I'm still here

It has been awhile.... But I too have survived the move.

What a huge ordeal to not repeat again for a very long time. One should not be sick, pregnant and move at all the same time!

Why am I always pregnant when we move? I can tell that the two seem to coorespond, well we moved with Jonathon, Joshua and this baby. But it hasn't been with every pregnancy.

1st
I clearly have a lot of work to do to pare down what I/we own. It just isn't going to fit, and I clearly don't need it all. And the toys - oh my goodness there is enough for a toy store!

2nd
I am not sure how to store what I do have - I miss my built-in cabinets from the old house! I am praying for wisdom and creativity and ruthlessness to part with clutter and not hoard.

3rd
I just don't have energy and I need peace to be patient with my limitations and chaotic home. This is going to take some time and I will have to just take one day and one step at a time.

4th
We have been so blessed by family and friends that have provided child care, food, muscles for packing and loading or unloading. Thank you so much!!!!!

5th
I am really enjoying the spaciousness of the backyard and pasture. It is very serene to see the open space and the beautiful sunlight. I also like how the sun pours through all the windows in this house - it is bright and cheerful.

Cheers! Janey

What I'm thankful for (a day late..)

That the folks @ Lowes were able to find a couple extra boxes of the tool kits I found for the kids new workbenches.

Today Janey's sister Becky, her husband Jon, Janey's grandma, her mom, her aunt, and our brother-in-law Ron all descended upon our house and attacked the portable storage unit like an army of rabid beavers.

No, no, no...they didn't chew through the sides.  But they did manage to get it unloaded in about 2 hours flat.  THANK YOU GUYS!!

I'm thankful we have a warm home.  With a hot water heater that didn't need replacing.

I'm very thankful for a totally rockin' tree in the back yard that's just *begging* for a tree fort/tire swing/zip line.  (Janey's not so thankful for that one..)

I'm thankful for a shop twice as big as as my old one.  With lots of room to expand.

I'm thankful C finally pulled the front tooth he's had dangling for the last week.  (I think my tales of dead teeth rotting in the mouth convinced him...dad's have a strange power, that way)

I'm thankful for my wonderful/creative/compassionate wife who is dedicated to the training and teaching of our children.  And loves me even though she holds strong reservations when I talk about teaching the kids chemistry.

I'm thankful for 3.2 awesome kids that keep me laughing, challenge my pretensiousness, and graciously allow me to live vicariously through them.

cheers!

-Aaron

Moved in ~ Day 4

Day four in the new house.  

We have hot water - hurrah!

The boxes in the house are about 75% unpacked.  The garage is still about 75% full.  But it's slowly coming together.

We haven't seen a single spider since re-bombing (with the appropriate spray!) and doing the spider-spray stuff.  That's a happy thing.

The weather has been kind ~ some rain yesterday, but it's cleared up now and the kids have had fun exploring.  J is so cute..."I want to go OUTSIDE!!"  And then he just wanders...

There's still a long list of things to get done ~ fences to be extended and patched so Gracie (the dog) can come home.  The storage unit in our driveway remains untouched. (got to clear out the garage to have someplace to unload it *to*...) And the 1001 other little things (where to keep the toothbrushes?  Where should we put the crib?  The boys need shelves!) that inevitably need to be addressed.

But that's just life.  And, you know, I found my coffee grinder this morning.  So I was able to make the morning cuppa.

Life is good.

We're moved.

Our movers estimated 3 hours to load the truck. It took closer to 7. About 3 hours to unload the truck.

The 26' u-haul was packed, tetris-like, to the gills. The movers did an AWESOME job carefully packing everything. I think this is a first...a move where we didn't have anything scratched or gouged. (of course, I didn't do any of the furniture wrapping/packing/stacking. So that may have something to do with it)

For all that, we still toted 5 pickup loads *and* one additional (poorly loaded "throw everything left in") 26' u-haul full. And (blessing of blessings) 4 teenaged sons of friends showed up to pitch in and helped load and unload 3 of those truckloads (including the swingset, exercise machines, swing set, and 300lb jointer!) as well as helping to unload the last 1/4 of the uhaul AND move the 80,000 tonne* player piano into the house.

(*not really. But it felt like it)

Our 20' "portable" storage container remains on our driveway. Untouched.

The next day, we discovered that our beloved hobo spiders are also in full residence at our new residence. (not surprising as the house was vacant throughout the "spider migrating inside" season..) So we:

1.) turned off the pilot light to the furnace & water heater downstairs.
2.) bombed the shop and the downstairs.
3.) discovered live spiders that night. (WHAT?!!)
4.) re-read the bomb "kill list" and...surprise...it kills everything EXCEPT spiders.
5.) spent an hour trying to re-light the hot water heater's pilot light...unsuccessfully. (bad thermocouple. What's a thermocouple?!)
6.) Zealously sprayed around every baseboard and window sill with "Super Mojo Spider Kill Perimeter Spray." Great stuff. Spray it 'round the corners and baseboards and it keeps on killing for 4-6 months!! Doubtless I'll probably grow a third ear and an auxilliary couple of toes from it, but man...it does those spiders in!

