Even though I grew up in Indiana, I'm still not completely sure what a Hoosier is and why people from Indiana are called Hoosiers. The Indiana Historical Bureau did not clear it up for me much either. But anyhow, we have moved nearly all of our belongings to our new place and just have a few things to tie up in Michigan (Michigander is kinda of a weird term also....but at least it ties into the name of the state better and is more easily explained). The cats, lawnmower, and our cleaning supplies are all waiting to be relocated down here with us. We are still waiting to close on our MI house, but things are still progressing and we are praying that all goes through without any hitches.
Moving Day was was really smooth and great. Mostly because even though it was a holiday weekend, we felt immensely blessed to have such great helping crews in both towns. We are leaving some really great people in Michigan. But, its becoming clear to us that we are being received by some really great people in Indiana.
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| Likely the last family pic in front of our GR house. |
And it actually was super helpful that Adam's mom came and stayed at our house the week leading up to the move. The day of her arrival, I was admittedly a bit nervous (and possibly had a few moments of being overwhelmed) as she was also bringing 3 children with her (I won't get into the details of "why" as my blog post will already have too words for some of my family members). But it ended up being a huge help. Our boys were entertained and happy. Grandma took them on outings and put them to bed. She did the cooking. The other 3 kids were very well-behaved and polite. I had more time to pack and focus on those details. She was such a great blessing to have around!
On the day of the move, our rental truck started getting loaded in Michigan at 9 am. By 11, the truck was strategically jam-packed full and the crew had gone. We arrived in Indiana at 3....and those that showed up at 4 had nothing left to do!
We have worked on getting settled. There are still boxes EVERYWHERE! I thought I had purged a lot of our "stuff." But its clear that I did not purge enough. Nothing makes you feel hideously materialistic until its time to move. Its a little tricky as well when we were moving from a 3800 sq. ft. home with ample storage space to a 1500 sq. ft. home with significantly less storage options. I am currently avoiding our bedroom, except for the need to sleep, because I simply do not know how to make it work. I am fully aware I have too many clothes, too many shoes, too much jewelry, too much, too much, too much. (In my defense, they are mostly thrift store, clearance racks, gifts, and garage sale items!). We are just used to being immensely blessed/spoiled by our previous house and the space and amenities it had to offer.
I am trying not to be stressed about any of it. Contentment and gratefulness is my aim. Some moments I feel like I am hitting the bullseye. And some moments I am missing the target altogether. I'm trying though. I know my aim needs to be on Jesus and all of our blessings.....which we have a lot of.
Plus, in light of all that is going on in the world around us, it seems awfully silly to let an issue of "space" bother or consume me. I mean, seriously. Shootings. Bombings. Innocent lives being taken. And I have friends who are dealing with actual difficult things in their lives. Health issues. Marital struggles. Loss of loved ones.
Anyways. We have tried to jump into life here and fully embrace what we have going on.
We have some little projects going on at the house. I had already done some patching and painting in a few rooms. And I've already had a few projects for Adam. Plus, Adam tilled up some space for me and I got a garden planted.
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| Me: "Adam, I would like some bracketed shelves on this wall." *POOF* I have bracketed shelves on the wall. |
I signed up the 2 older boys for swim lessons.
We've explored our new city a little bit. We've found time to check out the library, a splash pad, and have a few gatherings with new friends. And I even threw a ball at a broken branch that was lodged in a tree for 40 minutes trying to get it down. Once you start something like that, you CANNOT give up. The boys were impressed with my aim and fortitude to keep trying (it was really lodged up there). And it may have even entertained our new neighbors?
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| Walking the Mishawaka Riverwalk area. |
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| Exploring a new playground. Adam assured me this equipment was safe. Surely, it was strategically engineered that if a kid fell from the highest point, the ropes would slow down his fall as he plummeted to the somewhat padded ground. |
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| The broken branch that we victoriously got out of the tree (finally!). |
Its a slower pace of life for now with a lot less commitments and connections. But that's OK. I love summertime with our boys. We never managed to put together a summer bucket list like we have shared the past few years. But there's some things we've talked about wanting to do.....fishing, tie-dying shirts, going to a movie theater, a 10-mile bike ride....most of our list involves having a good transition, enjoying life, and making new friends. So, that's what we're gonna do!
