Monthly Archives: October 2015

We moved!

It has been quite an exhausting and emotional week.  I started frantically packing up boxes last week and started to move them into the POD that arrived in our driveway.  My parents were kind enough to come over most afternoons to help me get it all packed up while Tom was at work. Packing boxes required more mental energy than I had expected.  I had to consider each item – Did I want to bring it to the new house? Did I want to sell it? What would I do with it? It was exhausting. Then at some point I just had to box it all up and deal with it later.  We are lucky to have such wonderful friends (the Youngs) and family that are willing to help us pack boxes and load furniture into a Uhaul.  I really didn’t think that we owned too many things, but we were still able to fill up a 16 foot POD and the bottom half of a  26 foot Uhaul.  The kids loved playing the random toys and bicycle tires that were found… 

 The hardest part of the move was saying “good-bye” to the house that we had lived in for nine years.  I was emotionally attached to our house in a big way.  Tom and I bought the house one year after we had been married.  I remember looking around our five bedroom house and saying with a giggle, “I hope God doesn’t have something planned for all of these rooms.”   He did.  We raised three children in that house and I even gave birth to Miller in the middle of the living room.  (Of course we didn’t tell the new owner that. haha.)    Right here… 

 Many great memories were made in our home on Mountainview Drive.  I was sad to leave them behind – fearful that I would forget them.  I cried for three days while I packed up the final boxes.  On the last day before we closed, I was at the house cleaning up when I started to thank God for all of the wonderful blessings that were given to us in our house – three kids, a restored marriage, health, happiness, remodeling, financial stability, the ability to buy a home, a house to run and rollerskate in, etc.  It brought me to tears.  I knelt down on the floor and tearfully thanked God for all that he had done for our family.  It is all because of Him.  As I was getting ready to lock up the empty house I realized that there was something still hanging on the refrigerator.  I found it fitting that this picture Faith did was the last item to leave the house….. 

 The next day, the house was sold (I even cried at the lawyers office while signing the papers).  It was no longer our house.  Six hours later we bought a new house.  The sadness that I experienced over leaving our old house was replaced with the excitement and joy I had over buying the new house.  The new house is fabulous and perfect for our family.  Tom and I stood in the middle of the new house and high-fived.  It was ours!  Wilson wrote on the chalkboard upstairs in the new playroom, “I hate moving, but I like our new house.”  It was comforting to know that the kids were as excited as we were.  Our new backyard rocks!  And yes, that is a pool.  

 We have yet to actually move into the new house because we are redoing the floors, painting the cabinets and painting the entire interior of the house.  I remodeled the other house while living in it and this time I plan to have it look awesome before we move in.  I can’t wait.  Five more days and we will be in our new home, but for now we are living with my parents…they are virtually saints, the kids love it, I have enjoyed the help, and it has been a fun little adventure.  I am sure that they will be glad to have their house back, but I think that they are enjoying it a little bit as well.  :)

The last week has been quite a rollercoaster ride of emotions.  I was exhausted, to say the least. Now my biggest struggle is what color to paint the house…..which can be quite a chore for an indecisive person like myself.   Not a problem to complain about though.  We are very blessed!  I look forward to drinking the bottle of champagne waiting in the fridge because soon we will be home.

 

 

Apple picking

We have been trying to go apple picking for weeks, but it wouldn’t stop raining.  I swear it has rained for two straight weeks and Hurricane Joaquin didn’t help us at all.  It finally cleared up this past weekend so we headed up to the mountains to pick some apples. 

This year we knew a bit more about Sky Top Orchard and thought it best to get our apple doughnuts first while the kids played. They are delicious and the line is thirty minutes long, but worth the wait. Tom stood in line and came back with eighteen doughnuts for the five of us. He said he felt silly waiting in that long line and only get twelve. I have to admit that the first twelve were gone rather quickly but were unable to eat the last six. We brought them back for my dad. 

I went to grab the baskets to put the apples in and instead of three small baskets, like last year, I got four. I knew that it would be an insane amount of apples but last year I gave so many away that I regretted not getting more.   As much as tom tried to tell me that it was too many baskets, I persisted and brought the four baskets with us anyway.  (The story of our marriage)

The kids climbed the trees to pick the choicest apples and we easily filled up the four baskets. We could have picked more but we could barely carry back the baskets that we had. All together we picked an astounding forty two pounds of apples. Yes, 42 pounds.  We have given away or eaten twenty pounds already but we still have twenty more to go. We can do!  No problem. 

Apple picking is about much more than the apples – it is about spending time together, having an adventure, and continuing a family tradition for as long as we can….the apples are nice as well. :)

   

Wilson is in there somewhere…
  

  

We always have to have a silly picture…
   

Team Dressler….

  

I’m Baaaaccckkkk…..

I haven’t written a post in over a month.  What have I been doing? you ask.  Well, I have been teaching preschool, working out, trying to get this house sold, doing homework with kids (occasionally), and taking the kids to their activities.  Sounds exciting, right?  It is, on a certain level.

Frisay after school I was frustrated with the kids because they were all whining and complaining.  I decided that the best way to avoid all of this drama was to go and work out.  I went to the gym and had a revelation….it was Friday, Wilson’s birthday weekend and I wanted to enjoy being with the kids. I picked them up from child watch with a renewed spirit.  I told them that I loved them and they were more important to me than working out, more important than selling the house, more important than work and more important then anything I could think of.  Then I informed them that it was Wilson’s birthday weekend and we were going to have fun!  

We went straight to walmart and bought Wilson’s favorite snacks (within reason that I would buy, of course).  We bought ice cream, sprite, and popcorn. The. We went to Red Box and let wilson pick the movie. We were ready for a fun weekend together.  

Truth be told, I miss the kids while they are at school.  I hate seeing them only in the afternoon when we have have home world and dinner and bedtime. I am very thankful that I was able to change my mood and mind set for the weekend. It was worth it!

Wilson’s birthday

Wilson turned six on October 12.  My little wilson is six. I guess he isn’t so little anymore, but he is still super sweet, loves to cuddle, loves to sword fight, loves school, and loves to watch TV.  I tried to talk him out of having a birthday party, and I thought that I had thoroughly convinced him, until five days before his birthday he told me that he wanted a party.  How was I supposed to throw him a party when I didn’t know any of his new friends from school and it was already a Thursday?!?  

Being the super mom that I am, I scoured old emails and the MCA school directory for the six kids that he wanted to invite to his party.  I was able to get in touch with two preschool friends and three families from his new school, including the triplets – six kids. Perfect!  From now on I will be planning all parties five days in advance because it significantly reduces the number of attendees and pressure to entertain them.  

Because our house is such a disaster from packing and moving my mom graciously offered up her house again this year to hold the party. We had a small bounce house, a trampoline, a swing set and some chickens to entertain the kids. They loved it!  The party was a success!! 

Wilson and my mom baked the cake that morning….

 My dad helped bounce the kids….   Wilson and his new best friend, Allison…

 In the middle of the party wilson came to find me so that I could play his new favorite toy, Rockem Sockem Robots, with him. I was flattered that he wanted to play with me during his birthday party. I was so touched that I got a picture of it…. Wilson is truly a blessing to have in our family. He has really grown up over the last few years and I am very proud of him. His smile is contagious and I am so thankful that he is mine.