Playing Catch-up!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts…we were having trouble with our internet. 

Trouble meaning - not working. 

It is now fixed. So I will blog on!

Here is a small peek into what our lives have looked like 

since returning from our Family Getaway one week ago, today….

Wolcott has a small Farmers Market - so last week, we made sure to hit it up!

We purchased a watermelon and some cookies for Jaxen.

I’ll probably go back - but I hear there is a really big Farmers Market about 30 minutes away,

that we will make sure to try out this summer!

The weather here has been gorgeous (and hot)!

We have been trying to soak up all the sun we can which means some bike rides, walks….

time in the sprinkler...

and lunch/dinner on our deck!

I documented our first lunch (above) and first dinner (below) on our deck.

We have eaten almost every single lunch and dinner outside since we have been here.

Our little table = our best purchase yet :)

Throughout the year, our church participates in a Mobile Food Pantry.

Basically, we help to hand out food to families in our community who are in need of it.

Last Friday we helped and handed food to 120 families (around 500 people).

It was a great way to bond and get to know our church people,

and it was so awesome to meet people from the community

and help in a tangible way!

The food line.

Meeting and praying before starting.

Even Jaxen helped out!

I’m thankful to one of the teens who took him under her wing

and made him her special helper.

Saturday one of the families invited Jaxen over for swimming!

And then I went strawberry picking (a first for me)!

I still have 2 quarts I need to wash, cut and freeze.

But it is prime time for picking and they tasted wonderful!

This past Sunday was Fathers Day and Nik’s first official Sunday.

I tried to take some cute pictures of the boys in their coordinating outfits.

I got a few good ones…

and a whole lot that looked like this…!

I do have to say - it was pretty cool to see this (below) in the bulletin!

After church we were invited to a cook-out with the Leadership Team and their families.

We ate great food, the kids all swam, and we had a great time

getting to know people a bit more!

(no pictures)

And this is a sneak peek of what our house has looked like for the past week…

boxes and more boxes. Everywhere!

When I can cut down on the number of boxes laying around

I will start showing you pictures of our new home.

All in all -

We are happy to be here.

It is taking a while to get settled, and I still feel exhausted and a bit overwhelmed,

but I am seeing the light at the end of this very long transition-tunnel that we have been in!

Family Getaway!

This past weekend we took some time “off”.

Meaning - no packing or unpacking, or cleaning, or making major life decisions

and even very little phone/computer time!

We thought this time would be good for us to spend as a family (uninterrupted),

give Nik and I a little break before Nik starting his new position,

and be a fun way to celebrate Jaxen’s birthday!

Here are some highlights from our time away…

It rained a lot on Saturday so we stayed indoors.

Jaxen had his favorite for lunch (pizza) and then rode the carousel

at the mall in Syracuse.

We also went bike shopping!

It took us three different stores to find a bike for his birthday.

This was store number two.

And finally, at store number three - we found one!

He rode it all over the store (thankfully, the store was not busy)...

and even rode it out to the car!

Although we were out and about a lot,

we took some time to rest!

And this little cutie just tagged right along :)

Jaxen and Nik also had a little pool time!

This one napped!

Sunday, Jaxen got an ice cream Sundae for his birthday and got to play a few games in an arcade!

The whole purpose for going to the Syracuse area was for the Air Show!

We thought Jaxen would love it and that’s how we wanted to celebrate his day.

He did not care so much for the planes flying…but he had the best time seeing 

and getting to crawl in the airplanes and helicopters!

It was super windy and really, pretty cold at times.

And I didn’t pack jackets. So we did the best we could.

We moved around a lot and blocked the wind by getting in all the airplanes!

We bought him a little souvenir airplane and it didn’t leave his hand

the rest of the day!

We had a great time at the air show! 

One thing I will never forget…

Jaxen was complaining about his tummy hurting (which he never does)

and I was getting a bit worried. 

I wondered if he just needed to go poo poo - but he kept saying he didn’t.

Then all of a sudden he said “I need to go poo poo quickly”.

We could see the port-a-potties, but we were pretty far away still.

