Another Monday morning

I was actually looking forward to this morning.  Can you believe it?  Looking forward to a Monday morning?  Sadly, it was because all of my kids would be in school and the house would be quiet.  We had plenty of not quiet this weekend.  Life with Catherine and Thomas is like Jekyll and Hyde.  One minute they are the best of friends and the next all heck is breaking loose.  Yesterday on an hour long car ride I had to pull the vehicle over TWICE in order to deal with them.  Not okay.  And then there is Robert, who is, my husband assures me, behaving like a typical male teen.  His brain has clearly left him and he is simply not in any way, shape, or form functioning like a human with common sense.  It's tough...in many ways one of the toughest things I've dealt with in a long time.  The thing is, he's a pretty good kid and the stuff he's pulling are generally small things.  We explain to him though, if we can't trust him in the small things how can we trust him in bigger things.  I know that we are certainly not the first parents to deal with this and I'm grateful for Andrew's perspective into teenagers.

For now, however, I am enjoying the quiet and solitude of the day.  With Dad's precarious health, I know that at any moment, life could turn into a tailspin, and I've learned to appreciate the calm for however long it might last.

Saturday moments

Yesterday we had very few plans.  It was absolutely awesome!

One plan we did have was to attend Empty Bowls, a program here in our new town.  High school, college, and community arts classes fire up ceramic bowls and donate them.  Some are heavy duty pottery, some of lighter and are painted colorfully.  For a $10 donation, you get to purchase a bowl and have it filled with the soup of your choice.  Catherine chose a purple bowl, Robert wanted a red, white, and blue bowl with "USA" inside, and Andrew chose a colorful one as well.  I stumbled across a red, white, and black bowl, with my alma mater's (and local university) symbol on the outside, and snatched it up.  Thomas was having a very difficult time deciding...but when he saw mine that's what he wanted!  I was happy to give it to him.  I was thrilled that my son wanted it!  More importantly, I was very happy to see that the place was packed, and was very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to our new community and having the children involved.

Andrew and I spent our afternoon hanging things on the walls.  This place is beginning to feel like home and I'm very grateful for that.  In the evening, he wanted to watch the live streaming of the final toast of the Doolittle Raiders.  He gathered us all, and even the kids sat entranced in front of the computer.  I had no idea until it was over that I had been standing there for over an hour watching the ceremony and toast.  I loved how enthralled and interested the kids were while watching it.  Later, Andrew said to Thomas, "Thank you for watching the toast with me."  Thomas replied, "It's part of our history."  That little guy gets it...he understand that history is important.

Unfortunately, last evening we received a call from my mother that my dad was back in the e/r.  It's another episode with the congestive heart failure.  My heart is breaking for my parents, and for my kids.  My dad isn't ready to stop fighting, but we all know his time is running out.  My mother is dealing with the stress of being a caregiver and knowing that no matter what she does, it won't be enough to change the final outcome.  And I'm sad for my children who never got to know the man my father was, although I am grateful for the time they have had with him and the memories we made together, especially up at the cottage.

It's another gorgeous day here in southwest Ohio.  We have a few plans to be out today, and I'm grateful for the sunshine!

Heading into another weekend

These weeks are just flying by...unbelievably so!  I've been spending a lot of time away from home doing one of my least favorite things...shopping.  We are "officially" celebrating my birthday next weekend, and some out-of-town guests are expected, so I've been trying to buy a few things that we would like to have for the new house.  I don't want to get crazy about spending money because even though we have a deal to sell our house, nothing is concrete until closing as far as I'm concerned.

We don't have a lot of plans for this weekend, and I'm particularly grateful for that.  Our family needs some quiet together time!

We have a deal!

We worked out a deal on our old house.  It isn't the one we thought it would be.  It's the one with the better $$, but it does carry a little more risk that it could fall apart due to financing issues.   However, this guy seems to really want the house.  He made a VERY strong offer and took the time to write up an offer right after seeing the house.  The other guy on the other hand, never actually wrote up an offer, but his original offer was so low it was almost insulting (our house is priced VERY reasonably so it would sell quickly).  In addition, his submission included how he was a retired bank vice-president and other completely irrelevant information.  Honestly, I felt his arrogance coming through the email...as if we were just supposed to assume that he was right on his price and it should be done his way because of who he is.  I wasn't sad when he refused to meet our final price.  Now, hopefully all will go well with financing and inspections on the other buyer, and all will be good to go!  We really feel it has all worked out in the long run, and we hope that the new buyer enjoys the home as much as we did!

Letting go

There is a good chance that we are going to have a deal to sell our house within the next 48 hours (unless I just jinxed us!).  We actually have two offers on the table.  One offer is great in terms of the dollar amount, but contains some higher risk that the deal could fall through.  The other deal is sad and pathetic in terms of the dollars, but is pretty much guaranteed to go through.  Negotiating is not my thing, but we will see what happens.

I'm very relieved at the prospect of having it sold, and yet it also makes me a little emotional.  While I certainly have no intention of ever living there again, there was always a part of me that could go back and see the place where so many fabulous family memories occurred.  Last night as we were discussing things, Andrew made the comment that he just hopes whoever buys the house takes good care of it.  In that regard I guess I'm grateful that we won't be living in town anymore in case they don't...I won't have to see it every day.

I know that home is where my family is, and my family is doing great right here in our new place.  I am so incredibly grateful for the blessings of these people in my life, and for all of the opportunities we have!

Enjoying the time change

I am loving the time change!  I know it won't last, but for today, even more than yesterday, it's absolutely wonderful!  It was so nice to be out waiting for Catherine's bus without it being pitch black, and now, 40 minutes later, it's almost light out.  And of course everyone enjoys that extra hour of sleep!

We had a very nice weekend.  Friday evening we drove back to our old town and picked up Thomas's best friend Joseph.  Having those two reunited is truly heartwarming!  There is never enough laughter in the world, but those two together certainly try their best!  Saturday we were up and at 'em early to take Joseph back and also to get Robert to scouts.  We know there were a couple of house showing this weekend so we raked and mowed while Robert was at scouts, then we headed north to my parents.  We were moving furniture back into place after they had their new carpeting put down.  My dad is failing and my mother is stressed and exhausted, but I think they would tell you we had a very nice visit.  There was lots of laughter, which is again good for the soul.  I'm also finding ways I can help even though I can't be there every day, and I'm grateful for that.  Yesterday we visited another church in town.  I won't go into details, but I will confirm that will NOT be our new church home...we both agreed.  Robert helped out with the town food drive, and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon.

I am so grateful for the calm and serenity that I'm currently feeling.  I wish the same for all!

October didn't disappoint

I would say, overall, October was a pretty good month.  Certainly much better than the previous few had been!  The funeral at the beginning of the month was emotional, but October is truly a beautiful month (usually), in terms of both weather and scenery.  Our new town is even prettier than the old one, and overall the stress level was much more manageable.  I enjoyed October.

And now we are moving into November...and my favorite holiday of Thanksgiving!  Of course everyone loves Christmas, but Thanksgiving is my favorite.  It's filled with family but without the stress of the gift giving.  Plus, it's the beginning of the holiday season.  SO MUCH FUN!  We have already confirmed that we are spending the day at my aunt & uncle's which we haven't done in four years and Andrew's parents are joining us as well.  I am filled with even more optimism for a wonderful month!