Saying my prayers

Thank you so much for my wonderful family and friends. We had a great going away party-- it was so nice to hang out with everyone and have some fun before we left! We worked so hard yesterday packing the truck, I am greatful that we have extra days so we were able to take today "off" and spend it with our friends and family. 

I am praying that everything goes smoothly with our move. I want the boys to be happy and to love our new home! I am so excited to show them where we will be living! I hope they love it as much as we do. 

MOVING TRUCK DAY

Today we picked up the moving truck! We got so much loaded. Practically all we have left in the house is our beds and some clothes. We are TIRED!!! Of course it was also 103 degrees today! We were so greatful that we were able to back the truck up to the front door and pull the ramp right into the house! It made loading so much easier.
The little boys were VERY excited to help. Colton and Andrew were arguing over who could fill boxes full of things. Andrew was excited to be able to "title" some of the boxes himself! And Jackson was such a huge helper. He helped carry boxes and furniture!
Three days to go!

No more teachers, no more books

School is over. I am packed up, have said my goodbyes and had my last day as a teacher at Moorestown High School. It will be so different being somewhere else next year. I am ready for the change, but it is really strange.
The boys are excited to start at their new school, though Jackson got off the bus crying yesterday (he said he would miss his teacher).
THREE weeks until moving day!!! It is coming up so fast I can't believe it! We have been listing things on craigslist and selling a few things. Hopefully we will get rid of it all before we move! It would be really nice to not have to dump the stuff off at Goodwill and the extra $$ would be a nice bonus.

Last Day of Classes and real service

Today was my last day of classes. My department suprised me with a farewell party. I had no idea! They had it set up so nicely. I will miss all of my friends, and I hope that the people at my new school are just as nice. I have been at this school for what feels like my whole life. 20 years ago I graduated from the high school and I have been back there teaching for the last 12.

News from TN- I called to get my electric turned on in the new house- I was shocked when a real, live person answered the phone. Here in NJ, you have to talk to machines for 5 minutes, then they transfer you to wait on hold for another 20 before you talk to someone. I am moving to the land of real, live customer service? I can't wait!

For the first time ever...

This house has had a number of my relatives living in it as long as it has been around (almost 100 years). For the first time ever, there was a "FOR SALE" sign on the front lawn for a few months. It looked strange.
Now, after a full day of work, I can say, for the first time ever, our storage-- the "eaves" are TOTALLY EMPTY!!! What an accomplishment. And I am happy to say that I have 5 boys, who with only minor grumbling helped carry down the steps 2 full sets of encyclopedias (they had no idea what they were), 1000 things to put into the yard sale pile, 500 boxes that went tot he "moving" pile, and about 1,000,000 bags of trash.
I am tired, I feel accomplished, and I wish that I still didn't have to sort through the 35 bags of winter clothes that I had put in the eaves to deal with "later".

New address, 00

So, our new house is listed as 00 *** *** Rd. I e-mailed the realtor and asked if that was really the address, how can it really be 00?
The response...  eventually we would have a street name and a number, but not yet. SO we should go to the post office and rent a P.O. Box for our mail. OK, no problem, I can handle that. I called the post office, and the lady was so nice and told me she would hold my mail until I got there to open a box-- so nice that when I told my mom about it, she said, "Oh my god, you are moving to Mayberry."
BUT, more importantly than mail, where do I tell the satellite and electric guys to come to turn on our stuff--- go to the third driveway after the sign, then look up the mountain and drive to the cabin with the green roof? The realtor is working on this for us now.
If you want to send me a letter, or some money-- you can address it to me, and send it directly to the post office. They'll hold it there for me.

Going home, packing my stuff, never coming back

Our move is definite... and the countdown begins.
Cinco went in to school on Friday and told his class that it was his last day. He was going home, packing his stuff and never coming back to school. This made his best buddy cry and his teacher was unable to convince him that he was wrong. She even had him call me so I could try to convince him.
Sunday I checked with him to make sure he understood that we were moving, just not right away. He said that he got it. He then told me, "I go to school tomorrow, I come home and go to sleep and the next day I move." Ugg...
So now we have a countdown calendar. 57 days to go!