Saturday found us at PNC Park enjoying a Pirates game with Jen and her sister Karen. The new park is nothing short of amazing, but a little piece of me missed Three Rivers Stadium. We were treated to a fireworks show thanks to a country music festival that was being held at the same time as the game. I love fireworks!

We slept in Sunday and I did a lot of nothing. I ended up sleeping on the couch most of the day. Sure, there were things to be done, but I was tired. After my long day of resting we went to a hot dog roast at Jen's house. The food was yummy and the conversation was even better. I love being able to sit outside in the country air while watching the fireflies and eating homemade ice cream. Life doesn't get any better than that.

Today David began his job search. He dropped off several resumes and filled out a few applications. He's planning on going out again tomorrow. Say a little prayer that he'll find the right job.

We also start birthing classes tomorrow. Hayden will be here in 7 weeks! This week I'm focusing on getting his room ready.

I spent several summers in this house as a teenager. When we first arrived here after our cross country trek, it still felt like their home, as if I was just a visitor. Of course it is their home technically, but we are living here and I feel the need to make it seem like ours for as long as we stay. So I am painting, decorating, and organizing. There is so much to do my mind can barely sit still, and my efforts have been slightly haphazard, but I am making my mark on things.
On Tuesday my aunt, cousin, and grandma came over to help us with the yard work. We pulled weeds, trimmed hedges, and mowed the lawn. My aunt made sure I didn't pull up anything that should stay and managed to save the rose bush from Erin who somehow managed to be let loose with an ax. It felt good to be in their company and to have some help with all the work.
Erin is slowly adjusting to our new life. She has fallen in love with her cousin and that is causing some trouble. Anytime we take them apart she throws a fit. We've explained to her how ridiculous it is, but trying to explaining anything to to a hormonal almost teenager is a waste of our breath.
Hayden is moving and growing like crazy oblivious to the chaos that surrounds him. Hopefully all of this will be finished by the time he arrives and he will never know the difference.

Paint, Flooring, and Bats OH MY!

We finished painting the living room, dining room, and hallway. There are a few touch ups to do, but nothing I can't handle with a small brush and step ladder. My dad and David are putting in the flooring today. They get along very well and that makes my heart smile. Even under the stressful conditions of installing flooring in 92 degree weather, they are laughing and joking.
We took yesterday off to go to church with my grandma. It's impossible to say no to her so when she asked us to go we said yes. It felt good to be in a familiar place surrounded by familiar faces. I have to keep reminding myself that it has been 10 years since I went to church with her. It seems as though it was only yesterday! People I remember working with at Vacation Bible School are all grown up with kids of their own! Growing up is so strange!
After church we had lunch at grandma's house. She and my aunt made roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy and a delicious side dish of zucchini with apples, tomatoes, and garlic! It was just the type of soul food we needed to energize us for the rest of the work we have left to do.
Speaking of zucchini, my friend Jen was nice enough to bring over some fresh from the garden along with a wonderful assortment of goodies from Amish country including a loaf of fresh bread, a cinnamon roll, and pie. I used part of the loaf of bread to make French toast this morning and it was delicious. She also brought over homemade strawberry jam which I had on a pb&j sandwich. Thanks Jen!
Last night just as I was about to go to sleep Erin rushed into the bedroom going on and on about a bat or a bird flying around in the living room. (She is currently sleeping there until her room is ready.) David went out the handle the situation, but came back and said he couldn't find anything. I walked out into the living room and sure enough there was a bat on the windowsill. David thought it was remnants of a garbage bag we had used to cover the window when we painted, but I knew better. Erin and I came back to the bedroom to let David take care of Mr. Bat. He ended up whacking him with a box that sent him flying out the window. Poor Mr. Bat.

Welcome to life in the country!

