Finally Home?!?!

We made it to ND on Thursday night after about 12 hours of driving! The boys did great and we only had a few moments of insanity in the car, a few emergency potty breaks, and a couple well deserved stretch/food breaks. Richard drove the extremely comfortable truck and I got the boys. We dropped Irene (Richard's mom) off in MN for a vacation from her vacation. Thanks Irene for all your hard work! We enjoyed your company, help, and grandma time! We hope you can finally relax though after your crazy weeks with the Iowa (I mean ND) Dafoe's.

We are looking forward to spending the weekend with my mom's side of the family who are here for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party! We are doing lots of sleeping, realxing and getting ready for our closing date on Thursday the 24th.  I am hoping to update this week as we prepare for the next round of craziness (getting our house ready for moving in).  Thanks for all who prayed and helped us get here. It feels quite strange being here as we keep thinking we have to hurry and fit lots in during our "visit to ND" before we have to go back to Iowa.  Only, this time we aren't going back!  This is exciting and sad at the same time and I am sure it won't feel real until we are in our new place ;0)

Obeying is never easy

This will just be a quick post cause I wanted to share this story before I forget...

  We were overwhelmed Wednesday with the number of people who showed up to help us load our moving truck (Thanks Andy and the surprise helpers, Pete, Mike, the Lothamers, and Lori for taking the boys all day).  After getting all our stuff in the truck after only a few hours we spent the rest of the day cleaning our place (Thanks Kate, Will and Irene) and were able to relax that evening eating pizza by the pool(Thanks Hawthornes), swimming, and sharing our last few moments in Iowa City with a few of our closest friends.  It was emotionally overwhelming to attempt to say goodbye to these two couples and although we parted with tears and "see you soon" I felt as though I have left part of my heart in Iowa City.

Back to my story...

When I picked the boys up at a wonderful friends' house who had watched them all day for us so we could pack and clean without little helpers, I left the Kirk's house sobbing.  Jonah and Elijah told me not to cry and asked if I was ok. (I love these boys)  I told them I was sad to leave all our friends in Iowa City, but that we would see them again and it was ok to be sad and cry.  They asked me every minute for the rest of our short trip home if I was done crying and if I needed a hug. (again I love these two).  

After lots of tears wed night and little sleep we are attempting to eat breakfast at the hotel and make it through the morning without more tears, when Jonah lost it as we were headed back up to the room.  Jonah has been so excited to move to Grand Forks and be closer to Grandma and Grandpa for the last few months and has rarely shown any sadness during the whole packing/moving process.  However, on the floor of the hotel breakfast area he began sobbing and crying out "I don't want to go to Grand Forks. I don't want to leave my friends here and make new friends. I want my old house back. I don't want a new house."  What was left of my heart broke at this point and through blurry eyes I scooped him up and held him close.  Once I collected myself I attempted to explain to Jonah that his dad and I had prayed for a long time about where God wanted us to be and we felt He wanted us to move to Grand Forks.  I told him that I was sad that we were leaving our friends in Iowa City and it was ok to be sad and to cry but we still needed to obey God and move.  I told him that obeying God isn't easy, just like it isn't easy for him to obey Richard and I, but we still need to do that.  He still wasn't so sure about this, but his sobbing stopped and he let me carry him back to the room.  

Obeying God is rarely easy and I don't think I will ever forget my son on that hotel floor reaffirming that fact in my mind.  However, I look forward to watching God's plan for us unfold as we continue to obey Him. 

Here are some fun pics from our moving adventures

 Elijah "Helping" us pack

Jonah "helping" take down his bed

The boys in the makeshift bedroom for our last night in our place in Iowa City, waving goodbye!

Least favorites

First of all I want to say I have many updates and notes and memoirs I have started and will post at a later date related to the last few weeks as we have had to say goodbye to so many amazing friends who have showed us so much love and support that we are overwhelmed and have cried so much we might not be able to do it ever again!  

Second, I want to state for the record that I HATE packing just as much as I HATE saying goodbye (which if Jonah could read this I would have to chose a different word to express my utter distaste for these two things because we just had a discussion about using the word hate). But, since he can't I am going to use it just a few more times.  Why can't the last few days of moving be enjoyable and relaxing?  Why must they be filled with broken hearts, raging emotions, floods of tears, and stress?  I want to say I am looking forward to getting to Grand Forks so we can be done with all this craziness, but that means I will be gone from here and starting the whole process all over and will express my dislike (not hate, for you Jonah) of UNpacking!  

