This last week has moved at a remarkable pace. We are flying through our days and they are filled to the brim with activity. I left off last week saying that we would tour a Lexar home plan on Wednesday. My plan was to bake on Wednesday morning and put off my normal house cleaning until Thursday. Jeremy sent me text on Wednesday morning saying at the appraiser called and wanted to appraise the house that day. I went from having a relaxed day to cleaning the house at break neck speeds. I had barely enough time to clean the house, take a shower and get out the door. Insane! The hour drive to see the Lexar home felt like an eternity to me because it was a Wednesday and I knew that we had to make the same drive home in order to get to church on time. It was a jammed packed day. I wish I could say that I didn’t like the house, but I did. The house we saw had some upgrades that we really liked. However, with Lexar raising their prices recently, our budget really has no wiggle room for upgrades. The house we toured was really well decorated. The lady who owns it makes her own decor and furniture. She is the kind of person Pinterest was made for. It was nice to see the house set up so well and so functionally. Jeremy and I could definitely see how the home would work for us. My favorite spaces were the master bedroom and the playroom. The tour gave us lots to think about. (And in case you are wondering, we haven’t heard anything back about the appraisal…)
Before I can jump into the happy Thomas the Train update, I want to briefly touch on Thursday’s big news. Thursday, Toby left our family for a new adventure. It had been in the works to take Toby to a local humane society since the beginning of July, but due to some policies it got put off until this last week. It was a hard thing to do. When we first tried to rehome Toby in January, it was sudden and while we agreed it was the right thing to do, it left me an emotional wreck. I sobbed and had the closest thing in my life to a legitimate panic attack. It might have been the postpartum hormones, but I think it was the surprise and pace of the decision mixed with a whole lot of guilt and feeling like a failure. I was nervous about how our second attempt at giving him away would go. With everything else that I have on my plate right now, I didn’t want to have a mental breakdown over the dog. I think that having a lot of time to process the decision was good for me. Having most of the month of July to think about it and say good-bye was helpful for me. Toby’s last month with us was filled with lots of walks, treats and love. He is a sweet dog, but just not good with kids. Now he has a chance to find a family that better fits his needs. While I have not sobbed like last time, Toby is still in my thoughts throughout the day. I wonder how he is doing. I think about how he would have been a part of our day. There is a void – for good or for bad. I do miss him. I think that moving in two weeks will help since we’ll be in a new location and no longer in the home that we brought Toby home to. It’s been rough, but good in a lot of ways. Just another big change for our family. We’ve had a few lately…
On to the happy stuff! On Friday, we took off up north for a Day Out with Thomas! As we were walking up to the train station, Thomas was pulling in from his first ride of the day. Owen was thrilled to see him. The funny thing about Owen is he takes everything in and processes it quietly. His eyes were huge and he had fun, but he is barely smiling in any of the pictures. The day wasn’t great for photo opportunities, but the experience itself was worth it. We went around the site and collected coloring pages, temporary tattoos and played at the Thomas train tables they had set up. We climb up inside engines they had on display. They had all the songs from the show playing around the railway. It was a fun atmosphere. The ride itself was scenic and everyone we passed waved at us. Owen had a fun time waving back. Once our ride was over, we got in line to take our picture with Thomas. Because he had to depart for his next ride, the photo opportunity stopped right as we got to the front of the line. We got some pictures with Thomas in the background. They aren’t Christmas card worthy, but they are funny. Owen wouldn’t take his eyes off of Thomas so all you see is the back of his head in the photos. Graham on the other hand is crying because he is cranky and needs a nap. It made for a humorous photo. We left the railway feeling pretty good about our fun adventure with Thomas. Our ride home was also an adventure. An accident on the freeway had southbound I-5 crazy backed up. It was faster for us to take an extremely scenic route home and avoid the freeway all together.
I got home on Friday with just enough time to get a little dinner and then take off for my MOPS leadership retreat. I was exhausted from the big day with Thomas, but I mustered the strength. All I really wanted was my pajamas. My MOPS meetings on Friday and Saturday went well and I am excited for all we have planned for next year. Now that August is almost here, I am going to need to start working on our publications. June/July are sirt if a short break for me when it comes to publications, but I’m about to jump right back into it. After the retreat was over, I came home and packed some boxes while the boys napped. Jeremy worked on fixing a few things that came up in the home inspection. Once the boys were up, we dropped them off with Nana and Papa and took off for Olympia to talk with Adair homes. Now that Lexar has raised their prices, we need to seriously look into other options to make sure we are making the best choice financially. The meeting with Adair went well and gave Jeremy and I lots to discuss at dinner.
Today the house is looking bare as I take down the artwork on the walls and wrap it up. I’m currently out of bubble wrap, so I’m pausing to complete this blog. Jeremy is out digging up pipes to fix our septic with his father. We are moving toward closing and doing our best to be as prepared as possible for this big move and transition. Please be praying for us! We appreciate it!
Triple stacker! Silly boys!
Oh the things that happen at church. Luckily it looks like no big deal now.
Toby’s last walk with the family. Such a hard decision even though it was a good one. Despite all the crazy he brought to our lives, I do miss him. Just not the pee on my floor.. And the barking…
Playing in the yard is what being a kid in summertime is all about!
Our epic photo with Thomas! What do you think? Christmas cards?
Enjoying our time at the railway
Such a good time at the Day Out with Thomas
Amy Scott's Thoughts 