It's been a long, exhausting month. Lots of paperwork, lots of small dramas, lots of planning. Yesterday, it all finally came together - we sold the old house and bought a new house. The movers packed us up and had us out of the old house Thursday night and we've now moved in to a lovely hotel room until Christmas. If moving at Christmas time in Chicago weren't enough stress, we opted to do some improvements to the new house before we move in. All of that kicked off today with full steam in the hope that before Christmas, it will all be done so that the moving truck can arrive on the 27th. Lots of before and after pictures are in this blog's future, but until then, we are so incredibly happy to be moving to a lovely new house, in a lovely new neighborhood, with a lovely commute for me, near a lovely new school for Luke.
Luke has truly been the light of the whole process. Yesterday, we're sitting at closing which can be a fairly long process. It's Luke's naptime, and he's already been trucked and hauled around to all kinds of places, staying in a weird place, eating out a lot, having very few toys to play with. There he is at the conference room table, perfectly entertained with scribbling his "signature" on blank sheets of paper, sorting paper clips, and putting his Thomas stickers as notary seals. Yes, we did bribe him with the promise of ice cream, but I wouldn't have suspected that even that could bring about such amazing behavior in an almost-three-year-old.
Tonight, we were leaving yet another dinner out when Jingle Bells came on the radio. Luke made up his own lyrics:
Choo Choo tracks
Choo Choo tracks
Choo Choo all the way
Oh what fun, it is to ride
On the Choo Choo open tracks
Oh, to have have a video camera. Now that I'll have about 10 hours back in my week, I expect blogging to be more prevalent. We'll post pictures as soon as we're a little more settled. Luke and I will head to Papa and Gramma's house next weekend and then Mike will fly down after the construction is done. Then, we bring everyone back with us for moving in on the 27th. Lots of hotels between then and now and a lot of living out of suitcases.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
We are under contract!
Apparently, deciding to take your house off the market can actually be a help in selling it! It turned out that a couple was waiting, hoping that we'd drop the price. Instead, we cancelled our listing. Their realtor called to inquire, they saw it today, and by 6:30 this evening, we had a contract. And, we close on Dec 10th....holy crud! Needless to say, many wheels are in motion - finding the new house, finding a new school.....oh the fun of moving, just in time for Christmas. At least, Santa Claus came early for us. What a crazy year!
I am 3 days late in posting the pictures from Halloween. My little chef was quite the character. As he walked down the opposite side of our street, he kept shouting at me to show me his candy. He was totally into it!
I am 3 days late in posting the pictures from Halloween. My little chef was quite the character. As he walked down the opposite side of our street, he kept shouting at me to show me his candy. He was totally into it!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
The "Punkin" Farm
What else would you do on an 80 degree October Saturday but go to Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm? Lots of firsts on this trip:
- First Pony Ride
- First time feeding a giraffe
- First time eating Apple Cider donuts
- First time seeing a Pumpkin Eating Dinosaur
- First time being in jail
- First time pumpkin climbing was more fun than pumpkin picking
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Fire Engines
Today was a special open house at the Bartlett Fire Station! As you can see, a big hit!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Visit with the Tiemans
A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a fantastic visit with our dear friends from Richmond. Luke had a complete blast with Michelle and Allison, and we enjoyed reminiscing and catching up on everything. It was truly as if we'd just seen each other a few weeks before, and that's the best part about good friends.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Engeeo
First my story, and then general updates....I mean, after all, a 4 month hiatus from blogging deserves proper updates.
Luke and I were riding home from school jamming to our new toddler tunes CDs. He says, "Please, Mommy, Engeeo song." Now, I realize moms have a certain way of understanding what their kids say, but I was stumped. "What song was that?" He replied, "Engeeo."
Well, we started at track 1 and I asked him to tell me when to stop. "This one, Mommy!" B-I-N-G-O...there was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name...B-I-N-G-O.
Top five updates from us:
1) Mike is doing AWESOME. He's graduated physical therapy and had his 10 week check up today. Slowly life returns to normal and he's basically pain free. Truly amazing!
2) Luke is everything that a healthy, spunky, 31-month old should be. He migrated to a big-boy bed this summer, he loves Puff the Magic Dragon, he continues to love all things associated with trains, and he is a mighty independent kid (gee, where does he get that from?)
3) We have entered the Apple world with a new iMac. Once I figure out how to insert a picture, I'll post a recent one of Lukeman.