Third of all, I am very thankful to all who are and have been helping us move, pack, watch the boys, etc....and for loving us despite our departure date lurking in the near future.  Plus, you might want to hire out my mother-in-law (she is an expert packer and has done so much for us). Thanks Irene!  My own mother came down to help us earlier and helped us make quite a dent, but I am afraid once her grandsons get to Grand Forks she will be unavailable to help you pack ;0)

For now I must get back to work, but I do look forward to sweet reunions, long distance phone calls from friends, emails and even snail mail!  Love to you all and check back soon for some fun memories.

-Bitter packer

Bathroom mess up

For all you who love funny stories about our boys...here is a good one!

Richard gave the boys a bath last night (I have such a wonderful husband) and went downstairs to get something. When he came back up, he found Jonah standing in the tub gagging and Elijah outside of the tub on the carpet squatting next to a large terd and a small puddle of pee. Elijah was very proud of what he had done by "himself" and Richard could hardly keep from peeing himself he was laughing so hard. Richard quickly cleaned up and saved Jonah from losing his supper.

Hopefully next time Elijah can make it to the toilet! (wishfull thinking I know)

Father's Day

I am so blessed to have a wonderful Father on Earth and a Heavenly Father.  I wouldn't trade my dad for anything and have come to appreciate him even more as I learn and grow as a parent. Thanks Dad!  I love you!  I have enjoyed watching you as "bampa" also and can hardly wait to watch your relationship with the boys grow!

Richard, you are such a wonderful Father also and I have been blessed over the past 3 1/2 years watching you grow and become the Father God desires you to be.  You are an amazing father to our boys and I love watching you with them. They adore you and want to be just like you and I pray they will grow to be wonderful men in the Lord as you are.  If I could attempt to bottle up a few memories for our boys about your relationship with them, these are just a few I would hope to save...

• The endless hours spent building cool train tracks, garages with blocks, forts with the furniture, and reading books together
  
• The countless trips to the park for the morning/day via bike where I am sure you were always safe and never did anything that would make me nervous
• The "boys only" nights you spent together when I was working watching a movie, eating popcorn, or going for an adventure down to the creek to throw rocks and check out the beaver's dam.
• The love you have modeled through discipline and firm boundaries
• The patience you have modeled and encouraged me to work on!
• The way you are able to step back and allow them to just be boys climbing, exploring, jumping, and wrestling
• The way you are able to answer every question they have so precisely and accurately that I am left speechless when you are done
• The way you love and respect me
• How you would do anything and lay your life down for them if you had to

Jonah and Elijah are truly blessed to have you as  Father and we hope you know how special you are to us!  Happy Father's Day Richard ;0)

All Grown Up

Hmmm...interesting title I know...,but this is how I feel. All grown up. Richard and I are homeowners! We spent a week in Grand Forks, with a wonderful realtor, Chris Horn, who patiently showed us a ton of homes and allowed us to hmm and haw over them. We fell in love with one, made an offer and it wasn't accepted. We were disappointed, but trusted the Lord had a plan for us. Then our realtor called about a house going on the market the day before we headed back to Iowa. We were able to sneak in the night before it listed, loved it, made an offer, and found out the next day it was accepted. We had it inspected, met with the bank, and headed back to Iowa for another 6 weeks. We are excited to make the home our own! It definitely gives us new motivation to pack, throw, and give away things we don't need. I'll post pictures soon! The address is 502 27th Ave S in Grand Forks, ND and we are about 10 minutes from my parents. Thanks to those who prayed with us as we made this major decision and thanks to the Lord for blessing us so abundantly!

I still "I do"

Richard and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary today! It is hard to believe it has already been 5 years. We have been through so much in such a short amount of time and when I reflect upon the past 5 years and God's continual blessing for us and our family, I am humbled to say the least. We are both healthy, have two beautiful boys, jobs we love, and wonderful friends and family! These are just a few things too! We certainly have had our fair share of ups and downs the past 5 years, but we feel our love and friendship have grown so much more than we could ever have imagined. Thanks to all your support, encouragement, prayer, and love over the years! (Here is a picture from our wedding day)

Richard, although I am not sure if you ever read this, I love you and am glad I am able to spend the rest of my time here with my best friend. You are everything and more that I could hope for in a husband! I still "I do."