Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One-by-one...

Well, days at the new homestead are rolling along. Our days of being real-estate moguls are coming to an end as the sale of our old house goes through on Sept 30. We finally emptied that house out of everything we own last week. We have literally been moving for a year, since we got a storage unit last fall to begin the process. What a blessing that it is coming to an end! Although we still have to empty a great deal out of storage! Yes, for a short time, we could impress the world by saying we owned two homes. But as you can well imagine, owning two homes can be a blessing or a curse! We all loved that house... but are so happy to be in our beautiful new country home. We have really enjoyed the quiet... the trees... the stars... and all the space to create a family haven. As you can see above, we are in the process of building a basketball court. The pavement was carefully laid and the nets were purchased. The kids were bouncing balls on it practically before it was dry. Noah, obvious...

We all know where we were on September 11, 2001. I was a once-again newly staying-at-home mom and was chatting on the computer with my best buddy Michelle from New Jersey. She told me to turn on the news. I was so shocked at all that I saw that I wasn't even thinking straight. I watched tower two get hit. I heard them mention Washington... I heard them mention the Pentagon. And a little while later, my Mom called to say that my sister was all right. I had somehow blocked out the thought that my sister worked at the Pentagon! How could I forget that? Even after I hung up with my Mom, it didn't hit me that Debbie was in danger. It was very surreal. The thing my Mom didn't know, is that my brother-in-law had told her this to ease her mind, but he really didn't know the truth yet. He knew the plane had hit the building right where Debbie worked - but didn't want to tell Mom that, until he knew something for certain. I can only imagine the torture he went through that mo...

Noah didn't last 15 minutes. Molly has her first Volleyball game!

We have certainly gone through a plethora of 'firsts' these last few weeks! Jacob's first college class... Molly, the first Siner child to ride a public school bus... Noah's first day in school, ever... I am here at my house... utterly alone on a Tuesday morning. Ok, so the cat has made his presence constantly known... but there are no other humans here. For the first time in like nine years... all three of my children are in school. Now, I hear some you moms out there cheering me on with envy... but for today, you must be compelled to feel my sadness. Noah and I have been together for a long time... partners in school and daily living. He is a great kid and I will miss him! Just today - I reserve the right to do a little mourning... for our homeschool days... for the control over his learning... for hugs and kisses about 20 times each day... yes, today only - I will allow my heart to be sad. BUT... tomorrow, I will begin this new life with gusto! Making lists...