I'm here. I'm dusting off the keyboard and getting back to work here on my blog.
What a year it has been so far. I would say that I haven't been blogging because I have been on all sorts of tropical vacations, visiting interesting foreign countries, etc..etc.. but that would be a lie. I have basically been up to my eyeballs in "change", and it's been a lot to carry... mentally, physically... emotionally. A lot has happened in 2009.
Let me see if I can sum it all up in less than a BOOK.
Fred and I decided to buy a house. We began our search in late February, early March. By April 29th, 2009 - we were at the settlement table. Seriously. During that time, we got word that Fred's Dad had gone from bad to worse (his health). The evening after we settled on the house, we got a phone call from his family letting us know we should get down there ( to Georgia ). The next morning, we hit the road, leaving our "fixer upper" in shambles, the kids with family until we returned, a mess of a place we were about to move out of.... and completely exhausted.
I drove 2 long days to get Fred there. It was about a 16-18 hour drive. We made it though....
Stayed for about a week. We left on the day of his Father's passing. The whole experience was something I will never forget.
Have you ever sat beside a dying man or woman? I can't even describe the feeling.... Honestly. It is so sad.. so deeply sad.
On the road... back to our home, and back to trying to pull it all together so we can move from one place to another. But, before that happens, we have to do a TON of work to our new house...
Long ride home. Sad, quiet.. and a lot of time to think about life in general. Time to count our blessings, talk about making changes, think about just how short life really is.
Now we're into the month of May. Where has the time gone? Fred turned 47 the day his Father was buried. There was no celebration for him that day. We have to really make it count next Birthday. Lord willing...
And so we move along to the working on the house. I have some amazing before and after photo's that I will post. I have to dig them up from the bottom of my computer :) BUT, I did take photos!
Moving day happened right before the 1st of June. I can hardly believe we did it. The expense of buying the house, the hard core labor put into... with Fred doing the bulk of it, and me doing the what he assigned me to do... I lost 12 pounds. LOL! It was like boot camp for me. I was NOT used to that type of work. I sit pretty at a desk most days. Not during this 3 week period. I worked like an animal. Every night I was discovering a different body part that ached, or pained... and it's unreal how much I learned. AND, how much I learned about what Fred does on a daily basis. I still can't get over it thinking about it right now. He's amazing. Honestly amazing...
So, all moved in... feeling the financial pinch. No cruise this year. Had to cancel. No planned vacation... couldn't afford one..
BUT, we have a pool, and a lovely new home. It's all worth it. It really is.
I had so many people telling me that. "Oh Erin, it's so worth it". I was thinking (in the working process) "It better be" LOL! I was battered and bruised.. and couldn't imagine it really would be worth it. IT IS. I love love love my new home!!!!!!!!
And so here I am. Past mid July. We've been living in the house for about a month and a half.
My children are changing. It isn't easy to take. They are both teenagers. One is way more hard to handle than the other. I guess I should feel blessed. They could both be equally difficult to handle. I'm scared sometimes that I'm losing the little lovie sweet faced children. I am. It's a hard pill to swallow.... very hard.
Bouncing around a bit.
Molly died last month. Molly is Mom and Dad's golden. We miss her. She was very sick....
Lindsey is moving to Kentucky next week. That's difficult. She and her family have been a huge part of our life for over 6 consistent years. We're going to miss them a lot. It's difficult watching Brooke grow apart from Lindsey. There's 2 year age gap. It's really a huge gap lately... Lindsey is still a happy faced, easy going kid.. Brooke is much more grown up lately. I'm feeling badly about that. I want her to grow, but I want her to love and respect the way she always has. Lately, I'm not feeling that.
Our "Junk" store closed down. Donna has moved on to a new one. A big, new, pretty one. I am missing our old routine. So many changes this year. The new one isn't the same. I wonder if we'll ever really get used to it.
Stores are all becoming "mega" stores. We FINALLY moved close to a WalMart. It closed down last week. They opened a SUPER Walmart a few miles down the road. It consumes you when you walk inside. Talk about feeling lost. Now I know what it's like to be a flea. In a store that big.... I feel like a little flea. :)
And what's up with CVS? I went into a "Mega" CVS yesterday. Why do they need to supersize all these stores? It had aisles upon aisles of "stuff" I didn't see a 1/4 of the store.... it was way to confusing.
Changes happening this year. A lot of them.
Trying to focus on the things that remain the same. Like the love I have for my family. The job that I simply adore. I have learned SO much in my new position at Rider. I am blessed to have this job. I can't even explain how lucky I feel.
Hubby. He's my rock. He's had it really tough this year. He needs a break.
We're going to the beach next week. It should be relaxing, fun, and a well needed and deserved break.
We've had one party at our house since we moved in. It was quite a success. A lot of fun.
I'm blogging again. I might not do it each and every day.. but I'm going to put forth the effort.
Oh, my 2008 Mazda CX-7 is broken down. It's been sitting collecting dust since early June. Can you imagine? We already had to replace the turbo... and now it's dead. When it rains, it pours!
Talking about rain...
Did I mention that it rained the ENTIRE month of June? No use of the pool. None....
There's always tomorrow...
Nice to be back.. even if for only a moment.
