Floods, Ladybugs, and a Sick dog for starters

It has been a week and 3 days since we moved into our new home. I sat down several times last week to blog about the move but was just too exhausted to do so. Not to mention we had a few natural disasters that made things a little extra stressful.

On Saturday as we moved 18,000 boxes into our home along with furniture and other assorted goodies we decided to start a load of wash. I thought it would be helpful if we could wash the sheets and get the beds made, you know so we would all have a place to lay our tired heads. Well about 15-20 minutes into the washing cycle my friend Susan, who was helping us move, did a flying leap through the air towards my laundry room screaming at the top of her lungs. I went into complete shock and paralysis as I watched water rise, quickly mind you, from my laundry room throughout my kitchen, dining room and den. I could not move. All I could do was watch boxes and furniture start to get wet.

Braxton runs to cut the water off as I quickly gain control and move into action. We managed to get all the water cleaned up and nothing was ruined. Did I mention that our floors are stained concrete? So all it did was cause my floors to smell like Tide, which was not a bad thing.

The next day Rudy, the dog that no one in this family likes but we can't seem to get rid of, begins to have diarrhea...everywhere. As I chased her around the house she continually pooped, she thought I was chasing her to spank her I guess, not sure but she literally pooped all over my newly cleaned by my washing machine floors. And again, we are praising God for concrete.

And as if that were not enough the next day I happened past our bedroom window and noticed a swarm of ladybugs had come to live with us in our room. I guess they saw how much fun we were having and thought they would join in. And when I tell you a swarm I mean swarm, like 100-150. I immediately called the pest control people who told me two things. One, they don't guarantee flying insects only crawling ones and two ladybugs only have a life span of one day. So no worries they would all be dead by in the morning. To which I responded oh well good, because I was getting bored and was hoping I would have something to do tomorrow, like clean up 150 dead ladybugs, on second thought maybe my dog will just eat them and get sick again because according to our vet, she was either stressed due to the move or ate something she was not supposed to.

I am just wondering if we sprayed those ladybugs with insect killer and then the dog ate them, could we kill two birds with one stone? Just kidding...don't go run and call PETA, this dumb dog lives better than I do.

So we are getting settled. The boxes are just about all unpacked and the kids are loving their new rooms. Our new home is beautiful and we are so grateful for all we have. We can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can meet more of our new neighbors and begin to build relationships here.

Snow Delays Make for Falling Dominoes

When you are building a home if one thing gets delayed it can cause a million things to get delayed. For example or for real however you want to look at it: today the landscape guy was suppose to come and grade the yard and lay gravel so the inspector could give us a certificate of occupancy so the bank could send our paperwork to underwriting so we could close on our loan.

We all woke up this morning to 4inches of snow on the ground which equals a domino effect of delays in the Brady household. The snow was beautiful and my kids were excited but for the adults in the house it was a wee bit discouraging.

We made the best of it and went outside for some winter fun. We had a snowball fight which was pretty aggressive and painful due to the type of snow we had. We tried to build a snowman but his head kept falling off. The kids jumped on the trampoline which is pretty funny when it is covered in snow and ice but not near as funny as the snowman's head falling off. Then we came in and warmed up by playing cards, Farkle and building a fort.

Here is the link to our snow pics...www.bradybunch2.smugmug.com

Not sure when we will get to close on the house now but we have all decided to have good attitudes about it and trust that regardless of our plan that God's plan is the best and we will move in on his timing. And as one of the pastors at our church says, "God is never late, rarely early and ALWAYS on time."

Here are some recent pictures of the inside of the house...

A Chicken has gotta hatch and a Bird has gotta fly

My kids are hilarious. All three of them, and you never know which one is going to come up with something funny to say next. Today as we rode home Bennett said, "Mom, I need a hug." Bennett is definitely my most affectionate child. He is always asking for a hug and I love it! I joke with friends that Bennett would climb back in my womb if I could let him.

I responded Bennett, I love you. "Mom, I am never going to grow up and leave you and dad, I'm never going to get married. I want to live with you forever." Oh, Bennett you will change your mind. You won't stay with us forever. "No, mom, not ever gonna leave."

"I will" Preston chimes in. "I am going to grow up and get married and leave." Thanks Preston, I appreciate your honesty. "Well, Mom, (as he puts his hand on my shoulder) a chicken has gotta hatch and a bird has gotta fly."

He is pretty smart and mature for an eleven year old. Someone asked me the other day if I was dreading him becoming a teenager soon. And I can say honestly we are not. Braxton and I both feel that helping him walk into becoming a young man and then an adult is a blessing. We know that there will be times of frustration, tears and probably anxiety but we plan to spend A LOT of time on our knees. And we are excited to see what kind of young man he will become and what paths God will put him on.

I just pray that as he hatches and grows wings that he will remember who takes care of the farm :).