deep and sweet friendships during our time there!!!

Anyway, so off we went and we made it to just past the Grapevine when we started noticing warning lights coming on in Brandon's truck and much to our dismay, after stopping twice to recharge the battery, we realized that we were going to have to split up.  My mom and I continued on with the kids while Brandon and my youngest brother Caleb stayed behind to wait for repair shops to open so that they could have the alternator replaced.  Other than this our trip, while painfully long with 3 children, was uneventful and we arrived in Jefferson, Oregon some 19 hours later. 

When we pulled off the freeway we were greeted by this sign.  I know you can't read it but the yellow sign below the freeway sign says "Welcome Home Brandon and Carrie, Sadie, Wyatt and Cooper!"   I have to admit I started to cry when I saw it.  Sad tears because it was much to soon to call this our home and I wasn't really ready to let that sink in yet, but then as we got closer and closer to the dairy and finally pulled down the dirt road the tears stopped and I was really thankful to be getting such a warm welcome after such a long day and such an emotional week.

Here are a few of the other signs that greeted us as we pulled up the driveway.




The car stopped in the driveway and in literally seconds the kids were pulled from their car seats by their Aunts and Uncles who'd been anxiously awaiting their arrival.  Wyatt was on a quad within minutes taking a trip around the yard with Uncle Ryan, and Sadie was chatting it up and being silly with Uncle Robert.  As we moved into the house we found the kitchen literally filled with hundreds of balloons and a huge cake to welcome us.  As you can imagine the emotions were all quite overwhelming and confusing.  It's hard to explain how it feels to leave home and yet be coming home all at the same time.  So we begin this new season excited and sad, thankful and grieving, grateful to be home and yet homesick for the home we left.
 
 

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Our Silly Sadie

Such a silly little thing :)

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Melinda's Shower

Pinterest and me have been close friends since the day that I found out that Melinda was having a girl.  I found so many cute ideas that I could barely contain myself as I went to work making decorations and planning for our afternoon of celebration.  I must also admit that it became a welcomed distraction many days from the seemingly unending job of packing our house, which was occurring simultaneous to this event.  In fact, as our small group loaded all of our belongings into a moving truck I was literally in the kitchen making sandwiches and loading the car with decorations for the shower.  Also I must take a second to say thank you to Drea for hosting the shower and to everyone else who helped with the delicious food which I would have been unable to do on my own. You girls are the best!!! 
 
Anyway here are a few of the pictures I was able to take of our celebration.
 
Invitations

 
Decorations
 
Food
 
Favors
 
 Melinda and Johnny
 Me, Allison, Melinda, Christina, Katy, and Drea

It was such a fun afternoon and I can't say enough how excited I am to watch my best friend begin this new season of her life as a Mom.  Hayley is one lucky little girl to have such a sweet, caring, fun loving mommy.  Can't wait to meet her in just a few more short weeks!

Monday, September 2, 2013

And Goodbyes

“Beginnings are usually scary, endings are usually sad, but it's what's in the middle that counts. So when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.” - Steven Rogers

 
Love this old Sandra Bullock movie about a mom and her awkward daughter who end up moving home to Texas after finding out that her husband has been having an affair with her best friend.  The daughter doesn't understand why they have to leave their home in Chicago and doesn't know what to make of her eccentric grandmother or small town life,  and so the movie follows them through the difficult time of adjustment they go through as they learn a new way of life and make friends and a new home for themselves.  The movie ends with this quote and it has always resonated with my sappy side.  So, surprise surprise it popped back into my mind as I thought about this post on goodbyes.
 
My heart still aches for all the goodbyes we've said over this past month.  I know that thankfully most of them were not forever goodbyes but they were difficult none the less.  We are not so naïve as to think that life will not go on with out us or that we will be able to maintain friendships as if nothing has changed from so far away.  We know that our move will change things with some of the people we love most and for that our hearts grieve, as we said goodbye, and as we now begin the process of beginning again.  However, we hold on to the fact that there is good in the sadness because it means that our middle counted.

Here are just a few of the many people who have impacted our lives during the past 13+ years.

