We are still in Limbo!

We are here... have been for over 24 hours....but we have no household stuff. Our moving van is actually here in Woodbridge, Virginia... about 20 miles N. of here. BUT... and this is a BIG BUT.... the Woodbridge Bekins agent has no record of our move having been made with them. In other words it wasn't scheduled with them. Since it wasn't scheduled with them... they are already booked solid...the absolute earliest that they could get us delivered and set up in Thursday. After Wayne unscrewed himself from the ceiling, I get the phone call from him telling me all of this. Our booking agent and the Bekins central are trying to get things ironed out for us... but nothing can happen until at least Thursday. What I am really worried about is that Friday is the 4th...and with the way things are going...well, I really don't want to think about what will happen if they go beyond that time frame. We have already rescheduled with the Dish people, the phone people, and the gas Co once... looks like some more rescheduling is in the near future.

So while all this is happening... Wayne, Carson, Petey and I are living at the Marriott Town Suites in Fredericksburg. At least there is a pool. Wayne is going to go to work tomorrow and take off on Thursday and that will give us all weekend to hopefully get it all ironed out at the house. The ONLY bright spot in this is that Bekins is footing the bill for the hotel and food for us...but only up to 125.00/day. Does anyone know how much the average hotel in this area goes for that is at least decent? It sure isn't less that 95.00 a night. I guess all three of us can eat on 30.00/day... that 10.00 each...right?

Anyway... at least we are all here... in one piece....I am trying to be patient...really I am... just frustrated beyond all measure.

We are Here!

We are FINALLY here! It seemed like we were going to be driving for weeks....but we did finally get here tonight. I was about 15 miles ahead of Wayne for the last leg... and I was able to drive right to the house and see it for the first time without Wayne and Carson. I will say it is way more house than we have ever seen, but I love it and I am sure it will be our home before too long.

We have NOT heard from the movers yet... and when we checked the status online, it said that it was still in transit. So we are really hoping that we will have it all here tomorrow. If not... we are staying the night at the Marriott Town Suites, a nice room with a kitchenette. At least I could cook something instead of the fast food stuff we have been eating for the past week.

We dropped the animals off at the house and unloaded my car, so that we all could ride in one car to find a hotel and something to eat. Petey... the dog, has NOT used the restroom in 2 days.... at least not a poop. Kinda worried about him... if he doesn't get down to business tomorrow... we may be finding a vet tomorrow. We left the cats at the house for the night. I set up the litter pan and food for them and let them have free roam of the house for tonight so that they can at least get acclimated somewhat. I DID NOT want to have to disassemble another hotel room bed to try and get them out from under the bed again. After we ate a quick dinner and found a hotel...we drove back to the house and picked up Petey. Get back to the hotel and we are on the backside of a hotel with a whole bunch or traveling construction workers as next door neighbors...neither Wayne or I felt too comfortable there so we had to go find another hotel that took pets... after three tries we found the one we are in now.

More exciting news from Carson tomorrow night!

We are in Kentucky

After FINALLY getting on the road yesterday afternoon, we are in Louisville, Kentucky. We spent yesterday morning getting the final things done in Amarillo. I needed an oil change and a tire rotation, and We had to turn the keys in for the old house and all the normal stuff. We left Amarillo at 12:07, and I no sooner hit the I-40 when there was a horrible shake to my car. So I was right by the tire store and I pulled right in. Evidently when they rotated my tires that morning... they forgot to balance them correctly. They got me right in and within 45 minutes I was back on the road.

I forget when you figure travel time from point A to point B that you need to figure in stops. And with Carson, two cats and a dachshund, you HAVE to stop. We stopped last night in Springfield, Missouri, and woke up to torrential rainfall this morning. When we got on the road about 10 am it was raining, not too bad, but enough that there was an accident on the interstate that delayed us for about an hour. Once we got East of the wreck, we only traveled about 10 miles when the rain hit so hard and so fast that I had to pull over to the side of the road for about a half an hour. Wayne had also pulled over ahead of me. We finally got back on the road and stopped in St. Louis and let Carson and the dog out for a run around the Arch. I walked down to the river and there are barricades up all along the river. The flooding is massive... it completely covers both roads that run along the river walk. Carson and I then walked up to the base of the arch and took a few pictures.

We stopped quickly to grab this picture in Indianna.... in all we have covered 6 states. Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. We still have to cover the rest of Kentucky, West Virginia and then Virginia. We figure we have about 9 hours left... and want to get on the road no later than 9 am. We also lost an hour as we are now on eastern time...yuk!

One More day!

I really can not believe that I only have one more night in Texas! Yes, we thought that we would be on the road by now. But as they say the best laid plans of mice and men...anyway, we spent today at the house cleaning, and I must say it is way cleaner than when we moved in.
We plan on hitting the road by 12pm tomorrow, and take it slow....8 hrs a day will get us there by 2 on Sunday.

