July 03, 2009

it just got more complicated

We've been waiting on some foundation experts to follow up on the foundation issues at the house we were buying. The home inspection revealed some problems. And today two separate foundation professionals told us to not just walk away from the deal but to run. Ugh.

So. We are back to square one. We have a 30 day buffer of storage for our household goods. And we can stay in a hotel until August 7 at the latest.

Eric and I are going sans kids to KC on Sunday to look at houses again. We are praying God reveals to us what direction to take.

So, just as things seemed to be smoothing out we've hit a snag and things have gotten complicated.

This was a pretty big blow today but we are thankful it came to a head before we closed on the house. And the kids seemed to take the news ok.

yep, we're home

- no wi-fi at the house so I am blogging from my phone.
- I've shut the back door 20 times already and reminded the kids we're not air conditioning the outdoors.
- the bedrooms have already been trashed and cleaned up again.
- the kids were dying to come home and after about 12 hours here we started hearing they were bored.
- I love the smell of my house. Really. It's home. I'm going to miss this place.
- I've already had to run the dishwasher once, the washing machine and dryer have been going non-stop (at least it was until the washer broke) and the kitchen has been cleaned several times.
- eric is deep into brake pads and oil changes.
- I need a nap.
- my bed felt so good to sleep in and my couches are so inviting that I'm having trouble getting off of them to keep working.
- My bed is covered in folded laundry and our suitcases are unpacked and in process of being repacked.
- heading out to a barbecue tonight with family. My kids are excited to set off fireworks!
- I sent the kids ahead of us to grandma's to go swimming since they were bored. :)
Happy 3rd of July!

July 02, 2009

believe it or not, I DID!

I wore a dress last weekend. :) It was for a special wedding, after all.

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but the thing is, this dress is extra special. 

i took alex to the store just before easter.  she needed something to wear.  nothing fit her from last summer and she was still wearing long sleeve back shirts with pants to church.

eric had just gotten the job in KC but his first paycheck was still three weeks off. 

just for fun i tried on some dresses with alex.  i tried THIS one on.  the one in the picture.  i felt like a million bucks.  but i knew i had gone to the store for alex and i had taken cash.  so i counted out my cash and bought alex two dresses to last the summer.  there was a deal if you bought two. 

the person who helped us in the dressing room and who was ringing up our purchase just so happened to be a friend of mine.  she asked if i wanted the dress i had tried on and i told her i did but i was already using my birthday money to buy alex's dress so i would wait. 

i did have her hold my dress back for the day so i could go home and ask eric if i could buy it.  of course, he said i should but i just wasn't sure what was around the corner and didn't want to spend anything more.  so i let it go.

last month my friend asked me to come over so the kids and i made a visit out to the farm she was raised on.  she handed me a beautiful package and inside was the dress for me.  she even had to go to a different store to get it because they had sold out at her store. the employees at her store won some kind of contest and she was able to buy the dress at a very good price (i think it was a penny!).  and she said god told her to buy me that dress. 

i was pretty much holding back the tears.  wow.

so that dress is really special. 

thanks karis.  :)

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better

i probably shouldn't blog late at night when i'm exhausted and have been smelling lots and lots of cleaner fumes.  :)

i'm feeling much better this morning.  lots of emails and fb chatter and i feel encouraged.  even more important my struggle was met with words this morning from God.  now, i'm no preacher so i'll spare you that part but i am relational.  and this morning God reminded me how to fill back up.  and he gave me some verses to hide in my heart so i can make it through today. 

another really helpful thing i've been doing in the mornings came from my friend Amy.  it's Eric Liddell's daily devotional questions.  i've printed them off for my kids too.  but i figured if i was going to encourage them to use them, i would do it first.  Amy is a mentor and friend who is so wise and encouraging.  she has taken time to pray with me and for me on several occasions.  she inspires me to live like jesus each day because she does that right where she's at, at a similar point in life that i'm at.  this morning her witness is one of the things i thanked God for.

