Packin' Up!

If you are reading this, you deserve a gold star for loyalty.  I apologize for the inconsistency of my posts.  In case you missed it, we sold our house and we are in the midst of packing up 10.5 years of memories and 145,983 boxes. ;)

More than anything else in my yard, I'm going to miss this bush the most.  It started as a small 1/2 gallon hydrangea plant as a Mother's day gift several years ago.  It currently stands about 4 feet tall and 6 feet across.  That's even after I hacked it down to sticks this fall!  The blooms are a gorgeous blue (no, I didn't do anything to the acidity of my soil to turn it blue) and make a wonderful indoor bouquet. A friend recommended a rood grower to start my own bush from this one.  I hope it works. What a special, tangible memory to take to our new home!

I took this photo last week.  This week my bonus room looks more like the epicenter of a large bomb.  I'm tackling it tomorrow.  A precious friend is bringing us dinner, so I can focus on getting the job done.  Today I packed my son's room.  Wow.  Little boy toys sure do have lots of little pieces!

I'm enjoying a new summer Bible study.  Living Free by Beth Moore is proving to be the perfect study for this stage in my life.  Tonight I dropped my daughter off at her summer bible study and headed over to a quiet corner at the coffee shop to enjoy some time in the Word.  After listening to the extremely loud pair of women planning their next Women's Club event, I realized that the guy next to me had the right idea: earphones.

 Nevertheless, it was a wonderful break from the chaos/boxes/packing.  Digging into the Scriptures always puts life into perspective.

We have moved 90% of our stuff.  Over the weekend we moved the bunnies and the rest of the chickens to the farm.  The bunny hutches were moved by the 5 of us.  Every muscle in my poor body can attest.  We needed some machine muscle to move the coop.  It's halfway painted to match the rest of the buildings at the farm.  That was my one request: all the buildings painted the same color for continuity.  Okay, I have more "requests" but that was one of my first.  ;)

Chiggers have found their way into our family again, so while I was searching the drugstore for anti-itch cream, I ran across these:

Ummm.... yeah.  The Thin Mint is dark chocolate, so it won my "test taste" but they both merit the Girl Scout cookie status.  I'll volunteer to go to the drugstore anytime!

School's Out!

Hello Lovelies!  I'm feeling list-y today.

 1. It's been a gorgeous few weeks here in NC.  Cooler than normal temps have been abounding.  

2. As you can imagine, life has shifted into full throttle around here.  We are still a "go" for the closing of our home for June 29th.  We have begun packing and taking things to storage.  
I love a good purge, and no better time than now!

3. I decided to take advantage of the cool weather and clean out the attic yesterday.  I cranked up the music and got busy....   until I heard a noise behind the boxes which meant I wasn't alone.  Clearly I didn't stick around to introduce myself.  My sweet man will be rescuing his princess finishing the job tonight.

4. I officially became the parent of a TEEN this week.  I do believe I found another wrinkle yesterday morning.  Loreal Preference hair color 7G, we are becoming frequent friends.
Actually, this teen thing is pretty great!  I believe if you can make it through the hormonal-emotional-awkward-preteen stage, it gets easier.  We celebrated with a fun group of girls that my daughter has known since she was itty bitty.  I love watching them grow into beautiful (inside and out) young women.

5. My husband's family has generously provided two places for us to store our belongings while we build our next home.  Since it will take 3-4 months, we are saving so much by not having to rent storage units.  We took another load to storage last night and my favorite mexican restaurant is conveniently on the way home.

 Spicy chicken tacos with tons of cilantro make me a very happy girl.

6. With wild abandon I left my bed unmade for the first time in 11 months today.  I felt like such a rebel!

7. Speaking of firsts, my younger daughter went to the beach with a friend for the first time this week.  She's our homebody, so this was a big deal for her.  Not wanting my other two offspring to feel left out, I made a surprise stop by Krispy Kreme today.  I took one bite and realized that I have left my southern roots and no longer crave the KK.  I'm a Daylight Donuts girl.  How about you?

8. Since I didn't have a (whole) donut, I used a gift card and wasted calories by my preferred method:

9. With our skinny budget (yeah, doncha love how I go from "calories" to "skinny") I haven't really done much shopping over the past year.  I found this shirt at Old Navy last week.  Loved it so much I went back and bought another color.  I love the nautical/stripe styles that are popular this summer.

