From PA to CO

Well we finally decided to drive cross country with our kids and it was a blast.  We had such a good time and the kids did great.  They were awesome in the car and they loved staying in hotels.  Marin had bronchitis and yet she was a trooper through it all.  They only watched their DVD a little bit which was good and we found lots of activities to entertain them and some key snacks that I would normally never feed them like cheese balls and Scooby snacks.  Symeon made up songs to sing to us all and when Marin was having a hard time falling asleep she would ask to hold our hands which we would do and then she would drift off quietly it was so sweet.  I think she needed that bit of security when her whole world was being turned upside down.  Here are two of the only pictures I took on our trip but it does sum up the  majority of our days. 

Oh gosh where to begin....

Well it has been a wild, fun and utterly exhausting several weeks.  I reread my last post and I realized it shared all of our struggles the last few months but few of the blessings that made the last few months in PA a blessing and even harder to leave.    So many people blessed us with farewell wishes, parties, special gifts, extra love during some very difficult days and tons of emotional and physical support.  People loved on our kids in ways we could have never imagined and on our last day of packing Jenn watched our kids for many hours while we packed the pod, Josh helped Shawn tie bikes on top of our stuff, and Kelly and Adam bought us dinner and fed our kids.  On our final morning at Paxton Steve stopped by with two of the most thoughtful gifts for your kids.  These are just a few examples of the beauty and loved that surrounded us during our final weeks in PA and here are a few pictures of the blessings we received.

 Saying Good-bye to dear dear friends

Final farewell dinner with an amazing group of women minus dear Hannah who was sick.  This book club and these women blessed my life in so many ways over the four years in PA.Thank you all and you are already  missed!

 One of those dear friends who has blessed our families life in so many ways and who blessed us beyond measure on our final evening of packing.  

Mr. Steve and the kids holding their farewell gifts an engraved hammer and an engraved rolling pin.  Our kids adored Steve and I believe the feeling was mutual.  Steve is the head of  maintenance at Paxton and a dear family friend for years.  We lived in the apartment that he and his family lived in for years.  He has 3 nearly grown children and he is a sensitive loving soul that makes everything in life fun so no wonder the kids followed him around and talked about him all the time.  Leaving Paxton has left a small hole in our kids lives that only Mr. Steve could fill.  We love you Steve and miss you very much!  Symeon shows everyone in Denver his hammer. 

Giving Miss Cathy our last chocolate gift.  We have exchanged a considerable amount of chocolate with Cathy over the past four years.  She and her husband are dear friends that have loved me for many years and have embraced Symeon and Marin as their own always remembering important dates, attending their birthday parties, giving thoughtful gifts and offering love and support wherever it was needed.  We miss them both so much and we feel so blessed to know them.  

So although this is only a small glimpse of the love we received during our final weeks at Paxton it is obvious that some very difficult weeks were surrounded by some really great weeks and we were surrounded by some really great people who loved on us an supported us during a hard time in our families life.  To all of you mentioned and to all of you who are not mentioned in this post but blessed us in so many ways a deep deep thank you for making the last four years and the last few weeks a blessed and wonderful time in our lives.  You are all loved and missed!

Oh the big move...

Well we said good-bye to all our worldly possessions last week and we are on our way to Denver via Telford PA and a wedding in York but today we headed West for Colorado.  We pulled out of Shawn's families house and we drove .8 of a mile and we had to stop and get Marin a prescription since she has bronchitis.   Then we had to wait for the script so we went to WAWA for coffee and sandwiches and filled up on gas, then back to CVS gave her the medicine, and headed west yet again, then Symeon asked for more turkey from my sandwich we did not have so we stopped at another WAWA and bought more Turkey which he ate one piece and said he was done oh yes they we had to stop at another gas station for Shawn and I to do to the bathroom so it took us 1.5 hours to go 10 miles.  We had a good laugh about it and headed West yet again and we are now in Ohio.  Oh the joy of the journey! 

We hope to be in Denver on Friday so we have plenty of time.  I wanted to take picture of us all in the car but I forgot in the chaos of leaving.  Our kids are managing quite well for all the chaos of the last several months.  The one issue they are both having seems to be the need to be able to see me at all times if I go out  of the room them both get pretty upset.  I am sure when we settle in again and get back to our routine this will pass or at least I hope because I am not sure how many more times I can go to the bathroom with them both standing there watching me.   

