In between

We're in Minnesota - we arrived yesterday!

I have had some cute friends send me notes saying "Welcome Home" which has made me smile. I don't feel at home, but it felt nice to think this will become our home. I very much feel 'in between'. We have a house in Issaquah that is now staged for selling, and it hasn't felt like home for awhile. We are living in hotels at the moment, with the comforts of our stuff in the car.

We have been in more hotels in the past couple of weeks that I can count. And, without looking at receipts, I cannot tell you what cities they have all been in. Oh wait - right now I'm in a hotel in Chanhassen, Minnesota. That counts for some brain activity, right??!

Where I am right now.....it is hard, exciting, exhausting, funny and everything in between. In no particular order, random things...

*While packing up the car and getting ready to leave for the house for last time, we walked our lovely blooming backyard. Noticed that there were three pieces of 'yard art' that had to come with us - a stepping stone my friend Sue made for me, a Celtic looking cross hanging above our vegetable garden, and a 3 ft metal fish that hung out my kitchen window, on the fence we share with the D family next door. Oh yes, among all the other things in our van right now, there is a 3 ft fun metal fish underneath the back seat in the van.

*The kids saw 'real' cowboys in Wyoming. Dominick wanted to know why certain boots had stars on the back of them. A lesson in spurs followed shortly after that.

*Saying good-bye or see ya soon is soooo much harder than I thought it would be. I knew it would be hard, just didn't know how hard it would be to share hugs, stories and kid hugs of our dear friends.

*I think moving in 5+ weeks is hard, I don't think it would have been any easier if we had slowed it down. Other than I would have had more time to think about certain things and feel sad stuff with my friends for a longer period of time. Not sure that would help me right now!

*I am already regretting I have no idea what the kitchen will look like in our condo. One of my major stress relievers is cooking - I haven't cooked a real meal in almost two weeks.

*I'm glad Don had the forsight to know that driving would be good for us on this adventure. We have had some fun, laughter and emotional discussions about this big change in our lives. It's been really, really, good to have our time as a family, some fun on the road and time to take it all in.

*Did you know that shampoo at Holiday Inn Express Hotels everywhere smells like cinnamon? I have no idea what happened to my bottles of shampoo that I thought I packed in my suitcase. I am thinking they are in the United Vanlines moving truck somewhere. Maybe, who knows?

*My kids loved entering Minnesota - they agreed the last day of driving should be a long one so we could get here to just be for a few days.

*Favorite thing about Minnesota so far, according to the kids - Perkins breakfast and the 90ft water slide in our hotel. Oh yes, Holiday Inn Express in Chanhassen is cool - a big ole red water slide. They are not going to want to move into the condo. And, yes, that was a known thing when we made the reservation. It's all about the fun, baby.

*Don is a man on a mission. He drove most of the way here. I drove in eastern Montana, where you really can drive 80-85+ miles an hour, which was kinda fun. Yes, a minivan can go that fast. And, there was hardly anyone on the road. Same thing in eastern South Dakota.

*Absolutely cool to have the day of fun in Wyoming and South Dakota. Devils Tower (think Close Encounter of the Third Kind), Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug and Badlands National Park were fun things to do in the middle of our journey. Loved it. Only thing we didn't see in South Dakota - the well known 1880's town - we drove by it at night. Oh well, next time.

*Ran on a treadmill today at the hotel - with a woman next time me watching a soap opera at 2,000 decibels at 6am this morning. Soooo glad I brought my running shoes, I need the running, the normalcy and some physical activity. Even more happy I had my ipod :)

*In the first 20 minutes of getting into the hotel, we were in the pool with the kids. Followed by a drive to the church and school we will attend, St. Hubert's. The kids were excited to see it. We will stop by today to drop off paperwork.

*Tomorrow is meet & greet with the teachers. We will go into the gym at the school and do all that back to business days stuff, including buying spirit wear for the kids. Coolest thing - each kid gets a scheduled 15 minute time slot to spend with their teacher ALONE. And, Matteo & Dominick are the last kids scheduled for their meet & greet. I think this is great as they will get a bit more time with their new teachers/new school. Thank you St. Hubert's for that!