thanks also to everyone for the encouraging comments and emails.  :)

i better get to vacuuming before the kiddos wake up and need food.  the donut shop closes at 11 am! :)

moving on to the next phase

today has been one of the most exhausting days i've had in a while.  instead of what i planned to do today i chased paperwork and drove to spring hill to get eric to sign another 24 page relo document and then raced to fedex to get the paperwork to them by tomorrow.  while there they needed something else faxed to them that was back at the apartment so then i raced back there to get it faxed. my whole day went in the toilet. 

not to mention that there are some foundation issues that came up on the house we are supposed to close on next week.  and the sellers tried to blow it off. 

tomorrow's a big day.  we're heading back to newton for the weekend and the movers come on Monday.  we're vacating the apartment which means packing all the things we've accumulated here in temporary housing.  we brought back just a little more every time we made a trip back to the house.  now we are regretting it. 

tonight the suburban is packed to the max with all the seats down.  looks like i will be driving solo and eric gets the pleasure of hauling all four kids in the volvo.  :) 

i have to finish cleaning in the morning and then hurry to get out of here before the kids mess it up.  i hope they sleep in.

eric will live in the residence inn next week while i stay back and oversee the movers in newton.  i think he gets the better end of the deal. 

in the meantime the list is a mile long.  all three cars need some repairs before eric's tools are packed.  a few repairs on the stone creek house need to be completed so the buy-out can be finalized. and we have to pack early for our trip to canada.

my mind is fried and i am a little overwhelmed. 

as i sat in the car in the parking lot at eric's office this afternoon i wondered how much more i could take.  it seems i've hit my limit.  the drama can stop now and life can slow down. :)

but, i'm pretty sure things will speed up a bit in the next few weeks as we start into the next phase of relocation. soon temporary housing will be a distant memory.  jake and alex sharing a room will be no longer (thank god) (beth and lucy still have to share a room in the new house).  the bedtime giggles and shushing will subside (well, at least for the benefit of the people above us and next door).  and kids eat free dinners will come to an end.

i am looking forward to spending the weekend in my own bed...at my home in newton for the last time.  it seems god is teaching us that home is wherever he takes us so we'll make the next place our home too.  but even after all the times we've moved, it doesn't seem to get easier to say goodbye. 

July 01, 2009

:)

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June 30, 2009

my vivacious reader

all my kids love to read.  a couple of them are a little obsessed.  :)

this one right now is the one who takes a book everywhere she goes. 

beth. 

she even has a book in her lap RIGHT NOW while she's watching Little House on the Prairie.  crazy girl.  i love that they love to read.

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just sweet

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my girls and their cousin kaleb

16 years.

we celebrated 16 years of marriage last month.  can you believe it?

Eric and pam 2009

June 29, 2009

see how much this girl loves me?

June in the apt 204

Stole this from Andy's facebook... “Without your wound where would your power be? It is your very remorse that makes your voice tremble into the hearts of men. The very angels themselves cannot persuade the wretched and blundering children on earth as can one human being broken on the wheels of living. In Love’s service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.” Thornton Wilder. Gives me hope tonight.

another visitor!!

yay!  we love company.  this one came all the way from Venezuela!  :) 

her hometown is KC.  we met through church in Newton.  and it is so fun to see her!

we went to church, ate lunch and hung out.  it was so comfortable and relaxing and enjoyable.  thanks for coming jessica!

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here comes the bride...

SCREECHING HALT!!!  hopefully i won't REALLY see the bride in any of these eyes for 20 years or so.   :)

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summer is for weddings

i love weddings!  but we rarely go to them.  in fact, the kids have only been to one other wedding.

saturday we headed to Columbia, MO to a wedding i refuse to miss!  it was for elizabeth...someone i've known since she was about 5 years old.  i worked for her parents when i was in high school and college.  she babysat my kids when they were toddlers.  she was the only babysitter who could handle all four of my littlins when there were four of them age 4 and under.

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i surprised myself and cried as her mom walked her down the aisle. 

