We have lived in Bettendorf for three years now, but two different houses during that time. This is the longest we have lived in any one town since 2001. I think we lived in our house in Oklahoma City for five years. With the exception of Kellen, our kids have never lived anywhere this long. Callie will be two in December and will have lived in three houses! I know, we are not the only people to move, to move this much. But, I think we are the only people we know that have moved this much! But, it has become our reality. When we told the kids that Daddy had accepted the position in Springfield, they immediately started naming the great things about moving to and living in Springfield. (It helps this time that we have lived in Springfield before!) They did mention what they would miss here, but didn't dwell on it. They are ready for the adventure that will be our new home. I was so proud of them!
When we were trying to get the house ready to sell, they all pitched in. They all did what was asked of them and we had very little grumbling. Kellen and Garrett especially, since they were old enough to do more, really did some huge things, IMO! They both now know how to put trim in a house. They cut and nailed almost all of the moldings that were not finished. They would help me try to figure out what to do with certain areas. The boys took Callie on endless walks through the neighborhood so I could work without worrying about her safety. They went to peoples homes, went to parks, went to eat, mostly with people they really didn't know very well and didn't complain.
They looked at almost thirty houses last week in two days! Our Springfield realtor said she had never seen such well-behaved kids, she even stopped to buy them candy as a reward! And folks, let me tell you by the time we got to the point of looking at houses, we were tired. Beyond tired. We had worked ourselves silly, we missed our daddy like crazy, we had driven to Springfield in one day and were living in a hotel room for a week. They still managed to hold it together to look at houses.
No, we didn't officially start "school" until this week. But, they learned something more valuable than spelling words during September 2009. They learned that if you set your mind to something, you can do it. (Maybe not by yourself, but you can do it!) They learned that working as a team can get your goals accomplished. They learned how to measure things, including angles for molding! They learned how to fix things, how to make lists, shop for what you need, work with a budget. They learned how to get up and work, all day. There was not much game-playing, TV-watching, messing around time at all. The list could go on and on. I think later in life they will pull things out of this month as much if not more than a lot of "book learning" they will do.
The moving truck will be here the 23rd of October to take our stuff to Springfield. That is less than one week from the day that I am writing this post. A new chapter in our lives. They are getting excited. They love our new house. When we were back in Springfield we were reminded of a lot of things that we enjoyed when we were there the last time. We have been enjoying some down time here in Bettendorf before we really get with the packing. Trying to work in "one last time" for lots of our favorite things here. We have started our sit-down lessons for school and they are really enjoying it. It is nice to be back on a regular routine. We all know that it will be chaos again after the 23rd, but we know we can rein it in and get back to "normal" soon.
I can't wait. I can't wait for the future with these kiddos. All four of them continue to amaze me every day. Don't get me wrong, we have our moments, many moments! But, at the end of the day the good moments out number the moments I would like to forget. Thank you God. Thank you for these blessings you given to Todd and me.
Kellen getting the doors off to start painting the kitchen.
Garrett working on the door project.
Apparently Callie thought this was a hard-hat area.
Kellen, Gannon and Callie on one of their many walks around the neighborhood. Callie decided Gannon should ride her trike and she should sit on the basket!
Callie assisting Gannon in putting the faceplate back on the outlet.
Last year, removing the carpet.
Gannon throwing away old tiles last year.
Completely unrelated to home remodeling, except that Callie did spend a lot of time with her brothers. I think Callie might have spent a little too much time with her brothers! "I try peepee" she says! Not going to work sister!
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