*I have cried a bunch in the past few days, behind my sunglasses. In our driveway with friends, even with all the last minute good-byes of neighbors and random folks in the hood. I am proud to say that Don and I have done a decent job of keeping the sadness from the forefront of this adventure. We have talked about being sad and they have seen me cry a bit, but not for every tear with every person, which is good. They know it's okay to feel sad, but we're making this an adventure of fun for them, which is good for all of us.

*The kids....they are excited about this adventure. They think living near their cousins is going to be soooo very cool. I love that they are excited and yet processing it in their own way. Matteo has to talk about it, alot, with anyone and everyone. The waitress at Wall Drug, people on an elevator in Wyoming, our family, anyone. He's working through it just fine. Dominick is just into it and excited. While hiking at Devil's Tower he came up to me and out of the blue said this, "You know Mommy, I love you. I will keep you company, in Minnesota too, okay?". While he said this he grabbed my hand. I took a picture of him holding my hand. Anna, well, she is just too young to really grasp this concept of moving. She's just in love with the idea of doing something, anything fun with our family.

*Speaking of Dominick - his birthday at Family Fun Center was a blast. Pictures to follow of that fun and our driving fun. I can't find my cable to get them off my camera.

*Anna - grabbed my heart at restaurant in Montana when she climbed on my lap and said, "Mommy, I want to go home". Just like that, I said "Anna, your home is with Mommy & Daddy. Where ever we are, you are home". I was somewhere between wanting to cry and being content with the truth in my statement.

*Moving is hard. I'm glad the leaving part is over. I feel homesick for friends and chatting about life. Being on the road has felt like we are in a time warp. I know it will feel like home, sometime soon. It just takes time, like all good things.

*Don taught the kids to say, "We're moving to Minnesooooota".

*Ate dinner at a place called Old Chicago last night. Had Chicago style deep dish pizza and a Redhook ESB Beer. No, I don't have emotional eating issues at all:)

*I have learned I need to take care of myself in this move. I cannot be helpful, energetic or together enough for my family if I am not sleeping, eating well and being still once in awhile. I have had some great moments of grace and not-so-great moments of absolutely no patience and no brain power. Seriously - last night at the restaurant I actually looked to the waitress to give an answer as to whether or not the kids should get a refill of lemonade at dinner. Don is wondering, who is that woman across the table?!

*My husband....what can I say about this man to capture him 'in between'. He's amazing, I love him. He is strong for our family, so motivated to get us here and to make it comfortable for our family. And, has even played the role of 'girl friend' while driving late and night and the kids were asleep. While driving through South Dakota late at night he just listened to me talk about what I have been feeling in the past few days, what I am excited about, what I am afraid about Minnesota, and he shared where his heart and head are in all of this. Love him in so many ways. That's all I can say about that.

*A moving lesson....make sure while moving, you surround yourself with people who have brain activity when you are overloaded. Wynnie - you took my kids on a moments notice when I had no idea which end was up with packers and the loading of the truck. Thank you!!

*And....all you lovely people who showered your love on us and our kids before we left. Cannot thank you enough for the kid entertainment for the car. Made it more fun and possible for us to get here in the time that we did. Thank you and love to you all!

In between....it's a weird space to be in. Saying goodbye was, is awful. Don't want to do that again. I'm going with 'see ya soon, friends'.

There are so many more things to say, that I am grateful for in my life at the moment. There are things in my heart about the birthday love I received, the wonderful gifts of hugs and friendship during the actual packing and moving days. It's all good, amazing stuff in my life.

This place, Minnesota, is going to be our home. The weirdness I'm feeling will pass, this I know. For now, I'm embracing the adventure, relying on God, hanging onto the friendships I have in Washington, loving on my family, looking forward to the fun and just trying to be in the moment, in between.