We made it.

We arrived at my parents' house in Mechanicsville, Virginia around 7 pm last night (Sunday). Just in time to see the Redskins kick the poo out of the Cowgirls!!!! YYEEEESSSSSSS

The drive was long. We left our house in Austin at about 7 am Saturday morning, arriving in Nashville at about 9:30 pm. We slept until 5:15 am and were on the road before 6. Around 10 am, just east of Knoxville, Tennessee, one of the tires on our Uhaul truck blew out. We ended up waiting about 2 1/2 hours for the Uhaul people to come out and fix it, and then we were back out on the road.

Sunday's drive wasn't as bad as Saturday's because we were pretty much driving through the mountains the whole time. I will definitely post photos eventually! It was a beautiful drive. Beautiful, but long. VERY LONG. We were on the road for a total of 28 hours, including stops, which were minimal. We are both worn out and definitely not too eager to get back in the car anytime soon. Not to mention the fact that I came down with a terrible cold the day we left. It was a blast.

This morning we got up early and went to my dad's office to unload the Uhaul (he's letting us use his warehouse space to store our stuff until we find a house). The warehouse guys helped us out very kindly, and it didn't take long! Of course, it could not be without incident. I decided, being the huge klutz that I am, to split my lip while unloading some of Jack's larger toys. Fun times. I felt like a huge sissy....but I didn't cry! Hahaha....

After unloading we returned the Uhaul, which was a bit of a fiasco in itself, but overall it was fine. We then met with our realtor and looked at some houses. Unfortunately we didn't see much that we liked, but we are going out again tomorrow and I think we have some promising houses on the agenda. We are planning to meet with the realtor in the afternoon, after lunch at the Smokey Pig (Virginia BBQ....mmmmmm).

More updates later, when I'm not quite so delirioius!!!

Lasts

This has been our last weekend in Austin.
Today was our last weekend at our beloved church.
It was our last Sunday afternoon perusal of the Sam's club on 290.
Our last family shopping trip to HEB.
Tonight will be our last dinner out with friends in Austin.

Of course we will be visiting (probably in March), but it is still a weird feeling to know that we are leaving THIS WEEK. I don't think it has completely sunk in yet; it will probably hit us as we cross the Texas/Arkansas border...Bo and I met here in Austin, and we have spent our entire courtship and marriage here, so it is definitely going to be a change of pace...but I think the change of pace is going to be awesome.

We're on our way out, Texas. Farewell, friend.

Get excited, Virginia.

A hidden facet

One of the less obvious benefits of our move to Virginia is something that I am just now really realizing.

For the last few years I have seen my maternal grandparents (and most of my extended family) about once a year, when we go to Michigan in the summer. My maternal grandparents do visit my family in Virginia, but I am rarely there when they are. It's kind of a bummer, but we deal with it.

Anyway, now that we will be living in Virginia, we are so excited to be able to see my Grams and Gramps more often! As a matter of fact, they will be visiting in October, very soon after we arrive. I am so excited to see them!!

Then sings my soul

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Last photo post

Cait and Jack
Jack on the plane yesterday

More photos

Casey chasing Jack....typical.

Fedila. Sam in the foreground, lying down in the surf.

Casey and Rachel

Okay, so I lied.

I am going to go ahead and add the photos now! :) Most of the photos I have are from our trip to Virginia Beach last Sunday.Fedila
Fedila and Temima
Weirdo Temima
Rachel and Jack


Me and Jack. Please enjoy my wind-blown hairdo. We drove the 2 hours on freeways to the beach in my mom's convertible! :)

Back just in time

Jack and I made it safely home. Soon it will start to rain...this hurricane sure does have everyone nervous. I hope it is not as bad as people are speculating it will be.

I will post photos of our trip next week...the journey has me worn out, so it will probably be a few days before I get around to it. In the meantime, we will be continuing to pack and get ready for our move in 14 days.

It's official!

Bo's first day at his new branch in Richmond will be October 1. That means we will be leaving Texas on Sept. 27. Jack and I will be back in Texas for 2 weeks before we leave again. :)

That means that pretty soon I will be seeing a whole lot more of this:

Hahahahahaha..... :)

Moving date

We still do not have a for-sure date for our move, but it is looking like we will be leaving Texas the last weekend in September.

T-minus-23 hours

We leave for Virginia tomorrow (visiting, not moving yet). I will be visiting the family and making preparations for our move, including scoping out homes! Jack and I are going on a trip without Bo, which we have had to do often over the last few years. It is really hard for Bo to stay here alone, but soon he won't have to do that anymore! :)

Labor Day

For us, Labor Day will be both a holiday and, well, a day to labor.

The packing is well underway. With my upcoming planned visit to Virginia fast approaching (Jack and I leave Wednesday) and the possibility that our last day in Texas will be Sept. 19 (Jack and I return on Sept. 12) in consideration, we have decided that it would not be smart to put off the inevitability of packing our life into boxes.

So far it is going well--I have packed all of my clothes into labeled suitcases, the bathrooms are packed, and all of the decorations are packed. The linens are packed except for 4 towels.

It is really a strange feeling, knowing that we may not see these things again for 2 or maybe even 3 months, by the time we find our own place! We are trying to label everything really clearly so we will know which things to keep with us and which to send to storage.