We have had a rough couple of weeks as we have prepared for our move.  It all started with some unwelcomed guests in our apartment which caused us to have to throw away our bed.  Then those guests moved to our sofa and to the dumpster it went.  Then our carpet was ripped up which left us with no furniture and really bad floors.  Then a small mouse which we named Mickey moved in and when we moved Shawn's desk which we have not moved in 4 years we realized Mickey had been living with us for quite a long time.  In the midst of trying to finish packing up our home our dear sweet Symeon was diagnosed with Bronchitis and he was miserable.  Then our dear children were hanging on my desk where the TV was sitting and they pulled the whole thing down on themselves and sent our TV into our table and cracked the screen.  So the TV joined our other stuff in the dumpster.  Finally we left for my in-laws house because it would be 10 days until our POD and our stuff would be in Denver and Shawn's cousin was getting married.  We were about 15 minutes from their house when the car over heated and we drove the rest of the way with the heat running.  We called the Subaru dealership and they looked at it the next day and bad news blown head gasket which was a bit expensive.  Two days later we had the car back.  Then two days ago I fell down a flight of stairs and messed up my back and bruised by tailbone which makes an 1,800 mile trip a bit uncomfortable.  Finally as you read in the top of this post our dear sweet Marin also has bronchitis.  I am writing this all down not to complain about the last two months of life but to remind myself that God was faithful in so many ways during this time and that many of these situations could have been so much worse.  I also want to remember the obstacles that were in our path when we were following God's will for our lives.  Like my Mom told me God has good things for you guys in Denver do not be discouraged and with that I close to lay on my side and give my aching butt a rest. 

Here are a few pictures of our life in transitions...

 This camping chair was the only furniture we had for a couple of weeks.

 This is said desk that was pulled down and the tv that was thrown in the dumpster.  

I had to use this stool alot during the move and Marin loved to find creative ways to help.  You will notice her face is blue from an M&M she found somewhere but I am sure I don't want to know where.  

The kids loved the empty cabinets.

 Marin's make shift breakfast table which she loved.

Symeon's make shift computer desk which he hated because Marin could get her hands on it.  He was so sick and such a trooper through the whole thing.  I think he just wanted to sit which we tried to do but we also had to get packed so it was a rough few days for us all.  

We were watching them take our POD

 It was neat to see how they  moved it.

One last picture of all of our stuff in our POD just in case it does not make it to Denver. 

Happy Halloween

I am not one of those people who has a problem with Halloween.  I don't let the kids be anything scary but I love trick or treat as much as they do.  This year Symeon and Marin were really into dressing up and once they figured out people gave you candy they were really excited.  Marin made it about half way around our friends neighborhood and then she started biting through the candy wrappers to get to her chocolate.  We had a very enjoyable time together as a family and with some dear friends. 

The day before Halloween the kids walked around Paxton wishing people Happy Halloween and giving out candy to the residents and staff.  It was funny then on Halloween night Symeon insisted he needed candy in his bucket to give out to the people in the houses.  I finally convinced him that others were going to give him candy but I loved that he enjoyed giving so much that he wanted to do it again. 

Here are some pictures of our dear Lady Bug and Fireman. 

 Passing out candy to their Paxton friends. 

Stopped by to see their dear friend Ms. Rachel who is taking over my position at Paxton.  She is a treasure in my life and the life of our family.  She will be deeply missed by us all.  

Sharing candy with some weekly volunteers at Paxton.  These guys come faithfully every Wednesday and help with all kinds of projects one was fixing the kids swing set.

  We stopped in to visit our dear friend Baby Emma.  She lives on the second floor with her parents Kate and Josh.  She is about 10 months old and the kids love her and she loves them and their antics.  Emma wears a most of Marin's hand me downs which is so special for me.  Here is the sitting nice picture

 Here is the scared baby look, oh gosh what are these two doing?  

 I am not sure what Marin is telling Emma but I am sure it is good!

 Hey Emma could you check an see if I spilled something on my wings?  

 Here they are giving candy to their dear friend Ray.  He works with the residents on our floor and he loves the kids and they love him.  He is a fun loving spirit that draws the kids to him and he is always happy to take a few minutes to chat with them.  He will be deeply  missed by our family.  

LET THE TRICK OR TREATING BEGIN!

 Jonah Derr, Marin, and Symeon getting ready to hit the Spellman's neighborhood.

 Yes I am one of those Mother's who loves to dress up and the kids loved it as well.  I plan to dress up until I start embarrassing them and maybe even a bit longer.  Shawn was a hockey player, Marin a ladybug, Symeon a fireman which he picked out himself, and I was a cat.  I had to make my own ears, tail, etc because the only cat costume I could find for an adult was a bit sleazy. 

This dear sweet lady said she waits all year for the little ones to come around and see her. I could have chatted with her all night but the kids were onto the next house but only after she insisted they take multiple candies.  

 Since Symeon was a fireman he really wanted his pictures taken with a fire hydrant so we obliged. 

I had the cutest red shoes for Marin to wear with her costume but she refused completely and totally.  I also had the cutest antenna but she would not leave the head band on her head.  So she was a pink shoe wearing, antenna-less, super cute lady bug.  I picked her costume this year because I figure next year she will know exactly what she wants to be and I am sure she will tell me.