I am just going to do this in diary form to make it a bit simpler:

5/25: Dad left for KS again and BeBe came in to Chattanooga. Her plane was a bit late but the kids got baths and supper while waiting for her. We got to the airport just in time to see her plane land which they really enjoyed.

5/26: Ran errands in an attempt to finish things up before the move. We also finished up some packing. BeBe and I watched a movie instead of packing that night.

5/27: Ran more errands and finished up more packing. There seemed to be a lot of last minute stuff to go into boxes. We were invited to Alex’s for lunch which was great and it meant that we didn’t have to eat out AND the kids got to play yet another time.

5/28: The big moving day! The movers came in with a whirlwind and ready began packing our breakable things. The driver started loading the truck (he had to put it on a transfer truck due to our private bridge) and they had our house loaded in 3 hours. The storage didn’t take much longer and we were able to get on the road. We traveled about 3 ½ hours that day and made it almost to Paducah. The kids loved the motel room because I’m not sure either one of them had spent a night in one before. It took a little bit for them to calm down but once they did they were out cold. It had been a big day for all of us!

5/29: The remainder of the drive took us about 9 hours which included several stops. We tried to make each meal a good stop so that the kids could get out and walk around a bit. We arrived at Travis’ hotel around 6 and after a bit went to his work to store a few valuable things. Papa also met us at the hotel that evening so he could spend the weekend with us.

5/30: We spent Sabbath at the New Haven church and really enjoyed ourselves. The church was quite friendly and the kids programs were good. That afternoon we checked out our new house, showed my parents Travis’ work and visited a new park. Another big and tiring day.

6/1: Papa and BeBe headed home to WI and we explored town, did laundry, took a dip in the very chilly pool and relaxed.

6/2: The kids and I took our time getting ready then headed out to Travis’ work to meet everyone and have lunch with him. The kids love going to his work because they have 2 fish tanks and 2 aviary’s. Blake, especially makes himself right at home. That afternoon I took them to the mall for a walk around and so that they could ride on the double decker carousel (Samantha loves carousel’s) and play at the play ground.

6/3: I had woken in the night very sick and it continued all day Tuesday. Travis’ truck wouldn’t start and my glasses broke. Not our day! Luckily the kids were great in the hotel room and we survived with a lot of TV.

6/4: Our household goods came. The movers were all done moving our things in my 1:00 that afternoon. It was great that the cable guy and the company to hook up my washer and dryer all came that day too. Now we were ready to begin living again. It had been an extremely early morning because we had to drop Travis off at work and by the time picked him up, ate and got the beds made it was so late the kids were beyond tired. One tough night!

6/5 Time to pick out glasses and make a Target run for some necessary things. I was also the first day to really hit those boxes (we had 355 items to work on).

6/6 We got a few more things put away in anticipation of Grandma and Grandpa Willy coming.

6/7 We tried out the Chapel Oaks church and really enjoyed the Sabbath School. I ran into a girl I went to college with which was nice to see a somewhat familiar face. That afternoon we went to Deanna Rose Farms. Everyone had told us we had to go there, it’s a free petting zoo with playgrounds, gardens, etc. It was a nice way to spend Sabbath afternoon and a place we’ll be going back to.

6/8 After breakfast Grandma Linda watched the kids so that we could tackle boxes. We basically finished up unpacking everything and getting the boxes we were not going to tackle now in their appropriate places. The kids really enjoyed the time with the grandparents and we liked getting everything done.
This week has really been a week of settling in and knowing our way around town. We went to Barnes and Noble story time, visited a friend and made a couple of trips to the grocery store.

Here are some highlights from the kids:
1. Samantha needs to learn that we’re living in a city now where she can’t yell for me, and ride her bike without much supervision. She also needs to learn the way of the road and sidewalks.
2. Blake has started to talk a lot more and knows a lot of animals sounds. He knows a dog, cat, monkey, rooster, kitty, duck, and rabbit.
3. Samantha has asked to go back home several times but I’m hoping now that we’re pretty much settled and we start doing things she’ll adjust.
4. The kids did great in the motel room despite us living in a very small space. They all slept quite well even during naps.
5. They love playing on the piano and you can often hear Samantha singing.
6. Blake is teething and working on a molar. Never mind he only has 6 other teeth!
7. Samantha loves to watch the weather and see when it’s going to rain. She hates thunder though and always covers both ears (day or night) whenever it’s thundering.
8. Samantha said that dad did a good job picking out our house and I agree, we love our bigger space!
9. Blake is running places and can get away fast.
Hopefully we’ll get into somewhat of a routine fast and get back on track soon.


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At the hotel on the road...

Life at the hotel...




Moving is tough work...
The kids helped with unpacking...


Playing with the sprinkler...


Samantha created her own craft while we were unpacking boxes...
Blakes loves his bottle so much!
At Deanna Rose Farms...

Samantha wanted to play with a scissors so I found a "safe" one I had gotten for her. She cut up a ton of pieces but pretty much mastered the scissors...