 
College Friends
Me, Allison, Christina, Tiffany, Melinda, and Katy
 
God blessed me with an incredible group of friends in college.  These girls walked with me through some incredibly difficulty years in college and have been by my side ever since.  Many of them were in my wedding, I've lived with each and every one of them at one time or another, I've traveled on mission trips with them, celebrated many babies and birthdays with them, and we continue to make time to see one another and catch up despite busy schedules and living in quite a few different cities.  I will miss these girls tremendously but know that we will stay in touch.
 
Melinda
Melinda has been my best friend since college and as she reminded me again and again we did not say goodbye because we couldn't say goodbye to one another.  We will make new friends, but none will ever replace the friendship we share. 
 
Couples Group - The Girls
Andrea, Candace, Julie, Courtney, Glynn, and Myself
Although I got to see these ladies every Monday night and often a few times throughout the week the moments we were able to spend together kid free were always most treasured.  Sometimes it was hard to even remember what it felt like to have an uninterrupted conversation until we'd get out like this and be reminded.
 
Small Group
Gina, Lisa, Baby Kate, Janelle, Jessalyn, and Myself
I was blessed to be a part of this small group for the past 2 and half years and don't know what I would have done without it.  It was my single most consistent kid free time.  It was a time of accountability, encouragement, prayer, and it constantly challenged me to grow in not only my faith, but in my marriage, as a mother, and in all other relationships in my life.  I'm so thankful for each of these wonderfully supportive and committed friends.
 
Brandon's Family
Uncle Henry, Great Nana, Aunt Licia, Cooper, Sadie, Me, Brandon, Wyatt, and Nana
Grandpa, Cooper, Me, Sadie, Brandon, Wyatt, and Jerry
 
On our last weekend before packing up we were able to spend the day saying goodbye to the family that we are leaving behind in Southern California.
 
Our Couples Group
 I don't even know how to begin listing all the names in this picture so I'm not going to :)
This group was by far the single most impactful thing that we were a part of as a family during our time in California and the thing that we will grieve and miss the most.  This was our family, a crazy family often, but a family none the less.  We've been through everything you can imagine together.  We've grieved together and celebrated together countless times.  We not only had a meal together at least once a week for the past 5+ years, but we've also lived across the street from the Totten Family and the Scully Family for the past 3 and a half years.  These were the people in the waiting room when each of our children were born, they were the ones who brought us meals when babies arrived or when kids were sick, they were the ones who babysat for us so that we could go out on a date once in awhile, they were the ones who celebrated birthdays with us, who let us into our house when we got locked out, who camped with us, who knew us not only as parents but as a couple as well, the ones who have prayed for us, supported us, loved us, encouraged us, and have always been in our corner wanting the very best for us, just as a family does.  We will never get over missing our time with them as we know that what we've shared and the time of life we've shared is simply irreplaceable.
Our Kids
Mason, Sawyer, Georgia and Ava, Sadie and Mia, Wyatt and Cooper, and Lucie
(Sorry if I mixed up the girls Courtney)
We will also never get over the joy that it brought us to watch our little group grow and grow and grow as we brought each of these new little ones home.
 
Our Neighborhood
So the car I'm standing next to while taking this picture is mine and the cars across the street belong to the Scullys.  So for any of you who wondered how close of neighbors we really were with Jeremiah and Courtney, well now you know.  I remember when we purchased our house thinking I hope this is a good idea.  At the time we had probably known the Scullys less than a year, Brandon had started working with Jeremiah a few months before this, and honestly moving across the street like this was a little scary.  I think at first we tried hard not to be to nosey.  We'd try to look the other way and pretend we didn't see them coming and going so as not to invade their privacy, but as time went on those boundaries came down and they became our very dearest friends.  We have absolutely loved being a part of their family in such an intimate way and having them as a part of ours and even writing this post makes me want to jump in the car and say just kidding we changed our mind although I know we can't.  These were most treasured years that we had with them and why giving up our house has been such an incredibly emotional event. 
Lifelong Friends
Sawyer and Wyatt
They are 2 months apart in age and the best of friends.
Oh how my heart hurts and longs to see these little ones playing together again soon.
I think I may need to seriously go book some plane tickets about now :)