Moving Madness

As I sit down to type, I realize this will likely be the last blog I write while in Kentucky. :-( It's almost been a year since I started archiving mostly mundane details of our lives to share....and now our lives are changing dramatically!

Currently, we are dealing with this issue called "WINTER". We have 6-7 inches of snow on the ground now and a layer of ice on top of that. Today they are predicting another 4-6 inches of snow. WHICH IS A LOT OF SNOW FOR KY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am concerned about loading our belongings into the truck tomorrow while trudging through this icky winter mess. Zack is brainstorming creative "MacGyver" type solutions to this problem...hehe

Last week-end Zack and I were surprised by a going-away party! Our best couple friends, and my mom, sister, brother were all there to send us off. We were COMPLETELY SURPRISED and overwhelmed by all the love and generosity that was poured on our family that night. We walked into the restaurant to find a gift bags full of goodies for each kiddo and some crazy extravagant gifts for us as well (including the Sex & the City DVD for me YAYYYY!!!). We spent a lovely 3 hours hanging out with many of our favorite Kentucky people and then spilled a whole heck of a lot of tears saying good-bye with many promises of lots of visits to Omaha ( I am gonna hold you girls to that you know?!?!)

The past 2 weeks we have been scurrying around packing, touching up the house to get it ready to sell, saying good-byes, and all the other details that come with moving across the country. I feel so bad for the kids...and can't wait for them to have normal rooms again full of their toys and clothes...and NO BOXES. I finally hear them say, "we're bored", and I kind of understand. :-( I am also attempting to plan Skyler's birthday party from 800 miles away. February is always a busy month for us with her birthday, valentine's day, Zack's birthday.....so we are making a big move in the midst of normal businesses in our lives!

We'll arrive in Omaha sometime on Saturday. Zack is driving the Penske with Lady (our doggie) and Trendon. Then, I am coming with the rest of the kiddos and my Momma! Mom has always helped me unpack my kitchen in every place I have ever lived so she just HAD to come to Omaha with me:-) I am thrilled that she will get to see our new home and even help me take the kids to their new school on the first day.

I sent out an email to the family with our new address.....if you haven't received that let me know!

A preview of the teen years?

Livie and I were riding in the car together this afternoon while she questioned me about the stages of childhood. She is incredibly interested in what a toddler is, what age you become one and when you graduate to the next stage, etc. After about 10 minutes on toddlers she says,

Olivia: But mom, what are those guys that are almost grown-ups?

Mommy: Teenagers?

Olivia: Yes, teenagers. Will you still boss me around when I am a teenager?

Mommy: Well, um...I will still be your Mommy so yes, I will be helping teach you how to be the best you.

Olivia: But, I already am the best!?!?!?!?!?!


I don't think I responded with anything after that except giggles!!!! I know I wasn't an easy teenager for my parents....and I'm afraid my payback is coming!!!

Our Big Announcement....

Zack and I both landed jobs in Omaha so we are moving!!!! Zack is now a Controls Engineer for EAD and I am the New Business Account Manager for Sleight Advertising! We both feel lots of mixed emotions as we are preparing for our new lives out West! Our house is turned completely upside down with piles of boxes in most every room. It's hard to believe we are making the cross-country move, again. The two years we have spent as a family in Kentucky are filled with many fabulous memories and had their been a job here for me, we wouldn't be leaving. However, these jobs are both leaps in our chosen career paths. We both, Zack especially, feel in awe of the blessing of these positions.

Carol and Jack went to tour a home we found on craigslist.org and they approved!! It feels quite crazy to be moving into a home I have never stepped foot in but Carol walked me, via the cell phone, through the house during her tour which helped so much! The house is just darling from the pictures and we can't wait to see it!!

Zack will be picking up the Penske on Thursday (Jan 29th) morning and heading out West the following evening, arriving at our new home early Saturday morning! He starts work Monday, Feb. 2nd. The kids and I don't have a definite moving date yet....but will very soon. My start day at work is Monday, Feb. 15th.

I am working now on the business details of moving: enrolling the kids in school, finding a daycare, setting up utilities, new banks, new doctors, new stores, new EVERYTHING! It's quite crazy!!

Not a Snow Day...but a Cold Day?

(Abbie, Trendon, Skyler yesterday all bundled up waitin' on the school bus!)

Looking through my blog from the beginning, I found my post last February poking fun at the snow days for Kentucky schools. Well, today might just top them all! There's NO snow......they canceled school because of the frigid temperatures. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have my babies home! Just listening to Zack's stories about how very few times he remembers a snow day in Nebraska shows just how different Kentucky is!! Today the temp is around -3, the coldest it has been in Kentucky since 2004 when we hit -6. In debating with Zack, I try to take up for my Ole Kentucky Home when school is called off with less than 2 inches of snow....we aren't as prepared as Nebraska road departments to care for the roads, we aren't as used to driving in the ice & snow but I think he wins this debate. Yes, it's frigid but no school???????

