Ahhhhhhh.....Phew! Stinky Bradfords!

Spring is here, the sun is out, the sickness is gone, life is good.

We're in total relaxation mode. We've just returned from our folk school weekend in the mountains sans kids. Our weekend of silence, solitude and art has rejuvenated and healed us and now we are ready to tackle the job of house-fixing-up so we can get it on the market.

The prospect of selling the house is kinda stressful I must say, but for some reason it feels like it's going to work out. I hope my feelings are accurate.

We went to the big orange store and looked at lots of things we think might help make our house more appealing. I had no idea it only cost about $30 to put a new bathroom sink in! We're gonna do lots of cheap sprucing and hope to get it on the market by the end of our break. I really hope we can market it as a great place for a new family or an older couple. I'm a little worried about finding a realtor. The one was talked to was SO negative, talking about taking a loss right off the bat. No thanks. I think the houses in our neighborhood are overpriced and we'd be willing to ask a lot less so hopefully that will be helpful.

I'm excited about our house projects but for some reason this week we've gotten very little done and that worries me. We need the kids out of the house for a day or two so we can really get down to work. It's been hard because all we really have is the mornings, then everyone takes naps (including us, unfortunately) and then J leaves for tutoring so our day is done. This 1st week of break is sort of the catch up on sleep, laundry, etc. week so hopefully we'll do better next week. The last week is filling up fast though so that's why I'm worried.

Sadly we'll be attending a memorial service in Virginia the last week for my uncle who died suddenly. It was very unexpected and he was the healthiest person I know as far as exercise is concerned, so we're all really shocked about it. We haven't told A yet and I'm not sure what we'll do when that time comes. She got to know him last Thanksgiving and they bonded really well. It's upsetting that when it's expected for some one to die, it's not as sad for some reason (like my grandmother who also just passed away who has been struggling with Alzheimer's for a LONG time), but when it's someone young and healthy it's harder to deal with the loss and it just seems so unfair and wrong.

I'm procrastinating by blogging when I should be writing my paper about how blogs enhance student learning. Ha! Ironic huh?

Sicky won't be sicky anymore!

O.k., so I've been out of commission for a while. J got the flu and then A got it, then me. I had it the worst which is totally abnormal because I basically haven't been sick in 3 1/2 years due to my mommy immunities. Well, I guess they wore off because I was sick as a dog. Literally not being able to get up off the couch which is really hard for me. J had to stay home or come home early a few days to help take care of me and the kids and the house.


Oh, the house. It is not possible to run a household with someone sick. We had piles and piles of laundry. We did about 8 loads today and we're finally starting to see the laundry room floor. It was pretty awful. The worst part really was just the sitting. I was so helpless and it sucked. I was able to start Eat, Pray, Love which is a really good book.


Luckily H never got any of the flu stuff. A got better and then started her coughing fits for a few days, had to be on the nebulizer and the doc gave us a steroid which they've done before but I never gave it to her. Whoa nelly, never again. She was having crazy hallucinations/nightmares and had these crazy obsessive ticks. She was literally convinced at one point that a frog was IN her throat. She kept grabbing at her throat and coughing and I finally had to give her water and tell her it washed away for her to stop. Of course one of the ticks she had was coughing, so she was up coughing more then the previous nights. It was rough.


I ended up having a sinus infection after the flu and went to the doctor for the 1st time in MANY years. Had to wait 2 hours before he saw me and he said "yep, it's a sinus infection". Well duh. I totally should have gone to med. school. Seriously, I've had really bad doctor experiences this week and I've pretty much self-diagnosed everyone correctly. But, we're all recovering and life is finally livable again. The thing that really sucked about all this sickness was that we had to cancel our visit weekend to seminary choice #1...so we have to reschedule, but it won't be the planned prospective student weekend. I'm really looking forward to next weekend's folk school and our spring break to recover and renew.

Almost Spring Cleaning

My mind is a big jumbled mess and I feel like cleaning.



This long weekend we're cleaning the house, making lists, getting organized, etc. I hope this post doesn't become incoherent blabber but *warning*, it might. Thinking of the future, thinking of moving on and of moving, period. We've been telling more people about our upcoming plans and dealing with their reactions. J started talking with a counselor who talked about the grieving process and how it is not like a death thing, but more of recognizing the good in an experience and coming to terms with leaving that behind. We love where we are, but we know that we're ready to move on. It's not a progressive place in many ways, in fact it is very stagnant right now, and we are not. We could be, but we're not.

I am somewhat saddened that our children won't be able to attend school there for the next 3 years, but we might have the chance to return; then again, we might move on and realize we're done. Homeschooling is looking good to me some days, as long as A and I can get along. I'm hoping without the influence of some of the kids at school, her attitude will improve. She's just so testing all the time right now (and I know that's her job as a 3 year old) and it drives me crazy, and she knows it drives me crazy so that just makes it worse, and I feel like everyday is a mental workout dealing with her (and trying to outsmart her!), it's really freaky because I recognize so much of myself in her and I know what she's doing because I did it too. Comes back to bite ya huh?

