Life at our house is crazy and busy right now. Preparing for a move overseas is many things, scary, overwhelming, fun, cleansing stressful, chaotic, frustrating, and the list goes on. I'm trying really hard to make lists and pace myself. Our house is going to be WAY smaller than the one we are in now and I'm completely ok with that. Problem is, I don't want everything we own to come with us. We have "junk" that has moved with us to four different cities in the last 8 years and I'm drawing the line very deep on this move.

Every time we move I tell myself, "I got this! It won't take that long to get ready" and then we end up drowning in stuff and feel so overwhelmed that I want to just throw it all on the curb and forget that it ever belonged to us. But this move is different. There will be three separate piles, move #1 - most everything, #2 - the rest of it, #3 - what we will need to keep with us until we fly out. Trust me, it's much easier to just have a "movers take all" pile and a "here's a couple changes of clothes until we get there" pile.

Can I tell you how good it feels to purge?!?!?! Oh my goodness!! I went through 2 rooms and a bathroom and had 2 yard bags + a box full of things to go to Goodwill, 2 1/2 trash bags of junk/no longer used/broken items, 3 of those space saving bags and a box barely full of things for the movers to pack. I had previously gone through the kids room and pulled out clothes they have out grown or won't need ever again and that filled up another yard bag, plus a trash bag that went to a friend. I have more for my niece. (Hope you don't mind, but it's headed your way Jennifer!)

I still have the downstairs to tackle and it's going to be ugly. Like, bad ugly. But it's going to feel oh, so good to have it done.

Oh, and the van. I have to clear EVERYTHING out of it (like nothing in any pockets or doors or bins, deep clean the inside and out (ok, maybe not "deep" clean, but it could use it), make copies of paperwork and then take it to Atlanta so it can be shipped. I'm least excited about not having "my brain" with me for a couple months, but I'd rather lose it on this end then be without it on the other end. Wouldn't you? I mean, I'm already crazy trying to deal with this stuff, I'd rather appear less crazy to our new friends that we will make over there. I can't think straight if we are in another car. I forget things. I store thing in my van and know exactly where they are.

While the kids are very excited about moving, I think Sophie is starting to have a little stress from all of the upcoming changes. She doesn't like to leave my side and has a meltdown if I leave her with anyone. And I don't leave her with just "anyone." It's either a grandparent or our best friends that she has know her whole life. So my plan of action is to work a little bit each day and then take the rest of the day to spend time with the kids. I hate to admit it, but it's hard to me to just stop and play with the kids or sit and watch a movie with them when I'm motivated to work. I know kids are strong and bounce back easy, but they are my first concern. I don't worry easy, but every time we move I worry about them and how they will react. So far they have done well each time we moved, but when we moved here to Montgomery, they had an adjustment period. I don't even think they realized it was happening to them, but I could see it. This time it's a little more emotional for them. So while I want to tackle this move head on, this momma bear is out in full force. I'm trying to not talk about the move as much. They know it's happening so I don't need to bring it up. Just pray for her. And pray for Christopher and his new school he will go to. He's not really shy, but he doesn't like school so going to another new one will be a battle for all of us.

I better get back to work. The kids are needing some attention and I need to make a plan for the next couple days. Hope you have a great weekend!! : )