I will admit that I have been quite emotional over this whole thing, especially the past two days... Just thinking about leaving has me tearing up again. I said goodbye to my sister and her family last night. Some special friends yesterday and today....but I am dreading saying goodbye to my parents. I know I have done it before when I left for college and when Wayne and I first got married... but this one seems so far and so final.

Anyway I can sit here all night, worrying.. or I can got to bed and hopefully get a good nights sleep...Not real easy with a five year old between us.

We do have a MAJOR praise.... we got the final bill for the move... and we came UNDER budget by $30.00....GOD REALLY DOES LOOK OUT FOR US! We sweated the final numbers... and God already had the answer!

We don't know yet if they are going to deliver on Monday or not yet.... but we will find out in the morning.

Hope to post from the road...

17 pages.... our life in 17 pages!

The Bekins moving van arrived a little after 9am on Wednesday with 4 workers and 1 paper work guy. The paperwork guy was responsible for tagging with a sticker every box, every piece of furniture, basically everything that was going on the truck needed a sticker. All I know is that when he was done I had 17 pages of sticker numbers to sign, I had to sign each page. Just before 7pm the truck pulled away. The truck would not back down the driveway it stayed in the cul-de-sac, there will be another charge on the bill since from the front door to the end of the driveway was 159ft (measured by pacing it off). I was not apprised of that until I had to sign the final paperwork- I think I'll contest that charge.

Our moving quote was based on 15,000 pounds and when the driver did a walk through he thought that there would be close to 17,000 pounds, so I started to stress a little as the contract stated that I would have to pay on delivery for 16,500 pounds and if there was more I would be billed for the difference.

Around 11am, the pick-up truck from the Amarillo Downtown Women's Shelter also arrived as they had been called to come pick up stuff that we decided we no longer needed or wanted. Like Kari said, how did we get so much stuff. It took the ADWS truck about an hour to load, their truck was not as large as the moving truck but we did fill it.

Back to the BIG truck, Carson takes his bicycle and walks it up to the guys so that it would be one of the first things loaded, they tried to convince him that he could ride it and they would load it later, nope Carson wanted it on the truck, once his bike was loaded he then got into daddy's truck and sat there strapped into his car seat ready to go to Virginia, he would periodically come out of the truck, but he did spend a lot of time sitting in the truck waiting to go to Virginia. He never got in the way of the movers and occasionally he would carry a small box or two out of the house to join the two long lines of boxes in the driveway. About 6pm Kari took Carson and headed to her parents house so that they could both relax.

A very special friend of ours, Mr. Gary showed up to show support, lend a hand, and to even take away a few items that we offered. Thank you Mr. Gary for all your support, friendship, and guidance over the past few years.

As the truck was closing the door, the driver asked for my phone number as said he would call me after he got a final weight on the truck. Just as we were finished dinner at Kari's parents, the phone rang and it was the driver. The final weight was 15,320 pounds - I CAN LIVE WITH THAT...

Kari and I will be headed back to the house in a little while to clean it up and leave it for the last time. We will be staying in Amarillo with her parents again tonight and then hitting the road first thing Friday morning, putting us into Virginia on Sunday.

Need Your Prayers Please!

It is 8:20 am Central time, and I am waiting patiently (if possible) for the truck to show up and begin loading us. We could most definitely use your prayers as we begin the final part of our move. There is some apprehension on my part... and I am really just now realizing that we are actually going through with this. There has always been in the back of my mind, the hope that something will happen to stop this and we will stay in Amarillo. Please pray for a smooth transition, for us, Carson , our stuff, traveling...no car problems... you know all of it ...blanket us in prayer.

Carson is wild with excitement.... we have talked this up to him for months. Making sure he understood that Virginia is a cool, fun place. He remembers the summer of '05 when we vacationed in the Virginia Beach, Richmond and D.C. area. The time when we saw the BIG fireworks on the National Mall on the Fourth of July. While we will be there in time for the BIG show... I think we are going to play it a little more low key this year and do something a little more local to where we are going to live.

Carson really thinks that all his friends will be in Virginia as well...I hope that he isn't too disappointed when he realizes that they aren't moving too. Last week when we said goodbye to his teachers, Miss Heather told him that she and her family were going to save up their money and come visit us. He took that literally, and expects visits from all his friends, teachers, therapists, etc. I am wanting to get him involved in as much as possible as quickly as possible so that he has the opportunity to make new friends quickly.

Well I am hoping to get to post from the road, but really don't know how tired I will be every night. If not I will definitely update once we gt in and get computer service again.

Are we married mom?

Last evening my parents had one of their famous BBQ's for the family. They have a big Tiernan smoker, and they love to use it! Last night the whole family, with the exception of my sister Holly and her family (in El Paso) came over kinda as a going away gathering. My Aunt Verita and cousin Dennis and his wife Allison and their youngest daughter Lyndi came as well. Lyndi and Carson are only 2 months apart, with Carson being the elder of the two. Those two kiddos, second cousins (right?) were like two peas in a pod. What one did the other copied and so forth. The two of them were quite alike in temperment and activity level. Actually, I think Carson is a little infatuated, he kept asking me today if he and I were married. I explained that I am married to Daddy, and one day you will find a girl and marry her. I should have known, his mind was working, and he piped up and wanted to know if he could still marry me and Lyndi. In the past we have had issues with girls and boys and Carson not wanting a thing to do with girls. He only wanted to marry a boy... because they were fun, liked dinosaurs and played in the dirt. Anyway, he now wants to marry his cousin. Once again I am trying to explain why he can't really marry Lyndi, and his response is, "but Mom, she IS a girl".

