16 days.

In 16 days we move into our new house.  I'm excited for a new house.  I'm most excited for a dishwasher :)  I'm excited to put rugs on it's awesome hard wood floors, and i'm excited that all our bedrooms are on one floor, even if they are a little smaller.  But, through all of this, i'd be lying if i said i'm not sad at all.

We've been in this house for 2 years now.  So so so many memories.  This was our first house ever.  Owen has grown up the majority of his life in this house, and Cora was brought to this house.  Owen started walking and talking here.
The sinks dont work right, the tub is old and nasty and hardly drains, there is NO dishwasher, the dryer is giving out, the cabinets are so old some of the handles are falling off and the deck is going no where good, but i absolutely love this house.  This house means comfort to me.  This house is "home" which is quite a lot to say for Mark & I, two people who would move anywhere to find a feeling of "home."

these pictures are from the day we got the keys to our new home:

so happy :)

I know that after a while, this new house (though slighter smaller) will feel like home too. Never an easy transition...at least not for me!

I'm apparently really funny.

and she's apparently ridiculously cute...

(no surprise there)

:)

Crazy Mom.

You know how when you first move out of your house, or get married, your mom gets all emotional and acts funny like she doesn't want to let you go.  She'll tell you your her baby and it's hard to see you grow up?  Yes?  Well, you know how you hated it when you were in that stage, so you'd roll your eyes and say "i'll never be that mom to my kids."  Yeah, me too...and guess what? I am that mom.

Owen needs socialization.  We've been hunting for a day care for a while now.  And we've found one we really feel comfortable with.  And heres the funny thing- I'm having a hard time letting him go.  Do i need a break? YES.  Do i need somewhere for him to go so i can work? YES. But all of the sudden, when push comes to shove, it's hard to let go of your "baby."  But, I'm doing it, because it's what's best for him, i suppose it doesn't make it easier knowing that.

I love my kids. And like it or not, they are growing up.

Joys of moving

So I'm starting packing little things here and there to avoid doing it all on one day. Let's just say Owens having some fun with it...

Moving on up....the road

We are moving. We didn't really want to or expect to- but when your landlord puts your house up for sale, you don't have a lot of options. We thought we'd wait until Christmas was done, thinking that our house probably wouldn't sell during the holidays- but when a "for rent" sign went up down the road RIGHT in the location we wanted, Right in the price range we needed, with the RIGHT number of bedrooms AND (drum roll please...) a DISHWASHER., we knew we needed to move on it quickly because it wouldn't last. So there you have it, moving time. We have to be out by December 15th. Talk about not good timing..I just pray we can be settled and at least have our tree up for a relatively normal Christmas for our kiddos. So it's stress city over here. How were going to afford rent at 2 houses a deposit at one, Christmas presents birthday presents a washer and dryer and a riding lawn mower...I have no clue. But I've just got to have faith that God will provide (easier said then done).

That's the scoop. We'll be peacin out in less then a month. I'm sure I'll write a sappy post about all the memories that have happened here, but I'll save that for another day.

Life isn't slowing down..surprise surprise!

4th and final week in Schaumburg.

Goodness gracious I'm happy to be home. Our " home" will be moving the start of the year, but I'll save that for another post.
Meanwhile, here are some photos of our last week:

Some Week 3 photos.

Well were done with week 3 of Chi town living.
Here are some shots from the past few days: