Updates

Wow.......has it been awhile since I have blogged. So many things have happened, it is hard to know where to begin. I will try give some of the highlights without getting into too much detail, less this becomes a book.

-we sold our house in May and had to be out by June 22. We decided it was too quick to find a house in that short of time, so we are going to rent a house in Hudsonville. We spent much time packing (I highly suggest you only do this a few times in your life. Although it is a good way to declutter your junk). My mom came up and stayed with us for almost 2 weeks in June and it was an absolute blessing. She took the kids on almost two hour walks and helped pack, and much more. We are so thankful that she could help and spend quality time with the kids. We are able to move 90% of our stuff to the place we are going to rent and some of the stuff went to Tim's parents. Their garage has never looked so full. It was a very bittersweet time for me. Although we knew we wanted to sell and get closer to family, friends, and church, we also knew we would be leaving a great neighborhood and good friendships. I will truly miss all my great neighbors and pray God will bless us with another great neighborhood to raise kids in.

-we have temporarily moved into Tim's parent's house until we can get into our rental house on July 23. They have so gracious to let us move in and take over the basement. The house can be quite noisy at times, but I do think they enjoy having the twins around for entertainment.

-we just got back from our family vacation in Northern Minnesota. We went back to Elbow Lake Lodge. We had been their two years ago and it was fun to reminisce about then and now. We added 4 more grand children to the mix, so their was a lot of noise and kids everywhere. We really had a great time. Oh yes, there were the few meltdowns, but everyone took comfort in the fact that each family had their own meltdowns and no one was left out with having crabby, tired, or sick kids. We enjoyed the evenings when all the kids were sleeping and the adults could enjoy playing cards and games. We had a blast down and the beach and on boat rides. It was such a great bonding time for all of us, especially since we don't get to see each other that often. We hope to make this a tradition. We left on the 4th of July and spent some time in Duluth, MN and then the Stuive family headed home on Sunday night. I always go through a time of homesickness when I have been with my family that much, but I have tons of pictures and videos to keep reminding me of our good times.

-so the present........ we are spending time at Tim's parents and starting to look at a few houses. We promised our renters, that we would be in the house for 6-8 months, so we don't need to be in a rush to find a house.

So that is my update in a nutshell. I will try blog a little more regularly now that things have slowed down. All for now!