well it seems

I can take a lickin and keep on tickin. that was a beast of an illness, and im pretty sure it was food poisoning. but thank the good Lord i was able to join in on Thanksgiving! whew! hate to miss that one!

anyway, im only able to write for a moment. i know, i know, the five of you who read this are really disappointed. but ive got so much to do. my dad left Tuesday after a two week visit, and my mom arrives tomorrow, just in time for nate to leave out of town on tour. but first will arrive his entourage tomorrow morning: Listener, his wife, and the band playing with them (two guys.) so ive got lots to do--namely spend some time watching tv with nate before i begin to miss him terribly. so i apologize, ive been absent, and need to email many of you, and get Christmas cards out, and get gifts purchased, and spend some time with my family. oh the season. i love it! and i pray the illness from the depths has found a new place to dwell.

in the meantime, here's a little family shot from a few weeks ago.

it is finished

the moving, that is. thank the Lord we are actually here. i cant tell you how much i love our new place--new rooms to organize, new places to visit, new friends to know better. we are here. Luxie and I had a special afternoon the other day, walking to the park together just the two of us. she loved it and so did I, we get so few moments alone together without interruption. and i would love to tell you all about the new house, the fun trip to IKEA to get a few things we'd been saving up for, and the great time weve been having with my dad in town, but i cant. I cant because I spent last night on the floor of the bathroom, deep in a sickness i have not experienced for years. a horrible, ugly sickness i had almost forgotten existed. i can barely fathom the thought of the rest of the family getting this, not now, not with so much to do. i sit here in bed waiting for the strength to return to my body, and praying that with every touch of my children i am not passing this along. i want to unpack, to get thru these piles of boxes. but it will all have to wait until i can find the strength to move.

so we are here, and sooooo glad.

just because...

...I love this photo

we are moving

Yes! we are finally just about out the door and on our way to our new home. this has been one crazy adventure but thank the Lord we are almost done.

Our closing date on our house is next wednesday, the 15th, and then the 16th is the closing on the house we are buying. then we move that day and friday the 17th. so as you can imagine i am just getting so much done in preparation for the big day! actually, i have accomplished very little other than stressing out, having sudden fits of anxiety, and creating huge messes in a house that needs to be packed. oh yeah, and meeting the needs of two very needy humans who have suddenly become more needy because they see that i am preoccupied with something other than them. my task oriented self goes crazy in situations like this. i must pack! i must get stuff done! i must clean! i must finish SOMETHING--even a sentence will do!

So tensions are running high and honestly, i am probably most to blame. oh yeah, me and the numerous handy men who have been running around here making final repairs and taking every last cent we were planning to use on the next home. yesterday the septic guy was here for 6 hours and a small task that was to cost around $500 cost $2500. YES TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. THAT IS TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. I saw nate's knees buckle when we got the news. some pipe had broken off and this or that and suddenly the cost jumped $1700. and you know nate and i have piles of money just laying around the house for little situations like this, so we had no problem writing that check. what a shock! needless to say (and i steal this quote from our friend greg) "they can just bury me in my home because im not moving again." that's right. im done. im spent. and i havent even packed yet.

so here i am, covered in snot. (yes, snot. the girls have colds and have been rubbing their little noses all over me lately.) here i am catching a few moments alone before being summoned back into the real world of noise and dishes and bath time and packing and moving and stuff. they are calling me now. do i have to go? yes. i am glad, im excited, and im so looking forward to it all. bedtime will lead to morning, and morning to new days, and new days to the last day here. then comes the celebration. and i will surely be celebrating because there is so much to celebrate. especially the one thing ive waited nine years for....do you know? can you guess? my daughter doesnt even know what one is! but i do, and i have only 8 days until it is officially mine......yes, that's right. im going to have a DISHWASHER!