Recap

Let's do a quick fun Photo Dump! We've tried to enjoy our time here in the valley while waiting for this next adventure of moving up into the hills. Our weeks go like this:

Papa's home = PLAY! Papa's back to work = Rest!

We took the boys to see the house today. I knew that we were facing an unavoidable "situation."  I knew that the boys were going to be faced with the realization that the house is much smaller then they thought it was. I know Exactly how they feel. Especially Jakob. Jakob was the only one who is feeling and now having to work through powerful guilt and disappointment. Guilt for feeling disappointed. And mad that we're faced with it and it's unfixable. It broke my heart to see him so disappointed. He didn't say anything. He's too kind hearted. But I pulled it out of him and assured him that we don't blame him and completely understand.  

Gratefully, I insisted that we all go out for dinner and ice cream after at Leatherbys. Jakob said he felt a lot better after that.💗 But we are still faced with a reality that will be hard sometimes. Our house will be too small again. And the yard is extremely complicated. It will be beautiful. But sadly, I don't think we'll be able to stay there long. The thought of another move is Frustrating. 

Tonight I feel SO BAD for taking Jakob out of Oceanview High. I pray desperately that we haven't made a mistake. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Congratulations to Caleb and JJ for finishing the school year with an Amazing attitude and never giving up during the endless schedule and life changes. We're So proud of you!!! Caleb finished 6th grade and JJ finished 4th grade.

We found a Fantastic ice cream parlor and indulged ourselves. We then found yet another creative and fun park to play in. After that we also drove through town looking at all of the historic buildings and exploring where we can go to enjoy the beauty of Folsom lake. It was a really enjoyable evening. 

So Much, And Nothing, Happening

There still is so much going on in our world. But these few days since Leif's been at work have felt really long and lethargic. I just couldn't get myself to work past the moment to moment. 

It's Saturday and the old primary song is ringing in my ears, " Saturday is a special day. It's the day we get ready for Sunday..." I'm Praying we can take that to heart today and get this appartment put together. 

I've realized that the post-moving is actually my nemesis. My adrenaline is shot. I'm exhausted. Yet, the job ahead is so much bigger then the one before. ... finding a place for everything. 

With this move we're not even in our house yet and I already know that we have too much stuff loaded in to storage waiting to come our way. We are trying to work out a plan to get rid of half of the stuff we have. It might come down to us going back to HB and sorting it out.

But even before that, we are still working on squaring away the mortgage. The latest little thing is Leif's job. He's a contractor. They're just now realizing this. So we're working things through with them. Hopefully everything just moves smoothly along.

I've been nervous that we're not going to love the location of our house and that it might feel smaller then we'd hoped. I know that seems like a selfish, first world problem. And it is. But I was REALLY hoping that this would be our last move for a long time. But... we'll just have to see.

Our new bishop reached out to us yesterday through Facebook. So that's Awesome!! A very good sign. We'll be able to go to the new Ward next week. This week we'll do Zoom.

I didn't call Joshua's doctor like I was supposed to. They've been waiting for our new insurance information. I feel really guilty about that. He's doing ok. But the heat when he goes out kicks his butt! He gets really tired and sore. He's started to be pretty dramatic about any tiny twinge of pain. So it's a little hard to tell what's drama and real. But it doesn't take me very long to figure it out.

This morning we get to watch Zachary, Heather's youngest, get baptized. Over Zoom. How cool is that!!?💗

Time to take a minute and share some of the random photos and fun we're having. This down time between moving in to our new home feels kind of like an extended vacation. Kind of. We could also classify it as living in limbo. But "vacation" sounds more fun. The little boys are out of school. Jakob is online for school. Leif is traveling back and forth to work still. But it's only Two hours vs. Seven that it used to be. We miss all of you in HB!! But we're enjoying our time exploring our new surroundings. There are lots of parks here.💗 It's been HOT but that doesn't stop my boys. Joshua and I aren't the biggest fans of heat though. But we're making it work. 😁 I'll post more and chat more on my blog so feel free to save the address. It's MamasThinkingCornerdotcom. 

So much happens in our life, every single day. Gratefully, Joshua is recovering to the point that I'm not afraid he's dying of cancer. Which was a real concern for a minute. But his blood doesn't show those signs. We're still waiting for more results. 

Leif's mom came to help us for a few days. It really was a relief and blessing to have her. Perfect timing! We squared away a temp appartment up north, Cali. So at least we have a destination in sight. Packing coming along. I'm realizing how much I'll miss my friends here. Saying goodbye so much isn't healthy. They're such Great ladies!! 2020 gyped us a whole year together. I think that's really sad!!!😥 

These last few days have been an Absolute Whirlwind!!! Last night drove from Huntington Beach to Folsom, CA. To our temp appartment. We had just finished two days of HIGH stress AND 8 hours of driving. It was 9:00PM. Leif had got us all settled in to our apartment and it was time for him to get back in his car and drive 2 more hours to his apartment so he could work in the morning 😱😱😱 He is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! The fact that he would even keep that commitment through to the very last second is astounding to me!!!  But I, looked at him and told him he was crazy. Actually, I think I may or may not of called him psycho. And a few more rude things, before I clarified. I was not worried about the kids and I or feeling abandoned. I was just literally shocked that he could wrap his head around not taking a day off after all that had just taken place.💗 I reminded him that the Miracle of it all, was that the Lord had prepared for this day months ago. Up until last week we actually didn't know that Leif had been collecting sick leave gradually throughout his contract. So last week they told him in passing that he had two days he could use. So fast forward, he was able to use a sick day and recoup today. I'm So Incredibly grateful for these Tender Mercies from Heaven.🙏

So FRIDAY was long and Exhausting!! But it couldn't have gone more smoothly. We had slept in a hotel (coincidentally the Same hotel we stayed in the days before moving in to our first Huntington Beach apartment.) So we woke up refreshed enough to go back to the house and finish loading the last stuff in to storage and into the van and Leifs car. It took three hours and by that point I was beyond frazzled!!! Thank you Father for Xanex, family prayer, and a comforting hug from Leif as we got on our way. A stop to drop off storage keys (Thanks Anita, the store for snacks, and returning our internet router and we were finally on our way. Before I knew it we were in LA traffic.  Thank Heavens for the car pool lane, my cellphone speaker phone connected with Leif, and the sturdy flag Leif had randomly hung in his car window that u used to determine which silver car was his out of the thousands of others on the road. 

We drove 8 hours and stopped twice. Everyone did really well. Poor Joshua though struggled. His body was Very Sore from being cooped in the carseat. Come to find out he had to poop too. Which he's really particular about how he goes about doing his business. So he was pretty miserable by the end. The high light was singing together in the car and Jakob letting JJ be the music DJ for a while. It was also SO NICE that Leif and I could chat and strategize together even though we were in different cars. 

As we drove in to Sacramento and then towards Folsom I was having flashbacks of Flagstaff AZ and Pleasanton CA. It was so green and filled with trees. Beautiful!  We are THRILLED with our apartment!! 

And now to tell about Wednesday.