Wow, I am rambling but it feels good to "clean". J, the pyro-husband, is burning right now, perhaps his way of "cleaning" (purging). We're both feeling restless and excited but having to balance that with feeling some sadness and this new idea of grief. There is no guilt though, none at all (this was a word that was offered to us, but we're not feeling it): we've put in our time and have made positive changes, now it's time to move on.

It's out...

We told our boss last week, so a huge weight has been lifted. It went really well, much better than I expected. She said she's just happy J isn't leaving to go to another school. We still can't "announce it" to the school and she told J to "find his replacement", but other than that it's all good. whatever. Ready to move on.
We looked at some of the housing options at S and it's exciting. We're going up for a preview weekend in a few weeks so that'll be very informative. We got some promotional stuff/admissions packets and there is so much involvement with families. Kids in the pool at new student orientation, kids at graduation walking out of the service with their dad, kids participating in the chapel services. It just feels like the right place. I can just see A and H being friends with these kids and S embracing them like our current school community has.
I want to go visit G too just so we can see NYC, but we aren't really thinking of going there because of the distance...it would be so awesome to live there though. I can dream.

Choices...not really

Kiddos b-days were last week. They're 2 years and 2 days apart so until they complain, we're gonna share the party. This year it was at the firestation and it rocked! The kids just loved seeing and sitting in the trucks. The best part was that it snowed which is a big deal for us in the south. This picture is of some of them looking out the window at the snow coming down.

Anyway, J met with the bishop last week, or was it 2 weeks ago? Things are moving quickly now. He told him Emory's out so that leaves us with Sewanee as our top choice for proximity to family and because of it's close community. We're really excited, but again left with some trepitation because of leaving (and telling people) and having to sell our house and all that. We looked at the housing for students and it's realy nice. Mostly 4 bedroom homes, some are bigger than the one we're in now. It'll be nice to have a yard and a house as opposed to an apartment which is what other seminaries would offer. It'll be interesting to go visit. Everything I hear is that it is just beautiful. Hopefully it'll all work out that we like it and they like J. We might go visit another school or 2, just to see, but we would prefer to stay in the Southeast. I've been looking for people's blogs about seminary. So far I've found a few from female seminarians at General. They've been really interesting. I'm sort of addicated to blogs right now. I've found some really cool ones of moms who homeschool with a Waldorf approach or who "unschool". Also looking at a lot of crafty ones and just joined Flickr so I can start posting my pics there. Lots of creative energy bubbling up inside me. I hope if we are able to go to Sewanee I can take some Art classes. Gotta run, I'm really gonna try and be better about blogging more often...it's so quick and easy and now that things are moving along, it's good to get all down.

God is at work

Blessings abound although it doesn't always feel like it.

We've had a bit of trouble lately with money due to our new car, Christmas, and the car's window getting smashed out last Saturday. This event was bittersweet: we'd just attended a really wonderful Christmas party with really wonderful people, great food, live music, etc; had a wonderful day with friends; and we were feeling good because we finally had some money in our bank account; plus it was J's birthday. We'd just left the party and I was walking around the outside of the car holding A's hand telling her to watch out for the glass on the ground, and I looked up and realized the glass was from our car. We called 911 (2nd night in a row...that's another story about blessings) and our friend/host taped up our window. Because of the sliding doors, the taped window means we can't open A's door so she's been getting in Dukes of Hazard style. Anyway, we found out we were going to have to pay our $200 deductible (which we'd just changed from $50) to get it fixed, so bye bye Christmas. J has been tutoring crazy overtime so we'd have some $ for gifts, but this expense has made it quite difficult, and I've been forced to figure out what small gift to get people versus which bills absolutely have to get paid this week. Needless to say it's been a struggle.

Well, today J asked if he could pick up his tutoring check early this week so we could have it before Christmas, and the owner agreed; so I went to get it today and she'd taped a note to it with an extra $80 inside. Truly amazing. This gift (with J's birthday $ check) almost covers the $ we'd lost because of the window and I can think of no other explanation except that we are truly blessed.

Another "yes"

J has his 1st meeting Thursday with the Commission on Ministry. They will give him the official "yes" after meeting him and approving the "yes" from the discernment group leaders. I'm a little nervous about him leaving school again for this, I'm wondering if people are getting curious about where he is going. He's missed a few days or partial days for these meetings and I know his co-workers are gossiping about it. Should I care?
I've been thinking a lot lately about the telling of our workplace and I wonder and worry what will happen. I want to remain on good terms in case we are nearby again one day and want to send A and H there. I want people to understand his call, but I know most won't and will be resentful for whatever reason. I particularly worry about the kids and families. We have such a relationship with so many of these people and some are there just because of him. I hate that we will be the cause of a shake-up, but I guess that's what happens when you are liked and deeply involved and invested in a place. I have faith that it will all turn out to be o.k., but I know it will be hard. It will be stressful and it will hurt some people. *sigh*
But it's good too. Great in fact for us. How can we balance the excitement and sense of adventure we feel and still be sensitive to those we are leaving behind? Our families are supportive to a certain extent, some more than others, but they are still a little upset that we might be leaving the state for a few years. It's such a paradox to be bubbling over with excitement for us, while feeling sad for how our choices will affect others.