Settling In

We are settling in nicely in the new house. The move on Friday went quite well. It was a long day and I almost bailed on Grace’s party. I did make it though…Ivan and I took the hour long trek to Ashland City and wished Gracie a very happy 10th birthday. My sister Becky had taken Aron overnight so he was very happy to see us.

My dad had decided at the last minute to come down and help us move as well as celebrate Grace and Aron’s birthdays with us. He helped Kris and I most of the day on Friday and then headed up to Becky and Bobby’s house in the afternoon. With his help, Kris was able to get all his electronics and sensitive items over to the new house and set up that morning. We took several loads in our van throughout the day and even loaded up dad’s little car a few times with odds and ends. My friend Becky (a different Becky than my sister, though she is considered a friend too) kept Owen and Ivan during the day Friday and endured my potty accident prone 2 year old along with her own sick four year old. I hope she has recovered.

The old house is empty now and dad has worked on the flower bed to help us get ready for who may live there next. He is heading back to Michigan tomorrow and will leave me instructions as to what I should do to continue his progress toward a Bermuda grass free flower bed. He will be coming back to help me finish as well but for now he has to tend to his own world in the chilly north.

On Saturday I worked on the kitchen mainly while Kris put things together and sorted and planned and got all of our hanging clothes from the closet at the old house. I got about 2/3 of the kitchen unpacked and haven’t made a lot of progress since then. We went to church that night because we knew we would miss the Sunday morning service the following day.

We had purchased tickets to a Titan’s game back in May at the BGM fundraiser dinner and not knowing that we would be moving this past weekend we picked Sunday’s game to attend. We went to Sunday school that morning and then left the boys at the church while we headed home to change and hurry to the game. We had arranged for a family from church to pick up the boys when service was over and we picked up three very happy boys after the game was over.

We barely made it in time to make good on the pre-game portion of our tickets. These special passes allowed us to go down to the field and walk around and take pictures along the sideline while the players and coaches were getting ready for the game nearby. We weren’t down there long but it was fun to walk the tunnel and see the faces and names of our team a little more up close and personal.

Our seats at the game were excellent. We sat near the top of the club section and were shaded almost the entire game. The weather was cool and breezy where we sat and of course the game was enjoyable as we beat the competition soundly. Our hostess was the wife of one of the Titan’s organization executives and it was interesting to hear her take on the organization and the owner Bud Adams.

Sunday night found us getting the house ready for company from out of town. The pastor from the church I grew up in, his wife and another couple also from the church, were staying in Mt. Juliet for the weekend. They drove to the church where Bobby and the family were singing, also in Mt. Juliet, and then the whole party came to our house after the service. I had hoped to go to the service as well because I like to watch my nieces get up on stage and sing. However, I gave myself a pass and worked on making the house at least somewhat presentable for guests. I made a quick run to Publix for some key lime pie and cheesecake as well as grapes and chips and dip. I made coffee and iced tea and we visited until around 10 which was way past my personal threshold for intelligent conversation on such a weekend. They didn’t seem to notice how stupid I was…but then they were tired too.

Monday was a day of horror’s between Ivan and myself. He seemed bent on peeing on himself. His accidents were frequent and mostly minor but he nearly ran out of underwear for the day. I even left him for a short time while I got Owen from school, only to find out that he had gone number two in his pants while my poor dad was watching him. I was so frustrated, as was my poor dad. He has been doing really well up to this point and I wondered if moving to the new house was going to be a setback for him. However, after a nice firm hand of discipline to the offensive area he seemed to be set right today. In fact he got up early this morning…2:30 or near it…and woke me up to take him potty. I was so proud of him, for getting up at all, and for being brave enough to traipse through the house in the dark to find me. He was still dry, thank God I didn’t have to hunt down underwear at that hour, and quite pleased with himself. He had woke up the previous morning around 4:00 and I took him potty then too but he had already wet his clothes quite a bit that morning. Fortunately, his bed has remained dry both times as well. So…there’s a long way to go for Ivan but his steps seem to be going in the right direction again. We’ll see how tomorrow goes for him and I’m hoping that he won’t have to go in the night. I’m glad he gets up but I would love to sleep through the night myself.

Not much new to report on today…Bible study, weeding flower beds and more unpacking kept us busy. I did open the windows and let in some of the lovely fresh air today. It was a beautiful day.