Definitely a sweetie!

Carson was watching Lyndi the entire time I was taking her picture. He HAD to pose like she did.

Yikes!

We just got a phone call from the moving company... They aren't going to have a truck in Amarillo until WEDNESDAY. They were supposed to come tomorrow! On the positive side we could always use the extra day for packing etc. On the negative, the delay is going to cause some issues with delivery. They are now stating that they won't be able to deliver until the 1st of July...that in itself is not a huge thing, but for the simple little detail that Wayne has to be back at work on the 1st. Now I have done a lot in getting this house ready ahead of time, packing, purging, and organizing. BUT I really don't want to be at a house I have never even seen, in a area I have never been to, with movers I haven't met. Let alone what do I do with Carson during all this... not knowing a single soul in the area. The delay in the loading will really push us in getting the house cleaned after we vacate. We have also already contacted all of our utilities to disconnect on Wednesday. So the movers will really be sweating loading the truck with no A/C and electricity after 4 pm. (Wayne is going to call and delay utilities if possible). Not to mention that we are supposed to meet all the utility people at the new house on Monday...If we miss the DISH people I am sure that they will reschedule.... a couple of weeks from then.

Wayne contacted our agent and he was unaware of all these issues. Hopefully we will hear back from him soon...I really hope that things get worked out soon... we could use some good news and less stress at this point.

There is a silver lining in all this besides the extra day in packing... we get one more day with friends and family...we are gonna relax this evening for a while and hit the ball running in the morning.

~Yes! There is a Light~

I can see the end of the tunnel. With Wayne home things have progressed much faster than I anticipated. We are in the final countdown...only the rest of our bedroom (a good hour will complete it), an hour in the kitchen, and maybe a couple of hours in the garage. Plus a few closets to empty... and we are DONE! The truck is supposed to be here bright and early Tuesday morning...Wayne assures me that we will be loaded in one day. We have to clean the house on Wednesday... and most likely hit the road on Thursday afternoon at the latest. This would put us in Fredericksburg late Saturday evening, and allow us to relax at least one day before the truck gets there on Monday. Then it all starts again...YIKES!

We decided to wait on the new vehicle...Because we most likely will need the truck to haul some stuff that wont fit on the moving truck... and we really don't want to rush and buy... we want to research what vehicle would be best for our family. The downside is that I have to drive my car and Wayne will drive the pick-up with Carson.

I came real close to having Wayne move a bunch of packed boxes out to the garage yesterday to give me some room in the house to turn around. Thankfully I am a scatterbrain, and did not get around to mentioning it, because we had over 2.5 inches of rain late last night...it rained so fast and hard that our garage flooded quite a bit. Wayne was out in the garage as it was at 1:00 a.m. moving a few boxes that we had moved from the storage room. Then he spent the better part of an hour this morning sweeping that water out of the garage. The rain also came in under the front door...but towels were able to stop it from going to far.

Things are definitely winding down... I promised Carson and some friends that we would hit the water park for a few hours on Monday for the last time...

We are finally moving... and as Carson so eloquently put it...we get to be a family again.

Last Leg to Amarillo was 915 Miles

I got in to Amarillo about 10:30 last night after covering 915 miles. In total I did 1,712 miles in 2 days, 797 the first day and 915 the second. At least I have 5 days rest before heading back. I had called Kari as I exited I-40 and told her I was about 5 minutes out, since Carson was still up they went into the garage and as my truck started up the driveway he came running out to me I stopped my truck and he jumped up into the window to give me a hug and a kiss. AWESOME...made the 1,712 miles all worth it, and yes I also got a big hug and kiss or two from Kari. It's going to be a busy 5 days.....stayed tuned.

Final Leg!

Wayne just called me and told me that he will be here in less than an hour. I. Can't. Hardly. Wait. While I have missed my husband tremendously since he has been gone... I will admit that I am more than a little ready to have someone to share Carson with. I love Carson more than life itself.... but lately every single little thing he does is grating on my last nerve. I know it is the stress of all the packing, and the move and stuff... but...seriously I am turning into the not so fun mom. I really don't like being the not so fun mom. I have zero patience. We have made a point of taking breaks at least a couple of times a week to head to the water park etc... and I know his whole world is turning upside down. It is sad when my child comes up to me and asks me if I am gonna be nice now.

I really have a billion things to do this weekend, but I am really hoping to get one hour all alone to maybe get a pedicure or something like that.... if not, just having Wayne here to take the boy for a while for Daddy time will be heaven on earth.