Last night she told me I was making her miserable. Me, the same mom who has let her go swimming, four wheel riding, and let her play video games all day for the past four days while her father and I have packed and moved what was left of my step-mothers things from this house, prepared to install flooring and paint, and move and unpack our things. Tired and frustrated from a long day of moving, I wanted to slap her when she said it, but I didn't. Instead, I let her know that for the rest of the week, she will be participating in all things move related. She'll scrub the walls so we can't paint them, help her father move the boxes that are too heavy for me to lift, and unpack box after box until the sight of another box makes her cringe. If I am going to be accused of making her miserable, I at least want to be guilty of it.

Balance

Life post move is crazy and chaotic, but we are surrounded by peaceful beauty. Camouflaged in shades of green, the foothills of the Allegheny mountains tumble and roll in every direction around us. Stars litter the evening sky as fireflies dance on the lawn. Our list of things to do is very long. I keep reminding myself that this too will pass. Soon, we will be moved in and settled just in time to have everything turned upside down with Hayden's arrival. I consider all of this the good kind of chaos because it will eventually lead to all that we've been waiting for.

We just passed through St. Louis, home of the Arch. We didn't get to stop and see it because it's late but we did take an accidental detour that gave us a pretty good view. It's raining in western Illinois tonight and every few minutes the sky explodes with lightening. Having grown up in Oklahoma, this is nothing new for me, but David and Erin say ohhh and ahhhh each time the sky lights up. It's so cute. :)

Visiting family and friends in Oklahoma was bitter sweet as usual. I am always so happy to see them and equally sad to say goodbye. There is never enough time so I squeeze in all the hugs and love I can and hope that it will last them until the next time. We had two long visits with my grandparents which was very nice. My grandpa has many stories and I love to hear them. On this visit he told me more about his father and mother and living through the great depression. Maybe he'll post the stories on his blog so everyone can read them. I also found out that his dad never called him by his name, Paul, but instead called him Wog Tail Wiggins. He called my grandpa's sister, Betty, Knee High.

We also spent time with my mom and my sister and her family. My niece and nephew have me wrapped around their finger. They are full of energy and so much fun. I took them shopping for their birthdays. Hers is the same day as my sister's and mine and his is in September. I bought them practical things like clothes and then let them pick out a few things. She picked out the cutest ballerina outfit ever and he wanted a black Spider Man costume. He was so excited he wanted to put it on right away even though it was 90 plus degrees outside! If there were away to pull the state of Oklahoma to Pennsylvania so I could be closer to them I would!

My visit with Aola and her family was too short! The kids had a great time playing in the pool and Aola and I got to gossip a little. Her garden looks beautiful and her sunflowers are amazingly tall! Maybe on the next trip I'll get to stay late enough to visit the fairies that live in her garden. :)

In case this post hasn't been long enough, I'll leave you with a few semi-sarcastic but completely true things I've noticed while traveling through the bible belt. There are just as many bars as there are churches. For every billboard promoting a church, there are five promoting adult book/movie stores.

And my final thought after today's journey, for all the bad things people say about California drivers and driving in California, after driving through a large chunk of Missouri, I'd chose to drive in California any day!

On The Road Again

We left our apartment in Sunnyvale very late yesterday evening. Our intentions were to be out of there by 2 p.m., but it didn't happen. Our last two days were chaotic with a little bit of random mixed in. We did manage to enjoy a firework show with several of our friends. It was so nice to have everyone together one last time. Despite the fact that I didn't cry when I said goodbye, I'm really sad about leaving the friends we've made there and our family.
We spent the night at David's brother's house and had a nice breakfast with him and his family. Then we headed to Bakersfield to visit my older sister for a few hours. We're now traveling east on highway 40 towards the Grand Canyon. The cats are snuggled sweetly into their carrier and are very unhappy about it. The dogs are asleep on the middle seat and the rest of us are enjoying the quiet of night time driving. Erin is keeping us amused with her beautiful rendition of "Skater Boy". We'll be burning the midnight oil tonight as we plan on making it to Williams, AZ before pulling in for the evening. Thank you Motel 6 for your 24 hour front desk and for allowing pets! We'll be visiting the Grand Canyon tomorrow morning before heading to OK.