And the countdown begins...

We did it – James and I made it through relatively unscathed trying to sell the house and get down to Charlotte. We missed John tremendously but I really did enjoy being selfish with James and getting him all to myself. He really is an amazing little guy. John was able to come home last weekend and we celebrated in between the packing. With an end in sight, I think we both are feeling the weight off of our shoulders.

In about 10 days we will be all packed up and on our way – it is just very surreal. There are so many emotions that are going through me right now I don’t even know where to start.
I'm relieved that the house took less than 2 months to sell -which in this market is nothing short of a miracle.
I'm ecstatic that we will finally be with John – the house is way too quiet without him.
I'm so sad at the thought that we are leaving this life that we built behind - our friends, neighborhood and home have been a blessing to us these past 4 years.
It's heartbreaking that we are moving even farther away from our family – but maybe this time they will be more inclined the visit since it’s a better location than Cleveland.
I'm overwhelmed at everything that needs to be done in 10 short days – it will make this time fly by.
I'm just an emotional mess at the moment – and that’s why God made ice cream :)

Camera Pictures

Life has been a little nuts in Cleveland... and well, taking pictures has just been put on the back burner with everything else that has to be done. Here are just a few that were on my phone from the past month. Because I'm not getting out the big camera and I send at least one picture of James to John a day - my phone has filled up with pictures!

Last Saturday, we headed down to Charlotte. James and I in one car, John in another. The whole way down all I kept thinking how the drive would be much better if we were all together, in one car, as a family – talking and laughing and passing the time. Together. But we needed the two cars since John wasn’t coming back to Ohio with us, he was staying to start his new job. It was like this huge cloud over the whole weekend – we played, went to the pool, checked out the area – even though we were treating it like a vacation, it wasn’t. We knew it was coming to an end and we would be parting, the beginning of our family being separated for an undecided amount of time. It was the strangest feeling. John and I have done long distance before, a few times - but this is different. This is three times farther, we have many more responsibilities that we cant just drop to visit each other, and of course there is James. I'm not sure how James will do. But I'm about to find out.

Charlotte was great though, and once James and I are down there and our family is back together – I will know that all of this is worth the distance. This won't be easy. But it will be worth it.

"There's no reward in life without risk."

~Barry J. Farber~

Everyone says you don't just marry someone, you marry their family. When I married John, I lucked out - I became part of a huge, loud, loving family. Usually they do not need a reason to get together, but last week my father-in-law, Steve, retired from the Air Force National Guard. He proudly served for 28 years and we all were fortunate enough to come together and see him land his last flight.

After Steve landed, there were um... traditions that took place. He was soaked by the time he was able to sit down - in a wheelchair.

I cannot even begin to describe how blessed I feel to be so welcomed within the Siefert family, but then to watch the family grow as all of the guard comes together is just something that is indescribable. It was something very special to be apart of - these guys are a family within themselves. They laugh, love, grieve and live together.  Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, everyone needs one.

The celebration continued with more family and friends.

With a bonfire and fireworks ending the night, it was an amazing party filled with lots of celebrating and the telling of many stories.

Long day

James was a huge help at yesterday's garage sale. He talked to everyone who came and even passed out some snacks. But it wore him out! He went for a quick ride in his wagon and fell asleep before he got more than 5 houses away!

T-Mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network.

Clearing out the clutter...

Also known as having a garage sale to get rid of everything that we don't want to move to Charlotte! Tomorrow is our neighborhood's summer garage sale - so tonight I attempted to get organized for it. I really did try, but all I managed to do was make sangria for me and my neighbors... which is important - so its good that I have my priorities in order!

Before John left for Charlotte, he helped my bring down the foosball table that we are hoping to sell tomorrow. In order to get it from the third floor to the first floor - we have to take off the legs (which will be easier for someone to put in their car when they buy it. See, I'm being positive!) which puts the table at the perfect height for James. He had such a great time spinning the little men and knocking the ball around - he even added his own animals to join in on the fun.

What? No, I'm not changing the score..

He is going to be very disappointed when it leaves the living room tomorrow morning!

Happy Father's Day

On John's last weekend at home, it is a happy coincidence that it is also Father's Day. Since we had lots of fun outdoor plans, of course it stormed all day. Its a good thing we have had lots of practice coming up with impromptu actives. Hopefully Charlotte will cooperate with our outdoor personalities more than Cleveland does! We ended up lounging in our pjs and then heading to the mall just to get out (Gap is having an awesome sale FYI).

John and I have completely unintentionally fallen into the typical Father/Mother roles - he is the "fun" parent that James will rough house with all day and I am the one he runs to when he needs comfort. These last few days are being filled thoroughly up with fun and rough housing - lots of ball throwing and going to the park. And of course his favorite activity, being thrown around. I don't know why all kids love this - but it never fails. And since its been constant the past few days, every time he gets picked up he starts giggling because he thinks he is getting thrown... so of course we must oblige.

I'm not going to lie, even though I'm going to miss John more than I can describe - I'm a little excited that I will become the "fun" parent for a few weeks :) It's a small consolation but I will take what I can get! If nothing else, I will get a good arm workout daily with all the James throwing I will be doing.