Soggy Halloween

Violet and Phoebe:  Cuddle Bugs

Almost a month into our new house, and boxes still remain all around.  They melt away slowly like sugar cubes in warm coffee.  Things are slowly finding their places throughout our dwelling.  This includes all of us.  We are learning where our spots are around the house.  Where we fit.  Where we want to be.  I am sitting on the floor in the living room next to a warm fire as the rain beats against the nearby window on this grey Halloween morning.

A clear evening run in Plainfield.

 We have been in and out of town, visiting friends and family in the last month.  While it hasn't helped our unpacking process, it is always nice to be around the people you love and share in some laughs and watch a good game or two on TV.  We are looking forward to hosting in the near future, and getting the chance to show-off our new home and make sure that everyone knows they have a place to stay when they are in town!

My new Asics!  Thanks for the sweet ride, Dad!  

 Besides the moving and the unpacking, life has been brilliantly boring, and that is just fine.  My work as the assistant principal presents new items and situations every day, and I love it.  Getting to visit classrooms, talk with a variety of people every day, and interact with students is just the best.  I have gotten to contact local authorities to schedule and run fire drills and other emergency drill procedures.  Helping to make our schools the best they can be is such a terrific opportunity.

Audrey face paint at my school Halloween Evening.

 Audrey and Violet are excited for Halloween, although the rain and cold may put a slight dent in our trick-or-treating plans.  While their costumes are ready to roll, we will have to see about the rain gear!  Violet is Superman this year, and Audrey is the Snow Queen from the Chronicles of Narnia.  They love their outfits and their imagination runs wild as they play around the house in them  If only there were a way to bottle that imagination, or allow kids to be this engaged every day of the year as they played!

Next week is a half marathon weekend in Indianapolis!  I will be running the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon for the second year in a row.  I haven't been running and training as much as I should, but I will be fine for a fun half, as long as I don't bring too many expectations into the race!  My goal is to run it continuously and feel good at the end.  I have done training runs of 10 miles, and will get a few more in this weekend and this week leading-up to the run itself.  I also signed up for the Wisconsin Half Marathon and the Abraham Lincoln Half Marathon in Springfield, IL!  So my motivation for the spring is set!  I am also setting a goal with my friends Amy and Nick to run 150 miles in November!  So hopefully my fitness base increases and the weight drops off a little!

Violet face paint.

Finally, and most importantly, Violet will be four tomorrow!  I cannot believe my little warrior is four years old!  She has been a light of happiness and crazy in our lives, and I cannot imagine things without her.  I am proud of how she has grown and the enthusiasm and love she shows at such a young age.  Violet, I love you.

-Daddy

Violet makes a Monster Bag.

Audrey and Violet at the Halloween Ice Cream Social.

I got to pull the fire alarm for the fire drill!  I was so excited!  

This is Paws, our Maercker school mascot.  I have no idea who wears the fur, but I must say that is one good looking wildcat!  

Audrey pumpkin carving.  Scooping out the guts.

Violet helping mommy pumpkin carving.

Pictures of our life

First fire in the new fireplace.  Besides the basement, this was my favorite feature of the new house!

F
Audrey playing in the new backyard!

Violet in the new backyard!


Abel and Kim at home!


Audrey and Violet say goodbye to the room that was a nursery and first bedroom for both of them.  A lot of good memories about this room.


Dad and Violet loading the 26ft truck!  Phoebe photobomb!


Violet helping load the truck.


Daddy and the Girls getting a haircut and having a snack while we wait.

Empty Rooms, Full Hearts

The rooms are empty in our house now, save for a few air mattresses and random boxes and a few snacks in the kitchen.  Our house will not be ours anymore in a couple more days.  Today we spent most of our waking hours loading a twenty-six foot shipping truck with the help of a couple movers.  The truck is completely full, and will be stationed in our driveway until Monday, when our new house legally becomes ours.

The house we have known for over the last nine years, on Monday, will legally belong to someone else.  The rooms are pretty much empty now, but the memories are thick and stacked.  Each step through the barren spaces echos on the hard surfaces that were once covered with pictures and paintings and little doodles taped up by the girls.  Violet's room was once her nursery and before that it was Audrey's room and nursery.   I can still remember the long day of installing the wood flooring and wall paneling and painting to make it just right for our first child.

Many memories of laughter, tears, joy, sadness, and growing overwhelm me as I walk through the rooms of the house, our first house, for the last time.  The moving vans are loaded and the key turns in the lock.  The next time it is unlocked, it will be by the new owners.

A few hours later, and a few dozen signatures down the line, we are legally the new owners of our dream house.  Opening the door for the first time, and letting our girls run around, exploring their new home...THAT is a moment I will cherish.  Each room is absolutely empty, yet full of possibilities and our future.  We have now been in our house for a week, and boxes are everywhere, but each item we pick-up is finding a new place...a place where it belongs.  And so are we as a family.  We are finding our place here, and rediscovering where we belong.  The answer is simple, though:  we belong here and together.  Wherever here is.

-a