We Have a Truck!

It’s not the 17-footer we ordered; it’s 26 feet! Jason should have fun with that. We got a little delayed dealing with our notoriously cantankerous bank and some other minor errands, but now we’re loading, and quick!

Getting There

Well, things are moving along. The living room is done, except for all the bits and pieces that seem to migrate into it throughout the day. The kitchen is all packed up, minus the odds and ends we kept out to eat this week. And the home school room is slowly being sorted out.

And. . . tomorrow is the LAST packing day. (!!!!!!!!!) SOOOOOOOOooooooo much to do. It’s also Jason’s last day at work. The day after that is truck pick-up and loading and cleaning. Then Friday morning, we’re off!

Am I ready for this? I think not.

Brrr. . .

Ella (15 months) keeps opening the back door just to see her breath. Puff, puff, puff!

Name Calling

Anna (age 8): Well, how would YOU feel if somebody called you “pliers”?

Jonah (age 6): I’d feel like a tool.

Moving Weather

We like it this way. Really! The boxes slide more easily on ice.

ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN LIKELY THROUGH NEXT WEEK…

A SERIES OF COLD AND WET STORM SYSTEMS WILL IMPACT CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

THE FIRST SYSTEM WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY A COLD AIR MASS… BRINGING SNOW TO EASTERN CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN NEVADA FROM SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EASTERN SIERRA AND PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEVADA WHICH COULD PRODUCE DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS FOR THE MONDAY COMMUTES. A WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN NEVADA WITH THIS SYSTEM.

A VERY COLD AIR MASS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA MONDAY INTO TUESDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES STRUGGLING TO REACH FREEZING EVERYWHERE. LOW TEMPERATURES TUESDAY MORNING HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE QUITE COLD… TEN DEGREES BELOW ZERO UP TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE ZERO. THESE WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES MAY CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY.

A SECOND STORM IS POSSIBLE LATE WEDNESDAY INTO FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN THE FIRST. BUT WITH PLENTY OF COLD AIR TRAPPED IN THE VALLEYS… THE STORM WILL BEGIN AS SNOW… POSSIBLY CHANGING OVER TO A MIX OF SNOW AND RAIN BELOW 5000 FEET LATE IN THE EVENT. SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. WITH BOTH SYSTEMS… WINDS WILL INCREASE AND BECOME STRONG ESPECIALLY ON THE SIERRA RIDGES.

LOCAL OFFICIALS… EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND ANYONE WITH TRAVEL PLANS THIS UPCOMING WEEK SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE FORECASTS AND FURTHER STATEMENTS FOR BOTH THESE STORMS.

Wonderland

I will miss this. But not the shoveling.

Tryptophan

And here are the rest of the Thanksgiving pics on Facebook.

Because I Told Myself I Would Chronicle this Move. . .

One week from today, people!! One week left before we move away to Austin. The part of me that wants to get this over with thinks it’s a lifetime away, while the part of me that realizes how little we’ve packed thinks we need another month, at least! But it’s one week whether we like it or not.  I’m trying to focus on the end result of actually settling in a house somewhere in Austin, and not think too much about all the moving and storing and moving again that the next few weeks will bring. Not to mention the goodbyes. I’m not thinking of the goodbyes.

There is a good possibility that Jason will have the job he wants before we arrive. It’s not a sure thing, though, by any means, so he might have to hunt hard and fast as soon as he arrives, and do some freelance website work in the meantime. We aren’t terribly worried. We know it’s time to go, and God provides. We’ll leave Jason with Pearl on the 14th. The kids and I will drive on to Lufkin, where we’ll stay until the questions of job and house are answered in Austin. I already loaded two crates full of homeschool books to tide us over while we wait. The weeks away from Jason will be tough. Ella likes her cuddle time when he comes home at night.

And, as has become the tradition, we will have many lovely snowstorms all week long while we’re loading and packing and moving. But this time I am neither pregnant nor flat on my back with muscle spasms. So hopefully no major accidents shall befall us. Hopefully.

And here’s a video of Ella, helping out, as she is wont to do at the helpful age of fifteen months. The end.

It’s the Simple Things

“WHEEEEEeeeeeee!”

– Ella, sliding down the side of a half-crushed box

Mmmm. . .

For Thanksgiving I made one roast turkey, two turkey breasts, candied yams, orange-cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, drippings gravy, yeast rolls, two pumpkin pies, two pecan pies, one deep-dish french apple pie, and vanilla whipped cream. And we had seventeen family members around the table to eat it all. Happy, happy.

Today is the best day of the year.