797 Miles Down 803 To Go

I decided that instead of leaving at noontime today to head back to Amarillo I'd leave earlier. With all the unpaid OT I've worked the past 4 weeks I decided that instead of going into the office till noon time then hitting the road that I'd hit the road earlier. I left Woodbridge, VA at 9:10 this morning and have travelled 797 miles of 1,600 miles. So that puts me at Dickson, Tennessee about 30 miles west of Nashville, I checked into the motel a little after 10:30pm CST. In all I spent 13 hours on the road not including stops for lunch and dinner, that does include the picking up an hour when crossing time zones. Hope to be on the road no later than 8am will a potential arrival into Amarillo by 9pm. Can't wait to get there have 2 very important people to see....

Seven Days... and Counting!

One week from today the moving truck is due to start loading us... We are hoping to be able to leave Amarillo on the afternoon of the 25th. The truck will not be in Virginia until the 30th... so we have plenty of time to get across country. Typically we have traveled I-40 to East of Knoxville Tn. Since we have a few days to make this trip we are looking at heading up North through Tulsa and hitting I-70 (I think... can't find my maps) in St. Louis, then head through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and across West Virginia. We really don't want to be on the road for five days... but a different route may be fun.

Wayne is leaving tomorrow afternoon to start back here. He should be in on Friday.

So the countdown is started... I am not anywhere near done packing. I actually called the Women's shelter again and told them to meet me at the house next Wednesday to take all the stuff we couldn't fit in the truck.

I called all of Carson's Dr.s and arranged to get copies of all medical records (boy is that expensive). I am taking the animals to the vet to get tranquilizers (no flames please) so that the animals will at least not be too stressed... or should I say so I will not be too stressed listening to two caterwauling cats across the USA. I have to get disposable litter boxes to take..... seriously won't that be FUN in a car.

I have to get a new portable DVD player... our old one won't work... Gotta keep the boy entertained for 28 hours of drive time.

We have the change of address in at the post office... and we have emailed all of our new info...I am racking my brain knowing that I am missing something... I just don't know what it is yet that I still have to do...

Plus we are actually thinking of maybe trading both vehicles in for one Minivan...(looking at the Honda Odyssey) where we will be living is only a mile from the train station... Wayne would literally only need a car for two miles a day... He is trying to convince me that I could get up and drive him to the train station every morning at 5 am... NOT... but there is a ride share program in the neighborhood... that would work... and Carson and I could always meet the train in the evening. If we did this, at least I wouldn't have to get a new DVD player right?

We are hoping to get around to say goodbye to friends....but with time running out... don't feel bad if we cant make it personally. I do invite you to come by the house on Tuesday... I am sure I will still be packing while they load the truck. Heck... I might put you to work......not really... we would love to see you. If we don't get to see everyone, know this...we value the friends that we have made for this season of our lives. We have had tremendous joys, and shared tremendous pain with many of you. We will always look back with fondness over those relationships, and we are looking forward to new relationships that we are hoping to develop in Virginia.

We really do hope that if you ever find yourself in the Virginia/D.C. area that you would give us a call... we will most definitely have room for out-of-towners, and hopefully we can play tour guide... and show you around.

Just Keepin it Real!

Life seems to happen to all of us whether we are busy cleaning house ... or we are lazing around on a Sunday afternoon. This is a conversation that Carson and I had this morning while I was in the dining room packing china.
Carson: "Mom come here"

Me: "why"

Carson: "You gotta see my Poop!"

Me: "I don't want to see your poop"

Carson: "but Mom it is really really awesome" (awesome is his new favorite word)

Me: "Carson I will take your word that it is awesome... go ahead and flush"

Carson: "Please come look you gotta see it mom"

Me: "Carson I DO NOT want to see your poop"

Carson: "Awe man mom... you missed it... is was an S like a snake and it was really really big"

Me: "I'll make sure and catch that one next time"


Seriously some of the things that come out of his mouth amaze me, and then there is this conversation. I have a sinking feeling that most males, be it a child or adult, are proud of their bathroom accomplishments. I for one will never understand the need to share that with someone else.

Then there was yesterday evening. We got home from soccer and the temps were still in the 100 degree range. Carson was hot.. I told him if he wanted to he could run in the sprinkler in the back yard to cool off. I told him to take his soccer stuff off and put on a swimsuit. I went to change laundry, and go check on him... and this is what I found...
Carson nekid as a jaybird...playing in the water. What is a mom to do? Scream and holler and make him come inside and put a suit on? Naaah...Me being me... I grab the camera took a shot or two and just sprayed the sunscreen on his bum, and made him promise NOT to climb the fence to the front yard.

Soccer Sunday!

Another scorcher in the Texas Panhandle.... 102 on the field at 4:30 today. Incredibly hot already this summer, makes it really hard on the little guys running their hearts out. Even tougher when there where only 6 players (we missed you Caden)... so only one to rotate out. Carson played the entire game... only sat out at halftime and then only long enough to get a drink...then he goofed off on the field with his coach. We only have two games left next weekend, and some of the kids that were here today, won't be there next weekend, so they gave out the medals to the kids that were here, and will give the medals to the rest of the kids next Saturday.

