"Are we going to eat there in China?"

I reminded Noah a few minutes ago that daddy leaves for China tomorrow. This is how our conversation then went.

Noah: Are we going to eat there in China?
Mommy: We aren't going there, Noah, daddy is.
Noah: Why aren't we going to eat there, mommy?
Mommy: We aren't going there, daddy is going by himself.
Noah: Is he going to work and going to stay there at work?
Mommy: No, well, kinda. He's going to get on a plane and fly there.
Noah: An airplane is coming to his work and going to fly there?
Mommy: That's right, Noah. So it's going to just be you, me and Maia for 9 days. Will you help me take care of Maia.
Noah: Uh-huh. {Then after a long pause.} We have to go to the airport and go with him next time.
Mommy: Yeah, maybe we can go with him next time.

And then he went back to coloring.

I do think he understands he'll be gone again. I think it's going to be hardest for this person here ----- me.

I still have lots of days "open" but I have came up with some things to do. Here's my list.

* Saturday - I have 3 shoots. Twins and their brother, then a portrait session of a man with his guitar, and then a session of a 9-month old boy. O'ma is coming over to watch the kids as I work most of the day. (Thank you, O'ma.)
*Sunday - going to church with my mom and dad, then going to her house to help her with computer issues. Kids will be occupied by grandpa, hopefully!
* at some point I am going to go get new glasses and hopefully without children!
* Monday - paint our family room, play room and my office. I just bought the paint last night. What colors you ask? Secret! I'm not telling!
* Tuesday night - we are going to Heather's so Noah and Cole can play and *I* am going to relax if at all possible. Maybe order pizza.
* Wednesday morning - Heather is going to come over and we're going shopping while Noah is at school. Afterwards we're going to hang out and talk her wedding.
* Thursday night - Noah's friend, Kristin's 5th birthday. We're going to her house so the kids can play and we're eating dinner with them.
* Friday - no plans; if I can make it work, I might find someone to watch my kids while I go with Heather to talk to her florist. (I really want to go!)
*I am sure I won't get all done painting Monday, so at some point I will have to finish. That's my goal, anyway.
* Saturday late morning - Neil gets home!!! I am doing a maternity shoot when he gets home.

So things are pretty filled which is good. Good for the kids and good for my sanity.

As I wrote in the comment section of the previous China post, Neil just found out that ADM has scheduled him a private scenic tour of Shanghai, which is awesome. He also has a road journey part way along the Great Wall. That's the only thing I had asked him to do for me - get a picture of that amazing piece of architectural history. I'm excited for him to see it. Hopefully this will make his journey more exiting for him as the last few days he's told me he's been really anxious, and that's very unlike my husband.

Missy, unfortunately, Neil said that where he will be is at least 800 miles south of Beijing so there probably won't be any English signs or much of anything (if at all) in regards to the Olympics. Which stinks because after you told me that, I was really hopeful!

I do, however, think this is an incredible opportunity for him, but it's hard to be 100% excited for him when you have a family. He's traveling by himself which I think accounts for his own anxiety. Well, that and leaving the kids. Maia is more attached to him now than ever. That's got to be hard leaving your baby girl.

Anyway, we'll see. Hopefully this will be the most exciting travel he's done yet. I am quite excited that he'll get to add this one to his passport. It's something I know I'll never experience!

Thanks again for all the tremendous support. It's just nice to know you have friends who care and who are praying for the good of us all. I know this is not the hardest thing we'll ever face in life, but it's definitely not easy. Like Christy stated, he's my other half. He really does probably half of the work just here at home. But he's also my best friend and so thinking about saying goodbye to him for 9 days makes me begin to cry. I'm so blessed that I found the best husband in the world. I pray that God keeps him safe and brings him back to me. {{xo to my friends}}

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??

I'm so ready for vacation.

I don't really even want to talk about yesterday, but I guess I will.

We get to Springfield all prepared with snacks for Maia to keep her busy during x-rays, and a baby doll, and then go up to Dr. G's office and tell them who we are. The receptionist cannot find our paperwork. She looks in the computer and says "your appointment was the 12th". I said, "seriously?!". She said "yes, it was". I could not help myself and I bursted into tears. Thank goodness there was no one else in the waiting room because I would have really been embarrassed. I already was embarrassed, but you know how when you just start crying uncontrollably and just cannot stop the tears no matter how hard you try to because you really really want to stop? Well, that's exactly how I felt.

I still can hardly believe it. My date book said Friday the 15th and I remember very well the phone call. It was my pediatrician that set it up, they called Dr. G and then my pedi called me. So somewhere in that office-to-office communication, a date was said wrong and then said wrong to me. I guess.

I know I could have made the mistake, but you know how when you schedule something and usually they will tell you the appt date and then confirm it before hanging up? Well, I remember quite well my pedi's office saying the date. I had my date book open during the phone call and wrote it down as they said it. I really think it was their fault, and I say that because Dr. G doesn't even have clinic on Fridays which is why no one else was in the waiting room when we arrived. *sob*

But then what perturbs me is that Dr. G's office never called ME this week to confirm anything. Shouldn't a doctor that you have to wait months and months to get into call to confirm?? I think so, but perhaps I'm wrong.

So, yeah, I cried, and cried, and I couldn't even look the lady in the eye. She said let's reschedule now, and I said you'll have to talk to Neil. And then there is Maia playing with the toys in the waiting room totally oblivious to everything.

I think getting so upset reinforced my feelings of anxiety that I had with this appointment, and probably also showed me how stressed out I am with all this house stuff, with Maia's appt, with my work, etc., and I didn't really even realize it.

So with tears that I still can't get rid of, we walk out and Neil says "let's go eat" so we went to Chili's. No one was there because it was almost 2:00 and Maia was a princess while there and she had already missed her only nap of the day at noon. So after an enjoyable lunch we went to the mall and I got Maia a bathing suit for our trip and bought Neil some new shirts for Father's Day (I let him pick them out and he really enjoyed that) and I bought a couple items on sale (note to file, Gap is having their "Really Big Sale" right now). It was fun. Then off we went home to see Noah and O'ma who was watching him. (He was also at Jamie's earlier in the day. We learned he is terrified of horses - a story for later).

Then on the way home, Neil announces to me, that when we get back from vacation on Saturday, that he leaves again on Monday for GERMANY with work. Um, what?!?! Tears again. We have to start PACKING! There is no time for a week long work trip to Germany! We move in just 3 weeks from NOW!

So yeah, that's how my day went.

Sorry that was so long, but you know me. And I appreciate you making it down here to the bottom.

If I don't talk to you before we take off tomorrow morning, adios, my friends! I can't wait to feel the sand between my toes . . .

Orthopedic Surgeon here we come.

Thank you for all the sweet posts of joy for us in yesterday's post -- made my day to have so many people so happy for us. The SOLD sign went out in the yard yesterday. It's only starting to feel real a teeny tiny bit now!

I don't have much to say today . . seriously, I don't. ;c) But we're off in just a couple hours for Maia's appt. My friend, Jamie, is going to watch Noah most of the day, and then O'ma is going to pick him up and bring him here. We just have no idea how long we'll be there. Man, I'm nervous. Nervous because who knows what they'll tell us and nervous because I just don't want to have to force Maia on a table to get x-rays :c( Gosh, this is going to suck a ton. Kristin gave me some great advice because she works with physically abused children and deals with x-rays and such quite a bit with kids. I just wish it were over now. It's going to be a long long long day. Think of us.