...choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:25

The whole fabric of society rests upon the home.
-Theodore Roosevelt

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Behold! the very first blog post has arrived!

We've decided, as Inigo Montoya says, to "gobacktozebeginning". We will begin our tale with the sale of our home, and our subsequent move into a rental house, one month before our drive to Alaska.


We learned many things in that short time...

We learned that it's much easier to say goodbye to the home you've loved and laughed in for 10 years, when you're sick of driving back and forth to fix "one more little thing" before you go, but that it's a satisfying feeling, knowing you have left the house in the best condition possible for the little family moving in.

We learned that a truck full of stuff going "in" to a rental house, magically turns into a truck-and-a-half full when it's time to leave, but that Steven somehow could make it fit, with room enough to see through the back window!

We learned that there were skunks in the shed. (well, Riley actually figured that one out for us!)  He also learned that skunky dogs aren't allowed in the house during thunderstorms. 

We learned that skunky dogs who are scared of thunderstorms have "loose board on the fence radar" and that my birthday is not a very good day to wake up and realize your dog is gone. 

We learned that people really do pay attention to lost dog signs and that birthday celebrations are just as much fun the next day!

We learned that even when you are only renting for a month, the power WILL go out, and wishing you had packed a flashlight and wishing you hadn't given away all of the tea lights as you hunt for the one lonely votive candle that got tossed in the medicine box are very different from having them at the ready! 


We learned that no matter how well we slather her in bug-lotion, the mosquitoes WILL find a spot to bite on Kyra!


We learned that toilets always flood when husbands are out of town. 
We learned that you can make charming curtains with sweat shirts and packing tape.
We learned that brand new tires can go flat 4 days after they are installed. 
We learned that passports don't come in when they should, even though you applied MONTHS in advance.  
We learned that slashing a styrofoam bowl with a pocket knife provides an excellent slotted spoon.  
We learned that really hot soup will melt your clever inventions so you get to make a new one and perfect your design each day! 


We learned that the American Girl store in Dallas is VERY cute!


We learned that children can entertain themselves for DAYS with nothing but markers, paper plates, and twine. 
We learned that it's very easy to do without television, but that we don't do so well without the internet! 
We learned how to use mysterious abbreviations like VPC, TLF,and HHG as a regular part of conversation.
We learned that we have been so abundantly blessed with friends, that it would have been impossible to visit with them all one last time, but that leaving with fond memories was perhaps better than the farewell weeping.

We learned that no matter how many obstacles Satan threw in our path, that we could find joy and excitement in the way over or around his pathetic attempts to ruin our fun!

Stay tuned for our next post, where we'll tell you all about our trip to the land of the midnight sun!
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