Janey packed the kids off to grandma's this morning for baths/showers. My "shower" was a pot o' stove-warmed water. (Good excuse not to shave. Felt a bit like Pa in "Little House on the Prairie"...)

The boys actually have beds. G is sleeping on her mattress on the floor. Janey's sleeping on a twin bed in the (otherwise full of boxes) to-be craft/office/sewing room. Aaron's camping in the "master" bedroom...and discovering that 2 king-sized memory foam mattresses folded into 4 layers of twin-sized foamy goodness makes for a deliciously comfortable night's sleep. (then again, after the work we've done over the last 4-5 days, I could probably sleep on leaves...)

Other things of note:

• This house has a LOT of leaf dropping trees on the property. Thank the good Lord (and Grandma Phyllis) for leaf blowers.
  
• Windstorms pretty much negate efforts to corral leaves.
  
• My shop is nice and big. 24' x 12' = 288sqft. The old one was 9' x 16' = 144sqft. So I'm *double* the size AND the roof is 8.5 - 9'...which means I can swing an 8' 2x4 overhead without bashing the roof. Woot!
  
• Children in "the back 40" have a pretty good excuse when they claim they can't hear you.

More on the drama as it unfolds. Unpacks. Whatever.

Can I go to sleep now? =^)

Friday spent tearin' down the walls...

Two years ago it went up. Now it's coming down to travel to a new, far away (not really) land.

Soundtrack provided by Coldplay.

Enjoy the frentic tearing down of the castle!


Deconstructing the fort from Aaron Backer on Vimeo

The Female Perspective - And our loan is done!

First, our loan is done, two days early, thank you for your prayers!!! We are ready for our closing date.

Okay, so here is my perspective on the house.

The colors are totally different from what we currently have. They are the muted colors that Martha Stewart is famous for, very peaceful and relaxing. It is a welcome change that I hadn't realized I was ready for!

I sketched out the kitchen cabinet configuration. And then I assigned each of our current cabinets a location on that cofiguration. So there will be some shifting but that planning is done.

I made a spreadsheet of the rooms and the furniture assigned to each room. Then a list of items that don't have a location so far.

None of the bedrooms have curtains and only one has any rods. So we will be doing a little thrift shopping to get some window coverings and determine some curtains rods. I have some on hand that might fit just fine.

The living spaces are going to suite us so nicely, we will have some changes, but I think that we will fit well into the house.

Anyway, it will be a refreshing and exciting new change! God has been adundantly good, He has been faithful, He has rewarded our labor, He has honored our patience and diligence, God has required faith stretching in each step, but the reward is rich!

It is a grateful heart that pours forth praise, adoration, and thankfulness for God's goodness:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

His mercies are new everyday,

great is His faithfulness,

our God is an awesome God,

all praise and glory are His alone,

my soul doth magnify my mighty Lord!

New house summary

I just realized we haven't actually posted much about the house itself.

It's a 1961 house, all brick, about 2100 sqft. 3bd 1.75 bath.

Well maintained, move-in ready. (don't have to do a thing to it!) It's got those lovely, original 1961 kitchen cabinets (oh well, they'll work) yet almost all the windows are new, low E white vinyl! New can lights in the kitchen and family room. Family room has a fireplace.

Bedrooms, hall, and sunroom are all original hardwood. (refinished, but with plenty of "patina)

Below is the satellite view with "our" property outlined. Oh yeah, it's 1.34 acres. LOTS of room for mini bikes, buggies, and go-karts. The shop is a separate building that's "only" 12x22. (a single car shop size.) It's bigger than I have now, and I've got plenty of room to build larger or extend it as time (and $$) allow.

In addition to the "Mr. Rodgers" walkthroughs, here are some individual snaps:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aaron.backer/CotterellHouse#

Change was Promised

Our president-elect has marked his campaign with promises of change. Mostly the changes have not been spelled out or defined. People so desperately believed they needed change that they jumped on the band-wagon without scrutinizing where the wagon is going.

I am leery, fearful and grieved for what those changes will be. Innocent lives lost due to more promotion and access to abortion to widened legalized assisted- suicide such as the state of Oregon?

His voting record is so foreign and baffling to my values, I shed tears of grief today. What will he change in this country, will my children recognize the world that I believed America to be?

I don't deny that there was surge of freedom that an African-American was elected - that is a sweet affirmation for humanity. But this wasn't suppose to be an election based on race. It is about democracy, freedom, constitutional rights, honoring our forefathers and the legacy of our nation's freedom.

I pray that our country is preserved and that God will show mercy and hope for such an arrogant and lost people that call themselves Americans. And I pray for this new president to be ever close to our Lord and to be wisely counseled as our leader.

Walk'in 'round the farm (new house walkthrough part deux)

Warning: farm-ish jokes, folksy anecdotes, and lots of down-home fun! (not really)

But there are a LOT of leaves! And grass. And spiders. (doggone spiders..)


New house ~ walk'in round the land from Aaron Backer on Vimeo.

New House walkthrough

Warning: The following video is 10 minutes long. It contains rambling sentances, meandering anecdotes, jerky videowork, and other stuff.

Viewer discretion is advised.

(oh, it also happens to contain a full walkthrough of the new house)

Untitled from Aaron Backer on Vimeo.