I'm Still Here

We're here in our new house and I am unpacking and unpacking.  We couldn't be more pleased with our house.  God is SO good.

I'm also still here in the blogosphere.  I promise I'll sit down and catch you up on our lives...maybe this evening=)

Have a GREAT Frideay!

"We Only Write On...PAPER!"

We have a rule at our house.

"We only write on PAPER!"

The kids KNOW that, so when I walked in to get the kids out of room time I was shocked to see THIS!

Zeke had drawn Spiderwebs on his legs so he looks like Spiderman.

Me:  "Zeke, what in the world.  We...only...write...on..."

Zeke: "...paper!"

Me:  "Zeke, did you disobey mommy? Are your legs paper?"

Zeke:  "But I'm Spiderman mommy!"

What am I supposed to say to that?!  This is what happens when you are a mommy to a superhero I suppose=)

He's just going to have to walk around with these "webs" on him until he gets a bath...and we all know those are few and far between in this Via family, HA!

Saying Goodbye To Our Temporary Home

Tomorrow is moving day!  I can't believe we get to move into our new home.  I can't but help being a little sad to leave this temporary home with our friends behind though.  I thought I'd give you a little peak at where we've been these past 3.5 weeks.

Here is Micaiah's room.

He shares it with the laundry=)

Our office/Snack-coffee area

Rainy and Zeke's room

Living Room

Our Bathroom

Our Bedroom

Jeremiah and Jenn, we can't thank you enough for sharing your home and your lives with us!  Oh yeah, and ALL your toys=)

Another Rock Star In The Making

Micaiah's first go on Zeke's electric guitar

I tell you what, give us a couple of years and we'll be paying our own kids to play our gigs=)

I Wonder What They Were Thinking

A couple of days ago Josh, Jenn and I, along with all the kids, were here at the house when a park ranger drove up.  There was an injured deer that had to be put down.  Not 10 minutes later, while the park ranger was still here, the terminix guys drove up to do a routine termite inspection.  It was absolutely crazy around here.

I just wonder what they all thought while they walked around this house.  One man at home who was changing the baby in the laundry room, 2 ladies, 5 kids scattered inside and out.  I felt the need to explain our situation for some reason=)

Christmas Card Time

It's that time of year again...Christmas Picture time.  We traded picture taking abilities with Jeremiah and Jenn so we wouldn't have to do the ol'  set-the-camera-up-on-the-tripod-and-run-while-trying-to-get-the-kids-to-continue-to-look-at-the-camera technique.  This new method of having another PERSON take the picture is pure genius.  

Anyway, that's what we did earlier this week...and now I've been working all day to find the right photo card for our December newsletter.  I've been comparing prices and backgrounds and sizes ALL DAY!

I can't figure out why it is such a big deal for me.  *sigh*

And now that I've been zoned in on this task all day I am unmotivated to work on anything else.  Not to mention the already rainy, gloomy day because of Tropical Storm Ida.

Are there any other Christmas Card perfectionists out there?

Cheap Oil Change and Tire Rotation

With all the back and forth Josh and I have been doing with 1 car (since our Honda is still in Charlotte) we have really racked up the miles.  It was time for an oil change.  That was top priority on our to-do list yesterday.  

My husband, being the deal seeker that I've made him to be, wasn't about to pay the $68 it would have cost him for the oil change and tire rotation at Jiffy Lube.  He went online and found a couple GREAT coupons and then took them around and found a shop that would honor them.  He ended up paying $18.99 (tax included) for everything.  How awesome is that!

Then, after checking out at Kroger for a few items I had put on a list (and making sure he got the lowest prices on the items of course), he saw a small stack of coupons on the counter and brought them home to me.  He thought it was funny because normally he would have walked straight past them and now it is instinct to look for them and snag them up.  He is slowly beginning to realize that coupons are like money around here=)

He also scoured the mall for the best price on cons and found some for $15.00 as opposed to the normal $40-$60 he found for them everywhere else.  Believe me, new shoes was a need.  Especially when Areyna would hold her nose every time Josh would walk by with his big toe hanging out of a hole and she'd say, "Daddy, I don't like the way you smell."

I love my man and I love that he is helping in this endeavor to make every penny count.

Yours, Mine and Ours

The open gate...we can play!!!

Jenn and I decided that we needed to get together to set some boundaries since we were going to be co-living with another family for the first time.  We talked openly about maintaining family times and our daily routine and made a rule that we are NOT allowed to be offended or get our feelings hurt during any part of this process=)

Jenn and I have done pretty good with the groceries so far.  With our forces combined we have been able to score some AWESOME deals!

Jeremiah and Jenn set us up a little coffee/snack area for us so we wouldn't have to come upstairs in our jammies or worry about waking them up in the morning.  We are able to go up and use the kitchen at our leisure though.  We also have a TV down there.  I'll have to post pictures of our set-up, it's pretty sweet.

It's been kind of hard on all the kids to figure out their boundaries though.  We decided we needed a good system.  When the gate is open at the top of our stairs, the kids know that they can all play together.  It's so funny to hear Ella and Ezra at the top of the stairs when we haven't been up yet to open it or to hear our kids trying their hardest to wait for the open gate to go up and play.  

The kids have gotten along really well.  They are learning to "work it out" together and are all having to work on sharing to the extreme these past couple of weeks.

We will always cherish this time together with the Hambrick's.  

Stay Away

Jenn had a dream on Sunday night about her having strep throat and then she woke up with a sore throat.  The funny thing is that I woke up with that same sore throat too!  We have the EXACT SAME virus with the EXACT SAME symptoms.  It's been crazy.  We'll wake up in the mornings and we feel the same way and as soon as one of us has a new symptom we know that within an hour or two the other will begin to have it too.

Well, Josh got home on Thursday night from a week-long even with his dad.  His mom had just been asking him earlier this week, "You make a living using your voice.  How in the world do you keep from getting sick?"  You may remember Josh's blog recalling one such event that didn't go so well, but he has since learned the correct way to take Airborne.  That's what he takes when anyone in his realm of physical influence comes up sick.

Anyway, yesterday's symptom was headache, sneezing and terribly runny nose.  So, you can imagine the noises coming from this house last night while Josh and I were hanging out downstairs.  I was sitting next to Josh, sneezing every couple of minutes while Jenn sat upstairs snorting so loudly that it would make us all laugh.  

It was then, in that moment, that Josh realized that it was time.  Time to take action.  Time to take Airborne and pray for the best!