Moving boxes & a {sweet} 16

 I debated whether or not to post about her birthday because it was very bitter sweet and I did not have my camera unpacked and so the pictures were taken with my phone which made me kinda sad. But I decided that Samantha was so mature and sweet about the circumstances that I would share with you anyway. We had been planning a sweet 16 party with all of Samantha's friends in TN. But we decided that we needed to get to GT sooner than later. Had we not left when we did, GT would not have been only 2 hrs away when the call came about the job we had been waiting a long time for.

For those of you who may not know, GT was hired as the General Manager of a used car dealership in Waynesboro, PA.  They had one manager die and the other leave unexpectedly. So they called GT on a Monday morning and we decided to drive up and meet with them  on Friday. We spent most of the day meeting everyone and talking about whether or not it would make a good fit. I was very concerned about moving the kids again. (We had just moved 5 weeks earlier) And the kids biggest fear about school was starting after the first day of school and then being the new kids.

The kids were all set to start school the following Monday morning in VA. So one of the prayers I was praying was for the school transition to be a smooth one if this was where we were to go. Amazingly, we had one more week until the schools started in PA. GT agreed to take the job and we drove home late Friday night to tell the kids. We told them all individually, and they all cried. Saturday morning we got up and drove to PA to see if we could find a house. There were very few. In fact, we only looked at 3.

But the second house we looked at was home. And after we got in the car to drive back to VA the kids were so excited it was unreal! The dealership had a big sale starting on Thursday and  they were anxious for GT to get started. So we started packing up on Sunday morning and GT and I packed all day Monday and then loaded up the two cars with fragile stuff and drove it to PA. Then Tuesday we picked up the moving truck, loaded and left by 5pm to PA.  GT got up the next morning and started his new job.

The kids and I just got busy unpacking. It was a little distracting though having friends the first day who wanted to pull them away. We are in a small subdivision that is not finished being developed and only has about 8 houses and some town homes and all of the kids have friends their own age. What a blessing. Thursday we got all the kids registered in school, which started the following Monday, on Samantha's birthday. I was really struggling with the timing of all of this and not being able to do more for her birthday. But Sam was so strong and so mature about the way things turned out. I think I cried more than she did. But I did not let the day go without at least one surprise. . . .

I decided to make her a secret box out of an antique book. And i am going to show you how I did it.. . . . .

I started by gluing the outside edges of each page together. I think modge podge works better, but you can also use Elmers glue.

 

Make sure not to glue the first couple of pages, I will show you why later. And do not glue the front or back covers yet either. Then let it dry overnight

 

 After its all dry use a ruler and a razor blade to measure an equal distance from the edge all the way around. Not having glued the front or back cover will help as you will be able to cut from both sides

 

 

Keep cutting until you get all the way through. I did not glue any of the center of the pages because I wanted to be able to use the book pages for another project. I will show you that project later. After you clean up the inside and any loose edges you can glue the back cover to the book. Then you can either leave it empty or use it as a shadow box.

 

I had a bracelet I knew I wanted to give to Samantha, so I made a hook with the branch to hang the bracelet on and also kind of a hidden box for her to keep it it.

 

I finished it with a ribbon and had it hiding on a book shelf

 

 She loved it!!

She was SO suprised . . . this time she was the one crying! 

 

I made a second one for a wedding gift from the menu, and program from the wedding. . .

I added some details to the front and spine this time using modge-podge

I left a few more pages unglued this time because I knew I wanted to use the 

pages to add things from the wedding

This was such a FUN project. And my girls all want to make one now too. 

Careful. . . you might get addicted!

Virginia is for Lovers

To say this was a hard move would be a

 GROSS understatement! 

We had not planned to move until the end of July, but we had a few complications with Tyler that made it necessary to go sooner. GT could not take any time off work because he has not accumulated time off yet. So we had to work around his days off for our unloading schedule. Which meant I was left to pack with 4 kids. YIKES!!! Luckily. . . . Sam had friends who wanted to come and spend every last moment possible with her, even if that meant packing and lifting heavy objects. =)

 I <3 teenagers!! 

So the kids and I packed for 3 days straight.. ....taking trips to the grocery store and loading our little Ford Contour full of boxes!

We said goodbye to our dog Rocco (the house we rented in Virginia would not allow pets) and we said hello to GT's mom. (Sonja came to drive the Contour so i could drive the moving truck)

Austin packed . . . 

And Sam did her part by keeping us laughing when the stress was too much. 

It took myself, 1 mother-in-law, 15 teenagers, 3 Mormon Missionaries and the kids but we finally managed to get everything loaded into a 26 ft Penske at around midnight on Wed. We drove that night to a hotel and spent the night and then got up early on Thursday morning to make the 10hr drive. 

Yes, this is me driving a HUGE truck!!   Can you say ScArY! 

We only made it 7 hrs into the trip because my back and Sonja's back could only take so much after packing, lifting and then driving. So we had to stop for the night again. But on Friday afternoon, we finally made it to Virginia to be with GT. YAY!! 

.

The house has it's good/bad qualities. (and for the record, GT is NEVER allowed to choose a house without me again!) The floor plan is wonderful. I love the flow and space of the home. I also love the enormous backyard for Austin. It is in one of the CUTEST neighborhoods I have ever been in. But....it is an older home and has no overhead lighting except for the kitchen and dining room. It also has no air conditioning. But it has hardwood floors that are beautiful. It was heavily smoked in though, and GT does not have the best sniffer and did not even notice. But they had painted most of the rooms and replaced the carpet in the master bedroom which helped. It also has the teeny tiniest master closet. So GT has been using the hall closet and suitcases and I am using part of Austin's closet upstairs. 

But to be honest ~ we are together! And that is what matters more than anything else. 

Everything else is just a bonus. =)

I LOVE that I can see into the kitchen and family room from my desk

Oh the adventures yet to come . . . . . .