I guess I should tell you that we won...8-5. Carson scored one goal, at least it was for us this time. He played goal for a bit today and saved several from making it in.

Happy Father's Day!

This Father's day is different than in years past. This will be my last Father's day in Amarillo, with my own father (even though he is out of town). This is another Father's day that Wayne and I have been apart since we had Carson. While it is a bittersweet time, I am truly blessed by both of the Father figures in my life. My father is an amazing man and example of how all men should live. Totally loyal to whatever cause and willing to help in any situation. A proud Christian man, leading by example in so many ways. I really enjoy looking back at my childhood in particular, which seems so idyllic and comparing then and now seeing glimpses of my father in the lives of my siblings and our children.

My Husband, Wayne, by looking at him, you would never ever think that he is as sensitive as he is. His outward persona is all man all the time. But I know a different man, a man that will openly cry at a sappy movie (Lifetime network movies if you can believe that). Loves to sing at the top of his lungs to Shania Twain's Man I Feel Like a Woman (he might kill me for that one) even though he can't carry a tune in a bucket. He has his son hooked on disco... yuk!! Will give you the shirt off his back if you need it. Not afraid to tell his son how much he loves him. Not afraid to let his son see him cry. He is trying to secure the spiritual education of his child, by trying to find us a new church home. He is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in... even if it is something that goes against the "norm". He will fight for his family in any instance that comes against them, both spiritually and physically. There are many characteristics of a father, but none exemplifies that more than seeing your child, with innocence and with faults, but loving them so completely and without bounds....knowing that nothing would ever separate your love from you. Much as our Father Loves us... so completely and so without bounds.

Here is to all the Fathers in our lives...I am blessed to have three.... my own wonderful father, my husband and the father that he is to our son, and most of all my Heavenly Father... who is the true example for all of us.

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On a sad note my friend, Carri B. lost her grandmother this morning. If you get a second, can you say a quick prayer for the family? They headed down to Palestine, Texas on Friday and were able to spend the last couple of days with her before she passed this morning. Her blog is also posted to the left as Carri's blog drop her a note of encouragement if you will.

Unsettling Discovery

I am on day five of seriously packing... and I really am dismayed to discover that we have too much cr*p. This will be our third move in 18 months... yes you read that right... 3rd move. I am almost to the point that I say we chuck it all and go from here with nothing...well except my scrapbooking stuff... that of course has to go. That room is 99% packed. I packed the linen closet a few minutes ago... and I discovered that we don't have good towels... we have about 567 mismatched dingy towels... I don't even remember where they all came from. I packed 5 boxes of towels and sheets from the linen closet. These are "most" of the boxes from the scrapbook/craft/office

I am really really really dreading packing the rest of Carson's room. I packed all the videos that we are not taking on the trip. I have sorted to some extent all the cars, airplanes, little jiggy stuff that little boys seem to treasure so much. I bought a million plastic shoe boxes to keep it all together instead of a huge pile of toys. I have tried to throw things away... but it is difficult when he is "helping" me pack all his stuff. It doesn't help that he has 9785 billion matchbox cars. I think that they multiply at night... they breed just like stuffed animals. I am ready to be done...my back is killing me from lifting and moving all the boxes after they are packed. Please tell me this will all be worth it... remind me why... why we need all this stuff!

Carson's Room..... it is a very scary place right now!

I am running out of places to put all the packed boxes and still be able to walk around. I would move all of them to the garage... but I would have to clean it out first.

Happiness

Yesterday, June 11th marked my four month anniversary with my new job in Virginia, hard to believe some periods have gone by fast others have seemed to have dragged. I really am happy here, probably more so that I was at my previous employer. I'm doing a job and I'm getting positively recognized, to me that is everything, and makes Wayne very happy. The boss has already told me that I have exceed his expectations, my peers are happy I'm around and the government customer that I support also likes having me on their program. These four months have been filled with with a lot of different emotions, a lot of happy times, and a lot of unhappy times. Happiness came every time I would get a call from Kari or Carson some of those calls would make me cry - both tears of joy, and tears of anger brought on by circumstances that no longer need mentioning. Happiness also came every time the plane I was on would land in Amarillo as I would get to see the two of the three most important people in my life, Kari and Carson. The other one is my son Peter, who is up in New Hampshire. A week from today on June 19th I leave Virginia to head back to Texas for the "Big Move". June 19th is a special day in that not only do I leave for Texas but this year it would have been my dad's 88th birthday, he passed in 1977. Total happiness will come either late on June 20th or sometime on June 21st when I pull into the driveway in Amarillo and know that a few days later we as a family will be heading to Virginia to our new home, new adventures, new friends, a new church, and a fresh start.

Finally I would be extremely grateful and very very happy if the gas prices would roll back to what they were in 1971 when I first started driving, how about $.27/gallon - it would cost only $5.76 to put 24 gallons in my F-150. I'll probably live long enough to see $5.76/gallon.

Two Quick Layouts...

