Changes.

Many, many changes are taking place around here these days. We're packing up the house currently....Well, I am. Nate's busy with work, either in his office or at job sites (of which he has a couple going right now). Hazel is doing pretty well helping me pack, taking stuff only out of certain boxes. I'm struggling to find my brain in all the chaos, though. I'm packing for three things: moving in with Nate's family for 6-8 months, moving into our new place following that (Gresham/Boring/Sandy area - you know what I mean), and then long-term (the stuff that won't be able to fit into the rental).

We've been given the opportunity to snap up an apartment being built by Nate's Uncle Richard. We jumped on it.

We were out visiting Joe's Donuts in Sandy several weeks ago when Nate suggested we drive by Richard's property to see the house and shop he's currently building. On the way, Nate told me about the two apartments Richard is building on either side of his enormous shop. One apartment is 800 square feet, the other is 1,000. Richard has had renters for the 800-square-foot apartment since the beginning, but the other one was available when Nate walked through it some time ago.

Nate told me that he had asked Richard to consider us as renters.

I balked.

What incredible timing! (Sense the sarcasm.) I'd just been thanking God for our house, how it has worked so well for us and fit us so snuggly. We have some really wonderful memories here. On the heel of thanking God for providing for us in such a huge way, here comes word from Nate that we really should consider moving.

I knew he was right almost immediately. As wonderful as this house has been, we've been having to count the cost of living here lately. There's rent and then wood or oil to heat the house, electricity to run the furnaces (and everything else in this heat-leaking place), trash, water, etc. All the standard utilities, really.

Nate went on to tell me how much the rent would be for the apartment....I'll just tell you that it's pretty sweet. And then he gave me the even better news that that rental price covered utilities also, as well as Internet and cable. Just trust me when I tell you that moving from our house to the apartment will save us between $1,500 and $1,800 a month in living expenses, easily. That includes the fact that we'll have to pay for a storage unit while we live there.

So now I'm packing. We've given word to our landlord that we'll be moving out and we agreed to vacate by the 14th of November. I've been getting some help with the packing from my best friend's mom and sisters, so that's been so wonderful! Laura (Leslie's mom) is keeping me focused and on track.

The organization is what's kicking my butt. I'd say I'm fairly organized, with a few junk drawers here and there, but I'm having to be ultra creative in how I'm packing right now. My long-term pile of boxes is currently pretty small, although it will eventually be bulked up by some furniture when we start really shuffling things around. We're going to have a moving sale not this weekend but the next (I think....It'll be joint with Nate's parents).

So we've been really taken care of on several fronts:
1. We have a place to go until the apartment is done being built. We'll live in the great room in the basement of Nate's parents' house. It'll be tight, but I'm feeling encouraged about it actually. Any suggestions, though, on how to get your kids to sleep comfortably and deeply in one room together, a room that is also serving as kitchenette and office?
2. I have help packing!!!
3. Starbucks just hired me back. I'll be working Wednesday mornings, Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and Sundays. As tough as it's going to be to head back to work, I'm so grateful that I can do this small thing to contribute to our household income.
4. Because the apartment on Richard's property isn't completed yet, we are able to make layout and design suggestions, which has been super fun so far. And that's just a bonus to all the gifts that God has lavished on us lately.

We are truly blessed!

Piper learned to suck her thumb. I feel very mixed about this. She'll use a pacifier if I give her one, but she's super thrilled about her thumb. I can't take that away in five years (if she's still sucking it then). She sure is cute while she's at it, though.

I snapped this picture on my phone the other morning. Nate came into the kitchen to say good morning to Hazel and the first thing she did is thrust "Green Eggs and Ham" at him and say, "Read to me! Read to Hazel!" So he took a seat on her stool and she climbed into Piper's carseat.

Okay, so just as a final assurance, things are good. They're better than good, in fact. We're excited for these changes, we're excited at how much money we'll save in our monthly budget, we're feeling very taken care of. We've been gifted with some incredible opportunities! The drawback is that I'm sprinting in circles. I might yell at you if you call me at an inopportune time. Just giving you fair warning. Amen.