4) We had the most wonderful visit with our dear friends, the Tiemans! Lots of great pics and Luke discovered how wonderful it is to have two doting young ladies at his beck and call for 3 days. See previous comment about
5) Still no serious bites on the house. We continue to wait patiently on that front. Great feedback, but no one seems to be buying right now. Bring on another tax credit!
Family is amazing. We could not have gotten through this summer without the various friends and family who gave up their free time to come and do work for us. Thank you, everyone, for all the hands and meals and prayers. In general, 2010 has not been our best year, but we figure that it must be better from here on out. Plus, it's September - wonderful fall-like temperatures and the start of college football. Exciting things ahead!
Update: I figured it out!
Luke and I were riding home from school jamming to our new toddler tunes CDs. He says, "Please, Mommy, Engeeo song." Now, I realize moms have a certain way of understanding what their kids say, but I was stumped. "What song was that?" He replied, "Engeeo."
Well, we started at track 1 and I asked him to tell me when to stop. "This one, Mommy!" B-I-N-G-O...there was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name...B-I-N-G-O.
Top five updates from us:
1) Mike is doing AWESOME. He's graduated physical therapy and had his 10 week check up today. Slowly life returns to normal and he's basically pain free. Truly amazing!
2) Luke is everything that a healthy, spunky, 31-month old should be. He migrated to a big-boy bed this summer, he loves Puff the Magic Dragon, he continues to love all things associated with trains, and he is a mighty independent kid (gee, where does he get that from?)
3) We have entered the Apple world with a new iMac. Once I figure out how to insert a picture, I'll post a recent one of Lukeman.
4) We had the most wonderful visit with our dear friends, the Tiemans! Lots of great pics and Luke discovered how wonderful it is to have two doting young ladies at his beck and call for 3 days. See previous comment about
5) Still no serious bites on the house. We continue to wait patiently on that front. Great feedback, but no one seems to be buying right now. Bring on another tax credit!
Family is amazing. We could not have gotten through this summer without the various friends and family who gave up their free time to come and do work for us. Thank you, everyone, for all the hands and meals and prayers. In general, 2010 has not been our best year, but we figure that it must be better from here on out. Plus, it's September - wonderful fall-like temperatures and the start of college football. Exciting things ahead!
Update: I figured it out!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Verdict Is In....
I'd like to say that I had better news, but alas, we weren't quite done with one of those 3 issues. Mike has had 2 rounds of cortisone injections without much help. He's in enough pain that we opted to consult a surgeon today. The bottom line is that some sort of discectomy is in Mike's near future.
The only question to be answered now is whether there is a disc herniation or one or two discs. His MRI is a little inconclusive on the 2nd disc, but his reflexes and symptoms indicate a possible problem with a 2nd disc. He'll undergo additional scans in the next week or so and then we'll determine exactly what type of surgery is needed.
This isn't exactly the type of summer we had hoped for. Mike is heavily medicated for pain which means he can't work or drive. The hardest part is that he really misses being able to pick Luke up, and that isn't going to come for several months yet. Luke understands that Daddy has and ow-ee, and we've done really well to make some accommodations. I think we all just know that the next few months will be a challenge, but it's amazing the type of strength you can find to pull through.
We all appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers from everyone. We're taking things one day at a time, but with lots of help, we'll get through this. As I told Mike today on the way home, this will all pay off in the many years to come in all of the things he'll be able to do with Luke. This is just a little hiccup on the map of life.
The only question to be answered now is whether there is a disc herniation or one or two discs. His MRI is a little inconclusive on the 2nd disc, but his reflexes and symptoms indicate a possible problem with a 2nd disc. He'll undergo additional scans in the next week or so and then we'll determine exactly what type of surgery is needed.
This isn't exactly the type of summer we had hoped for. Mike is heavily medicated for pain which means he can't work or drive. The hardest part is that he really misses being able to pick Luke up, and that isn't going to come for several months yet. Luke understands that Daddy has and ow-ee, and we've done really well to make some accommodations. I think we all just know that the next few months will be a challenge, but it's amazing the type of strength you can find to pull through.
We all appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers from everyone. We're taking things one day at a time, but with lots of help, we'll get through this. As I told Mike today on the way home, this will all pay off in the many years to come in all of the things he'll be able to do with Luke. This is just a little hiccup on the map of life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)