While packing my scrapbook room last night I came across the two layouts that I did a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I would post them as it will be several weeks until I am able to scrapbook again. Anyway the first one is from a trip we took last summer to Dallas. It was Carson's first plane trip and the Southwest Airlines flight crew gave Carson a certificate with the flight data and such on it. Carson thought that was really super cool (his words). He will be a well seasoned traveler in the future I am sure.I find it funny, that we have lived in Amarillo for about 9 years now and at the present time we are less that a mile from the World Famous Cadillac Ranch. What is the Cadillac Ranch you ask? Why it is local eccentric, Stanly Marsh's idea of Stonehenge.... or an ode to Cadillacs of yesteryear. Really it is a Route 66 wonder. There are 10 Cadillacs half buried in the earth at a slight eastern angle. It is visible from my front yard... and it is something that we often drive to taking out of towners to see it, but rarely do I get out of the car and make the short hike out in the field to see the caddys. One evening last Fall, Carson and I went on a walk and ended up at the Ranch. The sun was setting, so I did not get as good of pictures as I would have liked, but it was still fun. The Cadillacs have been painted and repainted hundreds of time over the years and at one point they were all painted pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. Well the tradition is that you are to take a can of spray paint and leave your mark on the cars. We did not have any spray paint, but we still had a great time exploring and looking at all of the graffiti from all over the world.

For all you CTMH sisters... of course I used the paper pack Route 66... it was perfect for these pictures.

Awesome News!

Today was Carson's last day of occupational therapy here in Amarillo. Because of this, his therapist Miss Audra, wanted to reevaluate him to see what progress had been made. When we started this in February Carson had a developmental delay in visual of 11 months. And in motor he also had an 11 month delay. For those of you who have never dealt with a child with some of the issues that Carson has, I can't begin to tell you how much better things are for him and us. Carson has a form of Autism called Aspergers Syndrome, and Sensory Integration Disorder. Both really seem to work hand in hand with each other. The biggest issue that we have had in the past with Carson has been complete lack of impulse control. In most instances where there was a reaction from Carson, was in instances where he was overwhelmed by his environment. The best way to describe this is that if we walked into a restaurant or some other place that was real noisy and/or crowded, Carson would become wonky and hyper. Wal Mart is a good example. There is so much going on visually, AND auditory, with intercoms, crowds and rows and rows of stuff to look at that Carson gets really hyper. But he is able in that environment to focus in one minute detail, such as what color the ceiling vents are at the very back right hand corner of the store, and that the light bulb is burned out in the third freezer door still. We have learned that deep pressure massage etc. on his back, calms him right down, almost to a catatonic state. This along with the removal of unnatural food dyes from his diet have made tremendous improvements in our day to day functioning. He has, however, developed a rather smart alecky mouth of sorts lately... I haven't found a cure for that yet.

In five months of therapy, we have gained almost 8 months. This is huge for us for several reasons. First we have learned techniques that help us deal with situations that completely overwhelm him (such as the deep tissue massage) and he is learning to recognize situations that he isn't comfortable in. He has gained confidence and a voice. He no longer gets as frustrated when he is over-stimulated. Impulse control is better... he still has frequent obsessions, currently anything dump tank related. CLICK HERE He has yet to show a dominate hand for writing yet. He is ambidextrous and the therapist was a little baffled that he can write and spell correctly both backwards and forwards. He also will change hands in the middle of a word, if his hands have to cross his field of vision while writing a long word.

This is fantastic because he now tests out at or close to age appropriate in visual and motor development. He is testing at above average in most intelligence areas, he is just slightly lacking in some social areas. We are going to continue therapy once we get to Virginia and hope that we can completely overcome the developmental delays of the past.

I'M GOING IN!

Ok... my boxes are here... Im going in... send help if you don't hear from me in a day or so....

Winning Weekend!

It is Sunday..... and that means it's time for the weekly soccer post. We had two games this weekend one on Saturday and then another today. Yesterday's we won with a score of 10-0. The winds yesterday were horrible....making it very difficult to control the ball. Today it was 100 degrees and no wind. Top that off with humidity (which is rare here) and we had a scorcher. We won today 4-3. I don't know whether today's team was tougher or it was just the heat. Carson played goal quite a bit and did not let one single goal get by him. He loves that position the most, but in my opinion the boy has an awesome kick... he just lacks the control to make it go in the right direction. We are hoping to keep him a some sort of organized soccer once we get moved. After the game the parents of both teams form a "tunnel" for the kids to run through. They really enjoy this and it let the parents show the kids of both teams they did a great job.

On another note... I have 125 boxes coming tomorrow... so I guess I really have to get on the ball and get things packed up. I sold my aquarium today and my scrapbook shelving. I still need to sell the deep freeze, and some other miscellaneous stuff. Anyone need a chest freezer cheap???

Answered Prayers...I Think??

