Looks like the move stuck.

O.K. dear friends. I have officially found a new blog home. From now on you can find me here.

At least until the next major transition leads me someplace else... should be a good six years or so. Seems I throw my life up in the air every six years.

Thanks for making this such a valuable space for me for the past few years. Hope you'll join me (or continue to join me) in my new home.

Is it time?

It seems like it might be time to retire this blog and transition to a new one for this new season of our lives. I started such a new blog in March, but haven't been able to move over there.

I didn't do the Friday Five this week (I haven't done one for awhile), but in reading other folks Friday Fives this morning I realized that part of what is hard to leave behind are my blog name and title. Though both blog name (a quote from my great grandmother grace to my father early in his ministry, which he then quoted in his charge to me at my installation) and my pseudonym (derived from one of the interesting facts about the county in which I was first called to serve as pastor) are very linked to parish ministry in the particular place in which I served the past six years, I'm rather attached to them. And what I've come up with for my new life just doesn't inspire me in the same way.

Ah well... Check out the new blog that may or may not take on a life of it's own here. Don't delete this blog from your feeds or rolls just yet. I'll let you know if and when the transition is complete. If you have any wisdom for me about making a blog transition, I'd be open to hearing it.

We arrive in our new city tonight! We walk through E tomorrow! And hopefully we'll close on Tuesday! French class starts Thursday!

And I'm feeling the baby move now!!! Everything is moving...

feels good to stay put for a few days...

Yesterday we landed at the home of K's cousin in state adjacent to our new state after a long day of driving. We're not heading out of here until tomorrow afternoon. It feels good to just chill for a few days...

We played HOURS of Nerts this afternoon. Good stuff.

Just a few glitches...

... but it's all good.

It appeared our closing in Morecowsville might have to be delayed when we had our final sit down with our lawyer on Monday. Apparently the folks moving into our house are not the ones actually buying it,their son who works overseas for the U.S. government is buying it. Their son who has the capacity to write a personal check for a number I can't fathom having in a checking account... anyhow... issues with international funds transfer threatened to hold things up.

But the closing was yesterday afterall.

The truck didn't want to shift when we tried to take off from my hometown yesterday morning. We had fears of a necessary unpacking of the truck and repacking of the truck.

But there's a little trick with the brakes that a local worker for the company clued us into and no problem there on out.

Our lawyer called while we were on the road yesterday. He is a wee bit over dramatic. He said in a dire voice that a complication had arisen with the closing. I took a deep breath and asked what it had been. The new owners didn't want to accept our fuel reading from last Thursday. They had another one done. And... wait for it... there were a whopping 3 and a half less gallons in the tank and they wanted their reimbursement compensated accordingly.

3 and a half gallons? Even with oil prices as they are... come on. K and I said in unison "FINE". The lawyer seemed surprised.

The realtor representing the buyers called and said none of the keys we left behind were working. They were working the day before and there wasn't much we could do about it from our current location.

It's not that big a deal,she said. They got in anyhow. How? They took off the door to the basement. O.K. then.

So... leaving college town now. Heading to seminary roommate and fam. Woohoo!

We're Out!

What a relief.

At my parent's house tonight.

To the college town tomorrow.

Then to the home of my seminary roommate who has baby stuff for me.

Then to family members in an adjacent state to our new state

Then to the new home!!!

K is driving the 26 foot truck with the car in tow.

Ah...

Thanks be to God for SO many helpers.

the calm before...

I think it was around 4 a.m. that we drew a bath. I don't believe we've ever taken such a silent and still bath before. We just let that bath bomb fizz and let the water soothe our weary bods. And despite having taken caffeine late in the day to get through the last of the packing, I slept, quickly and deeply. I didn't hear K leave for the truck.

And now let the fun begin... the Boy Who Was Bored and the Discerning Nurse have arrived. Must keep them busy.

Still not finished, but the end is in sight...

It is 9:51 p.m. on Sunday evening. K leaves to pick up the truck at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. We still haven't finished packing and we've barely scratched the surface of cleaning. We just had a lovely dinner with Workout Buddy's family at our favorite restaurant in the county. We had some great help from my sister this afternon (thanks kwenner) and from workout buddy and her husband for an hour and a half or so before we went to dinner. And I now can imagine this will get done... but it is going to be a LATE night.

And we have to take one last bath. We have to. We have one bath bomb left to use...

We picked up caffeine on the way home. I shouldn't have much, but I can have some. And I'll need it tonight. I was yawning like crazy on the drive home.

If you're anywhere near us you are more than welcome to come our way after 10 tomorrow morning to help pack the truck and clean the house. I'm sure we'll wrangle up some pizza...