Holiday Traditions

Zack says for at least the last 15 years his family has been singing, "For Unto Us A Child is Born" and the "Hallelujah Chorus" at Christmastime. This is the first year our daughters joined in! The voices in this family are incredibly intimidating to me but this is one of my favorite Christmas traditions ever! In this video you will see Carol's sister, Mel, her husband, Dave, and their son, Matt with his wife, Jen (pregnant with their first baby!!!!!!)! Also, of course Jack, Carol, Lyssie & Jake. Along with me, Skyler & Abbie. And then the lovely bass voice you hear is Zack's....haha...which he says is just "brutal" LOL!!!!

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas @ Grandma Carol's & Grandpa Jack's we choreographed an adorable rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas. We were shocked by how willing the children were to participate and all felt so proud of how they did!!:-) I hope to reenact this every year! Enjoy:-)

Abbie's First Grade Christmas Play

Mrs. Cockrell allowed each child in her first grade class to sing a solo if they wanted too. Abby chose to sing "Away In A Manger"......

Family Portraits

I mentioned a few blogs ago that we had family pictures taken at Jack & Carol's for Christmas.....they are posted now! Go to: http://www.allisongarrettphotography.com/
Click on client ordering and then Jack & Carol's family to view. The password is Jack & Carol's last name.....email me if you aren't sure of that:-) Enjoy!

One more walk down memory lane for the night....

Here's the kids first Halloween together (2006) ADORABLE!

...and more memories....

This pic is of me when I FINALLY arrived at the airport ready to pick up my boyfriend whom I'd never met in person:-)


This pic is of the VERY first moment Zack and I ever laid eyes on each other in person! All of you know we fell in love over the telephone and computer.....this is how it all began:-)

More Memories

I'll post some of my favorite old photos as I am going through these.....

Memories

So, my New Year's resolution is to get a handle on the thousands upon thousands of pictures that I have stashed and stored everywhere! While looking through my digital files, I found this. A sweet video my brother sent after I first moved to Nebraska and the girlies were still in Kentucky for a couple of weeks.....

Abbie's Letter To Santa

In Abbie's backpack yesterday there was a laminated letter she wrote to Santa...I love it!

Dear Santa,

I love you! I go to Southside Elementary School. I am in first grade. I am 7 years old. I live in Cynthiana, Kentucky. I have been a great girl this year! I help my mommy clean the house! I help my daddy around the house. I help Mrs. Cockrell around the room. I help Pop around the house. For Christmas I would like D.S. games and Little Mommy.

Signed, Abbie Donaldson

This made me laugh so hard...I love that the bulk of the letter is explaining how good she's been and then she only requested 2 things. Waaaay too cute!:-)

Holiday Whirlwind

Been a long while since my last blog! The holidays, once again, were an absolute flutter of constant activity. We left Kentucky right after the kids got out of school last Thursday and drove all night to Nebraska. We like driving all night because a) it saves $$ on meals, hotels, etc b) the kids sleep most of the way and c) we get where we wanna be sooner! However, this 15 hour non-stop drive completely exhausts us...and we have trouble recovering. Attempting to be a fabulous guest on very few hours of good rest is so hard! Luckily, we are blessed with understanding family and we sneak some zzz's while they entertain the babies:-) We stayed for a little over a week before driving all night again to get to our own beds. Skyler and Trendon left with Jenny to spend the rest of Christmas break with her family.

Christmas was extra-special in Nebraska this year because it was the first in many years that ALL of the family was there! Jake has missed several years in a row due to this pesky thing called WAR. This was the first year since I joined the family that he was there at Christmas. At Grandma Carol & Grandpa Jack's we had a professional photographer come to the house to get a full group shot of all of their kids and grandkids....boy was that a crowd (2 parents, 5 kids, 3 daughter-in-laws, & 8 grandkids plus another on the way....Nicole's not mine LOL)! I will try an post a copy of the picture once we get them:-)

We attended many a holiday celebration during our little over a week stay in the mid-west AND (most of you know this) Zack and I also interviewed in Omaha while were there! I, with an advertising agency and Zack, with an engineering firm. The jobs are TRULY our dream jobs! I have already been blessed with an offer letter and Zack is still waiting. We know, because of the holidays, that we shouldn't worry yet....but we are so excited that it's really hard not to be anxious. I have already begun working from home on some projects from my new boss! It's quite surreal and there are a lot of pieces that have to fit together properly in order to make this HUGE transition, again. There are endless reasons why we want to move, and some that are pulling at our hearts to stay....so we are doing a lot of thinking and praying and would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as well as we make this life changing decision. We anticipate an offer from his prospective employer this week if it's going to come....I am praying that if he receives an offer...then it's meant to be:-) We haven't announced this news to the kiddos yet because we want to wait until the deals are done....and it's for sure.

We have 1 more Christmas celebration to go tomorrow! Happy Holiday's everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!