I have literally prayed and prayed that I would be ready for this move....that my heart would be changed and accepting of what is ultimately going to mean living 1800 miles away from most of my family and friends. This is not the first time that we have faced a move.. but nothing of this magnitude. Before Carson was born, we were preparing to move to Mississippi, I was here in Amarillo waiting for the house to sell. Who knew that Carson would be born and 18 months later, Wayne would still be working out of state. At that time he had transferred to Kansas, and we were still waiting for the house to sell. We lived that way for over 3 years, Wayne in one state and I and later Carson in Texas.
Then in 2004 Wayne was hired at Bell Helicopter and all thoughts of moving from Texas were gone. I truly was happy! I am a Texas girl through and through. My parents are here, my sister and her family, my brother and his family are all in the same town and literally five miles apart. The only holdout is my other sister and her family... but at least they are still in Texas.. they are in El Paso.
I guess what I am saying is that now that we are down to the wire with this move... I keep waiting for the reprieve... you know something to happen and Wayne would come back here. I really don't see that happening.
We have all made choices in our lives that ultimately affect other people. For some reason choices I have made have ended some relationships. I never intended for that to happen. But if I was honest... it makes things a bit easier to leave. I consider myself a very loyal person and will do anything within my power to help a friend. It hurts me when friends make a clean cut and move on. I realized that God is preparing my heart to deal with this separation that is coming. I am slowly understanding that although relationships here are ending....He has so much more out there for us. He is such a loving and faithful Father, wanting only the best for us in all that we do. Right now it looks like we all need a fresh start... and it really looks like this time it is really going to happen.

The Dumpter AKA the Dump Tank!

This is the DUMP TANK at Splash Amarillo.....It fills and when it reaches a certain level inside it dumps about 75 gallons of water on those fortunate enough to be under it. For the past three years Carson has been fascinated with the dump tank... so much so that there is a little accessory that goes to his GeoTrax that he thinks is just like the "dumpter". He will take his little dumpter to Splash and sit by the edge of the pool and watch the dump tank until it gets ready to dump. He will slowly dump his little tank right along with the big dumpter.
He will sit for hours and do this... although this summer he really tells me that his little dumpter is too little, he needs a bigger one just like at Splash... so he has started to take his bucket and do the same thing. But unfortunately I had to take the bucket away because he was pouring water on kids while they were laying down. So it is back to the little dumpter for now.

Move Update

Got the final paperwork from the mover this morning the BIG truck will be arriving on Tuesday June 24th, 2008 and it will be delivering on Monday June 30th, 2008 at our new place in Virginia. We will probably leave Amarillo on Wednesday the 25th arriving into Fredericksburg, Virginia on the 28th. This means that we do not have to rush going cross country and can enjoy some sites and attractions along the way.

~Banana Splits and Daddy~

Most little boys typically strive to be just like their Daddy, and Carson is no different. When Wayne was home last time we went out one evening for ice cream to Braums (gonna miss them when we move...cheapest and best milk). Wayne always gets a banana split with no nuts, and we get Carson a small sundae or a kids cone. This particular night, Carson was insisting on a banana split... you know just like Daddy. I kept telling him that he can get a little sundae and still be just like Daddy. I ordered Wayne's banana split with no nuts and it must have been our night, we got the slowest girl in history. The place was packed with all the sports teams, and after practice groups. It took her forever to make the order, and just before she hands it to me she puts nuts all over it. Now...Wayne being the man he is... will not touch nuts with a ten foot pole. To save my sanity and some time, I told her that I would just let my son have that one. So as it turned out Carson got his first banana split all by himself. Those suckers come loaded with three different ice creams, bananas, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, marshmallow cream, whipped cream and 4 cherries! Seriously... who can eat that much sweet stuff... I get nauseous just thinking about it.

Carson did some serious damage on that banana split, and I will say he enjoyed every last bite... he didn't quite finish it... and I didn't totally freak thinking about all the red dye 40 that I am sure was loaded into it.

Ahhh MAN!

Well today we find out that the orginal bid that we had from the movers had a much higher estimate for the total weight of our household goods. They had quoted the bid we accepted at 12,000 lbs. In January when the guy was out here he had an estimate much higher than that. Since the company has already paid us for the move, we have to be very careful to NOT increase what we are taking. Soooo in order to actually save $3000.
I get to pack our entire house by myself in less than three weeks. We got rid of one of our refridgerators and we will be selling our deep freeze (cheap) and some other stuff, but for the most part we are keeping all of the furniture. We figure to pack the cars with as much heavy stuff that we can as well. Anyway... I think I am gonna be busy for a while... I ordered 125 boxes online 3 different sizes, plus free shipping for only $221.00. Not too bad. One good thing... we don't have to worry about the trampoline that was included in the orginal bid... so there is about 200lbs. we have saved.

The Packing Has Begun

As we all know my Dear Scrapbooking Wife is very particular about her scrapbooking supplies and associated stuff. So today she calls me and asks if she can go buy some boxes so that she can start packing - I say why buy call the moving company and see if they can give you some. She does and then she is off to the local Bekins to get 15 boxes - of course the boxes will be charged to the overall move. Now she is back home and will be packing all the scrapbooking stuff herself. I just hope 15 boxes is enough, if she goes over 15 boxes, it will come out of her account.

