Ice cream boy

Sam has to create a poster for school that tells about him. We thought this picture was a necessity.

Oops, there you are

The two truck pictures weren't supposed to be posted. I thought I was emailing them to my gmail so Grant could print them for a school project. We couldn't figure out why they weren't showing up.


Diane Gill
diane.gill67@gmail.com

Dad truck

Snoogle45

And another thing….

I just took Grant to the bus stop.  Two other junior high boys were standing there so he just wanted me to go on and not have to be with his mommy. 

I understand that. 

But as I left him, I felt weird.  He’s now a really big kid, but I couldn’t help but worry what if some crazy person ever tried to harm him.  And then I told myself he looks pretty darn intimidating for a thirteen year old.  But still that wasn’t enough.  I swear, Moms never stop worrying. 

And then I saw it.  One of our big small town police cars heading down the street.  Not in any fast pursuit, just passing through.  I waved him over and gave him a big smile and told him my name and that’d we’d just moved in and how much I appreciated the job he was doing.  He said that’s what they do in the mornings as kids are headed off to school:  they cruise around the schools and the bus stops and neighborhood streets.  

I just love this town.

Back to school 4

Third stinking grade

Back to school 3

Fifth grade

Back to school 2

Eighth grade

Back to school

Sophomore

To fill in the blanks a bit

So, yeah, there’s a big obvious gap in posts here from May to late July.  That was a time of complete chaos and despair, to put it mildly.  Our house/farm had been on the market for three-four months and all the showings were getting very tiring and we’d only had one offer and it was a joke that drug on too long.  The weather was day-in and day-out gloomy and wet beyond wet.  I felt completely desperate for something to change. 

Everyone in our family was miserable.  Neither Gary or I were sleeping at night and that effect quickly trickles down to everyone living under the same roof.  His job stress was overtaking everything.  Our home situation stress was overtaking everything.  It didn't feel as though there was much hope of escaping.  It was really a rough time and I can’t even explain it all here, and don’t want to really, but in a nutshell, life was not good.  Not for any of us.  : (

And then all of a sudden we got a new offer in June from a couple that had spent thirty minutes at the house and they wanted a 3-week closing and we were so ready we said sure and countered back and forth a few times and came to an agreement and then had to deal with more inspections that I ever imagined.  Chimney/wood furnace, well water, septic, termite, mold, radon, electrical, structural—dang VA loan.  We hit some major bumps and it felt like I fell into a sinkhole the size of Florida with the most stressful period of life I’ve ever experienced.  Despite all the hard effort, the original closing didn’t happen but, amazingly, it only took 4 weeks.  Unfortunately, Gary was out of town for three of the four weeks this all was happening and I felt as though I had the weight of the world on me, but finally in the end, we made it out alive, thanks to our supportive family (that’s you, lovely parents and sisters!), always there for us every time. 

We packed and scrambled and lifted and moved, pushing on for hours beyond what we thought our bodies could.   What would I have done without our two teenage boys?  Their physical strength and willingness to work hard made it possible.

Our dream house was still there waiting patiently for us, thank goodness, and finally, we get to open a new chapter, heck, a new book and everything’s so much better. 

We have moved into a house that fits us and now we have a simple life back in town with comfortable space to breathe and relax and experience quiet inside and outside and it really gives us a chance to feel good about each other again.  

And we have super speed unlimited Internet—woohoo!….

She’s ba-ack!

What rainy days are good for

Library day

Definitely one of the best perks of moving back into town