I am getting a signal!!!!

I turn on my computer this evening to listen to my itunes and low and behold I see that I am getting one tiny bar of wireless signal!! I. AM. BEYOND. EXCITED. This really makes my day. (We aren't suppose to be connected till Monday. I think I'm getting this off of someone else - so thank you whoever you might be! Woo-hooo!)

So yes, here I am! I have missed the internet so darn much . . . I have missed you so darn much!

I'm sitting in the new house alone, for the first time ever. And I love it. O'ma (Neil's mom) took my kiddos this afternoon to spend the night with her the entire weekend. She is an angel!

Neil is at the "old" house (although technically they are both still ours until Monday, plus let's not forget the land we also own --- wow, all this ownership is quite scary!!) working on some minor repairs. We close on that house Monday afternoon.

Tomorrow is the big move, so I'm suppose to be getting the "new" house all ready for move-in. My heart is racing. I'm anxious, nervous, excited, but all in a good way. It also might be the Excedrin I took, I dunno?! But my heart is racing as I think of this weekend and how the end of the old house is near and the beginning of new beginnings is literally right around the corner. (Wow, that is a lot to comprehend for me as a mother and as a business owner.)

So, you'd never believe all that has been accomplished this week. I am so so very proud of myself, but I also have to give huge gigantic thanks to my friends and family. We could not have done this without them.

We painted about 2000 sq foot of walls (in 3 days). Maybe not 2000 sq ft, but pretty darn close. We painted the kitchen, the living room, the hallways, the entry/foyer, the kids' bathroom, Maia's room, Noah's room, our bedroom, and the downstairs bathroom. We did not get my office done or the master bath. The master bath can wait since we have no furniture to move in there. I would honestly love to be able to paint the office tonight. I'm not holding my breath on that one, though. I'm wearing out so quickly now.

I can't wait to tell you ( and show you!) the rooms and the colors we painted. Can you say guacamole for one room?! Yes sir'ee and I LOVE it.

All the help we have had has been amazing and outpouring. Neil could not take any time off this week during the week. So I was left at home every day with the kids with the hope of painting . . . somehow. I got nothing done really on Monday except for painting the kitchen and cleaning out the kitchen cabinets (let me tell you, the previous owners were not anal about cleaning!). But the rest of the week . . . wow. I seriously am without words.

O'ma kept the kids one day. My very dear friend, Leann, came over 3 days (and she has 4 young kids and still made time for me!). My dear boyfriends (I mean, girlfriends), Jeff and Brian came over for 2 whole days (I never knew those boys could get out of bed that early but they did it for me). Heather came over one afternoon and worked her derriere off in the kids' bathroom -- and drank 'ritas with mom and I. My mom came over when she could a couple evenings to paint and help with the kids. Joe (Leann's hubby) came over one evening, and then so did our friends Dan and Danielle that same evening and knocked out a lot of walls in a short amount of time.

I seriously am so so proud and so so thankful for these people. When Brian and Jeff left after day 2, I cried. May just be my wacked-out emotions right now (probably more like a combination of everything put together?) but I am just astonished at how hard those boys work and all for us. (Awwwwwww!) Man I am thankful and feel so so blessed! Thank you, dear Lord, for giving me these people.

Looks like we are having a lot of help for the big move also. Tomorrow the plan is for 7 hard-working men to help load the semi. And depending on whether we actually move in Saturday evening or Sunday morning, we have another 6 or 7 to help then, too. I am just so overwhelmingly excited and thankful and just really really happy. I'm not so happy about tomorrow's move and having to pack up my office and move all my files because I've never had to move a business before and the thought is scary and freakinng me out. I think that's one thing really making me anxious. (No, I know it is.) And I also am dreading the having-to-clean part once everything is out. But, we'll get it done. Mom and I will probably work hard on that one tomorrow afternoon.

Our new house. I LOVE it. It's 30 years old but is like brand-new to me! With new paint and the new hardwood floors and the new kitchen, it just feels and looks so brand spankin' new. A new house with great landscaping and a big established yard . . . I love it. Who could possibly ask for more or have that with a brand new house in a new subdivision? Not many.I just feel so at home.

Monday afternoon I called my sis, Chel, just to talk. I think we talked 45 minutes. I needed to tell someone . . . someone who I know understands the feeling. . . . just how happy, relieved and at home I feel here. I just love it. And I can't wait to show you in pictures more of it in the coming weeks. I'm making you wait! Bad bad Val, I know, but there just isn't time. I shouldn't even be on here now.

So, I know this is getting so darn long, and I'm sorry. Yet again . . . you are reading this because you love me, which means you probably know me, and with knowing me comes with having to read the long strung-out blog posts I make. HA! (Thank you for that.)

I need to sign off and get back to cleaning and getting the house ready for our furniture. It's gonna be a long long long day. I'll just add more baggage and soreness to my already dark bags under my eyes and tired achy body. (*smile*)

I can't go without thanking all those fabulous people who have helped us out thus far. And I want to especially thank Jeff, Brian and Leann. It was such great fun painting with you while singing along to Christian Rock, drinking pot after pot of coffee, planning our next vacation getaways, and just getting to know each other better (as if there was more to know?!). There's nothing better than these kinds of moments.

I also have to thank Erin, for making my day yesterday when I received a phone call from her to see how things were going. That phone call came at just the right time. It was so fun hearing your voice. You are as sweet as I imagined, yet more.

See ya all when moved in! Think of us tomorrow. And then Sunday, could you please come over and rub my feet. Pretty please??