Love you Babe

Breaking News!!!! We Have Lost the TOOTH!

Real excitement in the George household tonight... Carson came into the office and told me that his tooth was really loose, I wiggled it and it was really ready to come out. I told him to twist it and see if he could. I really did not think he was ready to pull it out, but he told me to pull his tooth. All it took was one little pull and we had our first tooth for the Tooth Fairy. We immediately called Daddy with our news...and I suddenly realized that there is NO cash in the house..... Yikes... So I called my parents and asked them if they had any cash... they scrounged and came up with five dollars for me. So I asked Carson if he wanted to run over to MoMo's and Papa's and show them the lost tooth. He was all game for that. We made our run, and after we get the money from my mom and dad, Carson said he was really thirsty, after all he did swallow a bit of blood (shhh don't tell him that though) So I ran into the local convenience store and asked the clerk if she had any of the gold dollars... she had five Yeah! we make the trade get Carson a soda (for being brave)and head home. Carson was in a BIG hurry to get home and get to bed because the tooth fairy was coming tonight. We had to call him... err her and let her know our address and that we were still in Texas, not Virginia yet, and let her know that he would brush real good tonight... in case she wanted to check out the rest of his teeth. We had to get in the bed and make sure that the tooth was placed right under the pillow...and that she would be able to find it. Carson was kinda bummed that he can't whistle yet... I guess he thought that he would be able to do that once he lost his tooth. He does have a cute little lisp though.

I have been a little fearful that he would lose his tooth and then lose his tooth. I was also worried that he would never let me pull it. I was really surprised that he did so well, and with no fear. Now if he had seen the blood that was associated with pulling... that would have been a whole nuther story.

~Keepin Cool and Mowing the Grass~

Today we broke all sorts of records in the weather dept. The weathermen had been predicting a hot summer.... and we have flirted with 100 degrees the past couple of days. Today the official high temperature was 106 degrees. I don't even remember if we hit 100 last summer or not, but I do remember it being chilly the first week or two we went to the water park. To keep cool Carson and I went to Splash, the local water park and met up with some friends. We spent a couple of hours trying to beat the heat. What shade there was still well over 100 degrees plus the wind was blowing a constant 20-30 mph... so we basically baked in the shade or fried in the sun. I covered the boy in sunscreen every hour or so and he fared pretty well...I on the the other hand did manage to get a slight sunburn. I will have to increase my spf a bit for next time.

Carson goofing off with the goggles.

Enjoying some ice cream in another effort to cool off.

Just enjoying some time out of the water with another little boy.

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Every Monday is lawn mowing day.... this is the day that Mr Charlie comes and mows the grass and keeps the yard looking so beautiful. Carson really loves Mr. Charlie and looks forward to him coming every week. Often while Mr. Charlie is mowing Carson will get his little mower, and pretend that he is "helping" whether he is helping has yet to be determined. Anyway last Monday Carson really wanted to help Mr. Charlie so he ran in the house got his bike helmet and his gloves and put them on. Why the bike helmet??? Really can't answer that one, but Carson is one unique child, and he was just expressing his uniqueness that day.

What you can't see is that Carson was following Mr. Charlie. I have asked him if Carson is getting in his way... Charlie assured me that he stays well behind him.

Don't you just love the "look"

Count Down To the Move

Today is June 1st, there are 19 days, till I leave Virginia to head back to Amarillo. There is 21 days till I arrive in Amarillo, ahh yes that means I am driving. I've rented a Suburban and will be driving that back to Amarillo to help bring the George clan back to Virginia. The George clan consists of Kari, Carson, Petey, Jake, and Bailey, that's my wife, our son, our doxie, and the twin brother pussy cats. The packers arrive in 22 days, and the moving truck arrives in 23 days. Once that truck is packed and gone we will spend our last night in Amarillo probably with Kari's parents, then in approximately 24 days from today we will begin the cross country trek to move the clan. The planned arrival into Fredericksburg, VA will be around the 28th of June. That allows for us to take our time and not to rush the trip.

I LOVE Being a SOCCER MOM!

It is the weekend and it only means one thing around here. Soccer Games! We had two games this weekend. One yesterday and one today. We lost yesterday, but redeemed ourselves today. Was it ever HOT... I dont remember it being this hot this soon, but I guess we forget that it does get very hot in Texas. On Saturday it was about 97 with no wind. Carson gets red faced in any sun, and he was really red yesterday. Today it was about 95 but there was a breeze today. One of the other parents brought a portable cover for the kids to sit under, which helped tremendously.

Carson's Favorite Position... Goalie! He's really good too!

What a Kick!

Some of the Boys at HalftimeCarson and Caden on a run downfieldCan you tell it was HOT!

Carson and Caden cooling down

Yeah! We Won! 5-0

Mom and Carson both got some sun.... I lathered Carson in sunscreen, and he still got a few more freckles... oh well I love his little angel kisses! We will be able to complete the entire season, the last game is June 22nd and the movers come on the 23rd.