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my crew even took showers and cleaned up for the special day...looking pretty spiffy.

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the reception was in a beautiful old hotel.  my girls were so excited to talk to elizabeth.  even though my kids are growin' up she still calls them her babies.  i love that.

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elizabeth told the kids about being at my wedding. 

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and eric was really into the reception too.  ;)

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alex and jake thought the "champagne" was so cool.

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my girls all so desperately wanted the bouquet.  but have no fear.  even though they didn't catch the bouquet, elizabeth sent them each home with a centerpiece.

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aunty celesta and the crew. 

June 27, 2009

cousin jackson

while i was hanging out at the hospital with my dad in Wichita my kids got to spend time with their littlest cousin, jackson.

(pictures courtesy of some buller kid, probably most are by alex)

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June 26, 2009

my kids are missin' friends...

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crashing dad's work

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(yeah, and still, needed a book along because we read everywhere)

and jake, well he avoids the camera a lot these days.  i think it's the mustache he's growing or something.  :-)

June 25, 2009

Alex made...

chocolate chip cookies.  Not quite as easy in a little kitchen with no mixer.  but still.  they were yummy.

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June 24, 2009

visitors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!  my dear bff shana came to visit over the weekend.  now i'm sure they had fun at the Royals game and Worlds of Fun but i'm SURE the best reason to come to KC was to see me.  :-)

she brought me hugs from home.  i thought i would cry.

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i could've squeezed the dickens out of that bald guy for bringing her.  thank you brian!  and i was too busy soaking in my friend's presence to take many pictures so this is all i have!

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the three youngest girlies went to the bathroom during dinner.  they were gone for a long time so i went after them thinking they were lost.  but no.  they are just little girls.  they were all three waiting on a one person bathroom so i steered them towards the three stall one and decided they could handle it from there. 

a few minutes later they returned and lucy exclaimed, "look mom!  i got TWO quarters out of the tamp-in and pad machine!" she was so proud of those two shiny quarters.  and she had no idea what a tamp-in machine was.

the three older kiddos (shana had her two sandwiched around mine - her oldest, jace is jake's age and her youngest, kaete, is lucy's age) sat and made videos all through supper. they were a hoot.

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oh the memories of visitors.  please come back soon!  i miss you already. 

dinner with the bullers

we are savoring the last few months of jake being 12.  kids eat free 12 and under SOMEWHERE almost every night in KC.  with eric's food covered by the company during temporary housing it's cheaper than cooking and at this point much less stress.

last night was Cinzetti's.  it's an italian buffet.  the night before was buffalo wild wings. 

a different place each night.  but these same faces are my company...

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(this one's a repeat of the father's day post but i love it and it was taken at dinner)

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uh, yeah.  and there's always someone reading during dinner.  :-) 

like i said.  dinner with the bullers.  we're no ordinary family.  i wouldn't want it any other way.

happy belated father's day

i'm late a lot.  so i guess a late father's day post is normal for me.  :)

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my dad gave us all a little scare last week, which made me reflect a little early about fatherhood.

i've prayed for friends who've lost a parent or agonized with friends whose parents have undergone cancer treatments or other stuff.  but it's never been me.  i really had no idea how it would feel to think you may really lose a parent. 

so while my dad waited his turn and then had a quadruple by-pass surgery i had a lot of time to think.  I remembered my dad and how he taught me to persevere - you know, farmers are the strongest, most persevering people I know. 

he let me ride along on the combine since i can remember.  he taught me how to drive a tractor, and then eventually how to plow.  and when i made the front of the tractor make a 90 degree angle off the ground for plowing too deep he didn't yell at me.  even when i jumped off the tractor and ran all the way back to the house. 

