In Between

Our road trip is done. We arrived at our temporary housing tonight. Now we begin the great game of "Ninja Walk" so the people below us don't complain to the management about the herd of elephants stomping around above them...

The Promise

Tonight, after a day of travel and adventure, I was snuggling with a pajama-clad Sophie. She put her hands on either side of my face and asked, "Does this make you happy?"

"Yes," I answered, "you make me so so happy."

She smiled sweetly and said, "That's cause you my mommy. And you my sister."

"No," I countered, "Phoebe is your sister. And you are her sister. You are my daughter and I am your mommy."

"And daddy my daddy."

"Yes, daddy is your daddy and you are his daughter, too."

"Why?"

I paused for a beat and breathed in as I thought of how to answer her question. "Because Heavenly Father sent you to us."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Better Than a Hotel

We had to be out of our house last Wednesday (when the packers turned our possessions into a jungle gym of boxes), which meant we planned to stay in a hotel starting that night. When the Relief Society president heard this she insisted that we stay at her house instead. It's the same place we stayed when we were locked out.

I was hesitant because we were sticking around for five more days and I was sure that would be too much. I was wrong. She and her husband loved having us there. Their kids are grown and only one lives nearby. I think they enjoyed having kids in the house again. And, bonus, they have three boys, so the normal cacophony that follows us didn't bother them at all.

It was a wonderful blessing to stay in their home.

A Few of the Goodbyes

Our last two weeks in IL were packed to the brim with play dates and goodbyes. These are just a few friends that we will miss greatly. Also, they're the only ones I thought to take pictures of.

I worked with Brittany in the Relief Society Presidency at church. She is the best secretary I have ever seen. I should know, because I was a lousy one a few years ago. I was also her visiting teacher, but she did far more service for me than I was ever able to do for her. And her daughter Lydia was Phoebe's good friend, which always strengthens mom friendships for me.

Allison and I met at story time at the library. Her daughter Annabel and Phoebe got along swimmingly and liked to play after the short story time session was over, so we started getting together outside the library as well. She and I bonded over our shared love of literature. I will truly miss my friend and our discussions.

I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a picture, but some women in my ward had a little get-together to send me off. We just met at Red Robin one night after bedtime, but it was so fun. In many ways, this move is extra hard because of all the wonderful friends I've made.

Homeless, Nearly

It's hard to blog when your eyes won't stay open long enough to finish typing a sentence. Moving is exhausting business, even when other people do the packing. I spent part of yesterday and most of today deep cleaning our house. Bryan is currently finishing that task while I stay with sleeping children. Then, tomorrow morning, we'll turn in our keys, and will begin our month of being not-quite-homeless.

Training

Runners train for marathons. Swimmers train for races. Gymnasts, cyclists, and archers all spend months training their bodies for competition.

It turns out I've been training too.

We've been preparing to move for weeks. The house (and our possessions) have been deep cleaned and dejunked, several times. Our mountain of laundry was clean and, thanks to a good friend who came over to lend a hand on Tuesday, was sorted and nearly all folded. The kids suitcases were packed. I felt more ready than I have in previous moves.

But on Tuesday night, we still had so many tasks to finish. Bryan is working this whole week, so I knew he needed to be rested enough to make his three-hour round trip commute. But I didn't need that. I could even possibly take a nap while the packers worked. So we decided that he would go sleep no later than two, no matter what.

And he did.

As he was drifting off to sleep, he implored me to please go to sleep soon as well. I assured him I would do everything in my power to sleep.

While I worked to pack and sort (the most important aspect of having someone else pack your stuff), I marveled at how awake I felt. I wasn't even that tired. How was that possible?

And that's when I remembered. I've struggled with insomnia for the last few months. Nothing too severe, but I've been awake late, even compared to my normal night-owl proclivities. There were several nights that I stared at the insides of my eyeballs, praying for sleep.

But on Tuesday, when I had to be awake, I could be, because my body was already used to being alert at that time of the night. Packing was my own personal marathon.

I finally made myself climb into bed when I saw the dark outside my window starting to get light.

And don't worry, I slept for a full, normal, human eight hours last night. And I plan to do the same thing again tonight.

Hiding

Ant Farm

The movers arrive tomorrow morning. We're scurrying around like mostly-crazed ants trying to prepare.

And that is all.

Rare, Like a Unicorn

We had a beautiful few minutes of peace and calm today, so of course I took pictures.

A Mind of Its Own

I was exhausted when I posted yesterday. It had been a long day and my eyes were heavy as I typed. They were so heavy, in fact, that they kept closing on their own. I had to backtrack several times to fix sentences that didn't make sense. I finally finished and handed the computer to Bryan for proofing. While he read, I woke up a bit.

He had to do some additional fixing, then he gave the computer back. I glanced at the post title.

"Oh hey," I said, "you gave the post a title."

"No I didn't."

"But you must have, I was trying to think of one but I was too sleepy."

"Nope, wasn't me."

You guys, I name blog posts in my sleep!

I wonder if my unconscious mind can do other things, like fold laundry...