After one more time of Jaxen saying he needed to go poo poo quickly

and looking a little miserable -

Nik picked him up and ran to the port-a-potties.

As I watched (and walked with the stroller) I fell more in love with Nik.

That sounds funny. But seriously.

He is the kind of dad that will pick up an almost 40 pound 4 year old 

and run him across a field and parking lot so he can go poo poo.

Not all men would do that.

So - I love him even more, for the way he loves our boys! 

We had a great weekend!

And although we had some frustrating times and were still very tired after it…

I mean…we had a 2 month old and a 4 year old.

Getaways are not what the used to be! Haha!

I think everyone enjoyed the time away!

We are glad to be “home” now and are settling in pretty well!

More on that later...

The Move - Wolcott, NY

We made it!

Thursday, Nik and I had a pretty rough night sleeping. Between the two boys in the room with us and trying to share an air mattress (I slept on the floor part of the night) - it was hard to get good sleep. But we managed a few hours. I was up at 4:30am, feeding Zane on Friday and once he was fed and back asleep I decided to start my day and get to work.

I swept and mopped the entire downstairs before the boys woke up. Once Nik was up, we ate some breakfast and starting loading the rest of our belongings into our two vehicles. It seemed to take us forever to actually get out of the house that morning (between loading, cleaning, taking trash to the dumpster, returning an air mattress, taking showers, cleaning again, and getting everyone ready), but again, we managed!

In Jaxens words..."goodbye white house"!

By 10am, Nik and Jaxen were on the road with the Uhaul, pulling our car behind it. I knew I needed to nurse Zane one more time before driving away - so I sent them on ahead. Once Zane had a full belly and was happy, we hit the road as well.

This is the house we brought Zane to. 

His first home. 

We showed up in Wolcott, to our new house, around 12pm. We had been to the house previously and picked out which rooms would be everyone’s bedrooms. One of the things our new church family did, was decorate Jaxen’s room for his birthday! Not only was it decorated, some people in the church had purchased gifts for Jaxen and one of the men even made him a fort out of a box!

He was thrilled! He had a fun fort to play in, new toys to open, cards to read and was just an excited little boy - having fun celebrating his birthday! The people from church wanted to make sure Jaxen felt loved and wanted to make this transition the best they could for him. And seriously…that one act of thoughtfulness, love and kindness spoke volumes to Nik and I. For them to put thought into an almost 4-year-old kid that they hardly knew…just made our hearts happy :)

After the “birthday celebration” Nik started unpacking cars and setting the Uhaul up to be unloaded. I took the boys and we grabbed lunch to bring back to the house. As we were eating, a few people showed up to help us unload.

Nik took this picture to show the guys who helped load... Nothing budged! 

Jaxen and Zane were both there during the unloading and although Jaxen was a handful at times - I decided it was probably good for him to be there. I think he understands that we have moved and have a new house and I think seeing all our stuff come off the truck and get put into our new house helped his understanding even more. Thankfully, Zane napped well during the unloading process and when he was not napping, I put him outside in his bouncy seat and anyone who was taking a break from unloading took a minute to entertain him!

Jaxen helped some, played some and eventually I had enough of his stuff in his room that I think it felt comfortable and when I told him it was nap time - he did not hesitate. He laid in his bed, played awhile and then took a great nap! When he finally woke up, we were nearing the end of unloading!

The helpers we had were great (and fun too) but around 4pm all that was left was the heavy furniture. So Nik and another guy (named Nick) began to carry all the real heavy stuff (mostly upstairs). At one point - I looked at Nik and got a little worried. He was beat. I knew his wrists and knees were hurting and with the little sleep we have been getting - he was just wiped out. He was able to power through and finish, but was super exhausted after everything was unloaded and the truck was returned!

That evening - we ate sandwiches, put Jaxen in the bath and then did the smallest amount possible to make it through the night and morning (made beds, found clothes and unpacked towels and toiletries). Although it was a late night, we were able to sleep in our bed and slept well!

The next morning we packed some bags (which was interesting to pack for a 3 day trip the day after you move!) and headed out of town to celebrate our first-born, who turned four!

More on that in another post...