he DID sell my horse when i was away at camp one summer.  now that memory was a little bittersweet but i can laugh about it today.  :-) it was really his horse and i guess he was sick.  but i didn't remember that part but eric reminds me every time i tell the story. (i'm sure i don't have a selective memory) 

he'd let me sit in the feeding troughs for hours and sing to my favorite calves while he did chores by himself.  the calves were named ebony and ivory.  you know, just like the song.  it was the 80's after all.  i think we later ate them but i've blocked that part out.  were they butcher calves, dad?

he used to drive on the sidewalk for fun when my friends were in the car.  he was/is fun.  i tell my own kids that i'm fun too.  just like papa decker. :-)

i keep a note in my bible my dad wrote in my 1990.  just a few months before i met eric.  it was a note he wrote to me during church thanking me for some cinnamon rolls i had made that weekend.  i remember watching him write it and it meant the world to me.  probably such a small thing to him but it's the small things we remember.

one night my parents took eric and i out to eat while we were dating.  when i slipped away to the bathroom my dad asked eric if he knew how important i was.  he told him i was a one in a thousand (or was it million?) because my parents had a one in whatever chance of having biological kids.  and then i came along.  kinda scared the lightening out of eric. :-)

when i sat beside my dad's bedside in ICU the first night after open heart surgery and i watched him breath through a tube i thought about who i would call to tell about one of the kids' test scores or about a lost tooth if something happened to him.  i thought about who i would call and talk through things with - ask advice from.  my dad is that one i call. 

this father's day i'm so thankful my dad is alive.  his doctor's found the blockage before he had a heart attack.  i am thanking God for my dad today.

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then there's Big E.  on father's day he did a canon ball into the pool to splash all the by-standers (our kids and their cousins).  ten seconds after he hit water he was covered with leeches - the kid kind. 

later we went for a family walk and he walked ahead with Alex who was charging with attitude.  on the way back he straggled behind cheering on Lucy who wanted to quit. 

he stepped out of his comfort zone to start a job in a new industry so he could provide for us.  every day he's learning something new.

he puts up with me.  that says a lot.  :-)

he sat through 3 episodes of Little House on the Prairie on saturday so he could spend time with his girls.

he's a teacher by nature.  i stick to the books and teach the basics.  he teaches life.  he's full of knowledge on a nature trail walk or when the kids pull a question out of no where.  he's got the answer. 

happy father's day E.  we are thankful for you, too.

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and finally we've got grandpa "cherry" as lucy calls him.  (and pathetically, this is the best photo i can find of him.)

everyone knows jerry buller.  :-)

jerry, eric's dad, drove to iowa many times to help me with house repairs.  he was almost electrocuted on several occasions on my behalf.  :-)  i think he ended up replacing most of the lights in our house on calaveras lane. 

he loves people.  jerry makes friends with everyone.  that is a gift. (one i think lucy acquired)

jerry drove eric to emporia last weekend in the rain to meet eric's brother 1/2 way so eric could get to work the next day and i could stay with my dad in the hospital.  he's driven more miles in his life than anyone i know.  and he loves it.

i think jerry made it to all 50 states, right?  pretty cool. 

jerry is a great cook.  he seems to enjoy trying new recipes.

jerry and johnsie have helped with my kids on numerous occasions through many moves. 

i'm thankful for you, too, jerry.  happy father's day.

(and the only reason my dad's is longer than the rest is because i've known him longer)  :)

Locks of Love

I got a wild hair a couple of weeks ago and took everyone to get their haircut.  When the kids were littler when we lived in Kansas 6 years ago we had appointments with Darcy every 4th Monday right after a pay day.  Darcy had cut Eric's hair since he was in 8th grade. 

When we moved to Iowa haircuts became fewer and the girls and I grew our hair out.  We had an occasional haircut with our friend Jessica.  And Jake and his buddy Aaron would let their hair grow out and when Aaron's mom, Karen, and I couldn't stand it any longer we'd convince them to let us shave it off.  They did it together. 

This time Jake went against his will.  :-)  But the girls and I went for a pick-me-up.  Beth thought about it for days and then when she got in the chair she decided to cut a bunch off for locks of love.  It's still pretty long but oh so fun and layered now! 

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