Home at Last

 

This week has been insane and we are all good and ready to start getting back into routines.  Dan had gotten an airbnb in Portland area for us through Wednesday, by which time we hoped to be in our new home.  Monday we had an online meeting with an online notary to sign the papers to get our house in Texas finally sold.  Papers were digitally signed and we were officially really homeless.  The kids were all going a bit stir crazy - but Monday night we made some soup and had it in bread bowls - it was perfect with the cool fall weather - then we had a fun evening playing Twister and telling silly stories about octopi and sharks who got married and had babies.  Dan thought it sounded like the next Sci-fy channel movie "Octo-Shark"  We were silly and had a lot of fun hearing the crazy plot twists that David added.  :)  

It was so funny because the spinner didn't really work, so we just tried to make it up - David thought it was so fun to call the moves - he would hold the spinner, sit down in a nearby chair and say "hand, blue" and then we would try to figure out which hand.  :)  The older kids had fun asking me to make it hard - so I had fun twisting them up in knots until they fell over.  

Tuesday we went in to the title company here to sign the papers for our new home here!  Dan and I signed then had a nice lunch out together at Red Robin!  YEY!  But we stayed at the rental for one more night since we didn't have the keys.  

Wednesday morning, we cleaned up and packed up and checked out - then we met our real estate agent at our new house to get the key!  We checked it all out, then we emptied the seats out of the van and Dan took Anna to the storage unit to get some boxes and mattresses.  He dug around to find a bunch of the kitchen stuff.  Everyone wanted to help unload the van!  Even David - though there weren't many things he could carry.  

That evening, our real estate agent dropped off Chinese food for us for dinner!  It was yummy and we enjoyed a dinner on folding tables and chairs in our dining room.  After dinner, we had fortune cookies - and this was my fortune.  It's funny how there have been times in my life when I have gotten a fortune cookie where the fortune was just perfect for my current situation - and this was another one of those.  

So here we are in our new home - now we just need to unpack....  

Thursday, Dan and Anna got some more loads and we did some more unpacking, still mostly kitchen stuff, but we were able to get what we needed for making some meals.  It wasn't much fun not having any furniture but the folding table and chairs, but we made do.  

Friday, Gene and Ann got in - we set them up in the craft room and they were a huge help with unpacking and organizing stuff.  We were trying to keep Dan's dad from hurting himself and keeping Dan's work to a minimum so that he would be ready for the big push on Saturday.  Dan's brother Steve also drove down from Washington State and stayed the night to help.  While showing Gene and Ann around the house, we discovered that one or more of the kids had broken the TV - so it looks like we will be with out a TV for awhile.  I have to admit, I'm not really dreading it except that I will miss working out with the Ring Fit.  

Saturday morning, the Jones moving crew showed up.  Dave and Stephanie with their kids, John and Melissa with their kids, and Stephen all showed up to help us move boxes and furniture.  It took 2 loads with the U-haul, but everything was in the house or garage by 3:30 in the afternoon.  

Grandma Jones took David to Fred Meyer to pick out his new underwear.  We've been telling David that it's time to learn to use the potty now that we are in Oregon.  So he had his first day wearing underwear - he wanted to show his new underwear to everyone.  He had a lot of accidents, but we will get there...eventually... I hate potty training.

Everyone was a huge help getting stuff moved in from the storage unit and getting things set up in the house.  These beds were a bit confusing - more so when it was realized that we didn't have all the right pieces yet.  They all tried hard - but this bed didn't actually get done until the evening but Eileen and Anna and I.  

By the end of Saturday, we were all exhausted, but the kitchen was mostly organized, We had couches to sit on, a table to eat at and a piano to play so life was good again.  It was so exciting getting our table up and being able to walk around the whole table easily.  :)  

Saturday evening, Grandma and Grandpa wanted to do an early birthday party for Eileen while they were there, so Dan and Grandpa picked up an ice cream cake from Cold Stone.  We sang and ate cake and Eileen opened her present.  She got a beautiful long sweater with pockets and a couple silicone chewing necklaces to help her stop chewing on her knuckle.  One was an adorable hedgehog and the other a pendant looking dangly thing.  She has been loving them so far!  

Church here is entirely virtual, so we watched online church today, then held our own sacrament, then Aaron had a virtual Deacons quorum meeting.  It's going to be very odd trying to get to know people here with the COVID situation, and it's interesting to see the way that they are doing things differently here, but it's been a big blessing to find that our new neighborhood is packed full of other families in our ward.  People have been very warm and welcoming so far!