10. My house is in total chaos right now, and yet, my spirit is at peace.   My marriage is stronger than it has ever been.  We've had to learn to depend on each other more this year than ever before; but  we're finally okay with that.  We've had to grow up a lot in the past few months.  After all, we have a teen now! ;)

It Happened!

I have written this post a thousand times in my head over the past few months.  Now that I can actually publish it, I am lost for words.

We accepted an offer on our house!!!


I am completely overwhelmed, grateful, and busy.  Life doesn't stop just because big stuff is happening.  :)
I didn't want another day to pass by without getting on the blog and sharing our news.  We are  currently awaiting the report back from the appraiser (nervous!) and the home inspection.  Once we get those back, we will take a big sigh of relief and I'll pack like a mad woman.

Our tentative closing date is June 29 (eek!!!)  I promise to share more details soon, but right now my head is spinning.

Thank you for your tons of prayers and words of encouragement

Business is Booming

 We have officially begun our egg business!!!  We are currently collecting about 2 dozen a day and we have sold out the past 3 weeks!  It is so rewarding to finally see our hard work come to fruition.    Most of our birds have been enjoying life at the farm since January.  They are living the high life in their 1600 ft. chicken pen.

Once we move to the farm, we will be able to let them roam the grassy area behind the pen. For now, though, they seem perfectly happy where they are.
Most of our chickens are Black Australorps  and Rhode Island Reds.  They are super gentle, people friendly, and consistent (daily) layers.  We still have some of the original chickens at our house.  They will be moving to the farm, soon, though.  Maybe one day we'll be able to join them. ;)

Now that we are selling eggs, I have had several people ask me about farm raised chickens and fresh eggs.  Ever worry if you might find a baby chick when you crack open an egg?  I'll share how you can be sure that won't ever happen again.  Come back for Chickens 101.

Wrapping Up May

 This is what Superman looks like when he comes to the farm.  My sweet boy still loves capes and swords.  I'm treasuring every moment because in a blink he will be moving on to big boy interests.  Right now, I'll savor the hero on the 4wheeler.

 My kids surprised me with breakfast in bed.  It was post-Mother's Day because "Sunday mornings are crazy."  My coffee was the perfect blend of creamer/coffee and I love that they even topped the homemade waffle with fresh berries.  I am so blessed to be these kiddos' mom!

 Even though we still have a few more days of school, summer has officially begun around here.  Mimi and Papa's pool produces mile wide smiles.

We enjoyed watching our first tractor parade this weekend.  I could have taken home several of those cute old farmers.  Wrinkly skin, straw hats, and wide grins get me every time.  :)

Our weekend was a flurry of cookouts, time with friends, and house showings.
We're still waiting for that buyer who will love our home as much as we have.
Happy Monday!!

Thank You

Last week I was reminded of the power of words.
By you.
I began the week at a very low place.  It's been a tough 6 months and I faltered under the weight of it all.  Yes, having the party get rained out was a jagged little pill to swallow, but it was really just the breaking point for my heart.  It was risky to peel away the curtain of my heart and show the pain, but you, my dear friends, showered me with healing words.
 
Thank you for being willing to say, "it's going to be okay."  Your generous, thoughtful words were such a comfort to me.  I was blessed beyond measure by you.  Not only did you leave sweet comments, but I received emails, and even 2 surprise visits from friends.
Thank you for not ignoring my need for an extra (even virtual) hug.  We all hit low places along the walk of life and you were there for me.  I am so blessed to have such caring friends.
Thank you!!




  

Easy Lemonade Cake

1 (3 oz) pkg. lemon Jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1 box yellow or lemon cake mix
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 frozen lemonade concentrate
powdered sugar**

Mix boiling water and jello until dissolved. Set aside.
In mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, and oil.  Gradually add in jello mixture.

Grease and flour* bunt pan.  Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.
While cake is still hot, combine powdered sugar** and thawed lemonade concentrate with a whisk.  Poke holes into top of cake and pour half of the lemonade mixture over cake.
Let cool.
Remove cake from pan and serve with 1 tsp. of remaining icing drizzled over each slice.

*I use 1 Tbs of the dry cake mix so there are no ugly white flour  chunks stuck to the bottom of my cake.
**The more powdered sugar you use, the less tart the icing will be.  I used about 3Tbs of powdered sugar and it was very tart (but that's how we like it).
Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Richella today!