Random Thoughts on Moving...

The kids had a tea party complete with tiny, intricately painted metal cups, a teapot full of milk, and animal cookies a while back. They had a lovely time of it, just relaxing on a weekday afternoon. But with all that's been happening this past month, there hasn't been a tea party in sight.

The transition thus far hasn't been easy on any of us, and I'm really feeling the need for this move to be over. We are almost there--Raymond starts work this coming Monday, and the kids and I will arrive Tuesday night to set up house. I can't wait!

The house we ended up with (does have central heat and air, btw!) has a two car garage that's been converted into a second living area. It will be our school room! I'm kind of stoked to have such a large space for our school area and playroom. :) Is it the best house ever? No, the carpet is older, and it has less space than our last house, but I don't care. It may not be the best, but it IS a blessing, and I am totally excited to be starting this new chapter in our lives.

The hardest thing has been different for us all. Miss O doesn't seem to have taken much of the reality of the move in, so I would venture to guess that so far she has had things the easiest of us all. Little Bean doesn't deal really well with transitions, so we have had some behavior issues and increased stimming as each new thing comes into play (daddy leaving for a week, daddy's flight getting cancelled and him staying in OK, an extra week, lots of time off school, etc, etc). Raymond of course had a lot of pressure on him to a) find a job, and b) find us a place to live all in a two week period. Now he has the job of doing a bit of unpacking and starting his new job before we even get there!

As for me, the hardest part has been dealing with the opinions of other people. Everyone seems to have a really strong opinion about everything we are doing, and all I want people to say is "We love you, we want the best for you, and we are so happy for you". Raymond's family is ecstatic of course, since they have not had their fair share of time with our family and many of them live in Oklahoma or in neighboring states. My parents are really, really not handling this well. We have lived in the same neighborhood (literally walking distance) to them for the past 3 and a half years and they see the kids all the time. They seem to be sad about that aspect, and also a little afraid or doubtful that we can "make it" on our own. Everyone seeks approval from their parents, no matter if they are a little child or an adult child, so dealing with their feelings has been hard for me, even though I know it isn't intended that way. Needless to say, there has been a bit of butting heads over this. Don't worry, we still have a great relationship with my parents, but I will for sure be glad when this is over and done with.

Aside from my parents and Raymond's parents, our church family and our Bible study friends (whom we are really close to) are all understandably sad to see us leaving. The kid's Sunday school teachers teared up when they found out. I really haven't had a chance to think about how I feel about they whole thing because I've been busy defending our choices and dealing with how everyone else feels about our move.

I hope and pray it will be the best thing for us, and I know it will be because I know God is leading us in this direction. I just can't wait to be done with the transition and back to "normal" life. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!