Living Room:

A close up of Hudson. You’re welcome.

Other half of the living room:

And a close up of my little snowy village on top of the piano:

Dining Room:

Christmas Mittens on the Stairs:

This corner cabinet used to be white. How boring. I painted it “Summer Marigold” because I couldn’t think of a good reason not to!

The kitchen! Please notice Lydia’s new telescope. She got if for Christmas from my dad last weekend. To say she is thrilled is an understatement. She wanted to know if she could point it at the neighbor’s house. Um, no, dear. So we moved it to the kitchen for a clear look at the sky!

And a closeup of my new favorite household item. Isn’t she beautiful?

And here is my favorite room. This little nook has become my favorite spot to work on my computer, drink my coffee, play scrabble, have conversations. I just love it. I feel like I have a coffee shop right in my house!

And just in case you think my house is perfect, let me leave you with a reality check:

That’s right. We’ve still got some work to do. Now that Conrad is on Christmas break, we have plenty of projects to tackle, and this room (the study/storage/closet/catch-all) is at the top of the list.

I don’t plan to do a tour of the other half of the house, including all the bedrooms and bathrooms. . .something about that creeps me out a little. We are enjoying our new space and it feels good to be settled in. Now I’m off to enjoy a little quiet time with my book!

Friday afternoon, about 4:30, the first truck and trailer showed up at the old house. A bunch of friends came over, then a few more trucks, and a few more trailers.

Our friends were amazing! Everyone worked so hard and by 8:30 that evening everything we own was in the new house. The next morning, the real work began. We were overwhelmed with the task before us, but we decided to celebrate our first morning in the new house with a special breakfast: pumpkin pancakes!

We’ve been working hard over the last few weeks to make this new house our home. We love being here and we feel like it’s been a good move for our family. If we could sell our other house, I would be able to relax a bit more. In the meantime, I have enjoyed decorating the new house for the holidays. Here’s a sneak peek:

More pictures coming soon!

If you are interested in reading (or re-reading) about my life-altering experiences on that trip, here are the posts:

Safe in Bangkok

Update from Cambodia

Update Number 2

Update from Thailand

Final Update

A Few Pictures

Hello Jet Lag! Nice to See You Again!

Second Slum Village

Pattaya

Scenic Photos

A Breath of Fresh Air

What Kept Me Going

My Response

Kimmie and I left on Thursday evening intending to drive as far as we could that night. We made it almost to Nashville before stopping for the night. That made the next day’s travels pretty light, and we timed the trip perfectly to be driving through Memphis at lunch time!

Memphis+ 2 Foodies+ BBQ= This dive in the ghetto:

According to Urban Spoon (Do you have that app on your phone? LOVE it!), this was the best BBQ in Memphis. We threw all common sense out the window and followed our trusty GPS to The BBQ Shop. So, so glad we did. We each ordered a meal and shared with each other. At one point, Kimmie looked at me and said, “Vic, you have bbq sauce on your chin.” That’s the sign of good food.

We got back on the road and headed another 3 hours south to the city of Greenville, Mississippi. I have never traveled that far south in the fall. I loved seeing the cotton fields in full bloom. I stopped along the road to take some pictures.

Aren’t cotton fields cool? I just loved seeing them. I had a wonderful time with family. We laughed and laughed as we recalled stories of childhood antics. We cried together over the loss of Aunt Betty. We embraced each other as we said good-bye again. All too soon, Kimmie and I were back on the road.

As we headed north, we were in contact with our brother who was on his way to Indiana. Turns out, we were within a few minutes of each other so we made plans to stop again in Memphis. How often do I get to spend time with just my siblings. . .no kids to interrupt our conversations, no distractions. What a gift! That impromptu stop was a highlight of the weekend. We walked around Beale Street and enjoyed dinner and live music at The Rum Boogie Cafe.

My brother walks so fast I end up looking at his hind end anytime we go anywhere. I took this picture of my view. Haha!

Of course, Elvis paraphernalia is everywhere. I totally want one of these:

We arrived back home on Sunday afternoon and life picked up its pace from that moment on! That week was spent packing and organizing in preparation for moving. We moved Friday night and it’s all been a little crazy! More on that in the next post!

Later Friday afternoon, I got another phone call. This time the news took me by surprise. Merlin Yoder, a man of utmost character, who loved his wife and kids, who farmed the land with passion, who rode miles upon miles on his bike just for the sheer joy of it, was badly injured in a farming accident. His injuries were extensive and the prognosis was grim. He passed away early Monday morning.

My heart broke as I got the news of his passing. I knew that his death would rock the community of Pigeon, Michigan, my home. Those of us who grew up around Merlin and his wife, Pat, began sharing memories on Facebook. Several times throughout the day, I found myself wiping away the tears as I recalled my own memories.

In this, I saw demonstrated what I love most about my hometown: We are a community. We support each other. We love each other. We belong to one another. And even for those of us who have moved onto other places around the globe, we still belong.

In the case of my aunt Betty, we are related. Our blood lines flow from the same source. My mother’s sister. I loved her sassiness. I feared her sassiness. And despite the miles between us, we belonged to each other.

As I reflect on this concept of belonging, I am struck by this: If we did not belong, we would have less grief, it’s true. But, we would also experience less joy. For it is in the belonging to others that we share our lives, both the triumphs and the sorrows.

So today, I’m thankful for my people. My clan. My homies. My tribe. My peeps. My family, whether we are connected by bloodlines or not. They are part of who I have become.

To the Yoder Family: I share in your grief. Merlin influenced my life and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to know him. If I could find a way to transcend time and geography, I would be in Pigeon on Thursday to celebrate his life with you. Instead, I will be heading south to stand by my mom as we celebrate my aunt Betty. But, no matter, we belong to one another, and for that I thank God.

Saturday afternoon, we decided to try out a local corn maze:

Bryn:

Trying to figure out which way to go next:

My sweet niece, Cara:

I think corn is pretty. Maybe it’s because I grew up surrounded by it. Reminds me of home:

The sun beat down on us while we were making our way through the cornfield. The littlest girls were pretty tired by the end:

And because we can’t expect the day to be perfect, I’m including this picture of Lydia and me dealing with her bloody nose. That was fun:

We came home and ate popsicles, made Chinese for dinner, then played a round of Settlers of Catan. Fun, fun day.

I’ve found photos that inspire me:

Recipes that tempt me (can’t wait to try these in my new kitchen. . .just a few more weeks!):

Random stuff that makes me laugh:

And pretty stuff that makes me wish I hadn’t spent all my birthday money already:

So, I’ve wasted an enormous amount of time pinning and pinning, but it’s also been a great way for me to relax in the evenings after my kids are in bed and I just need to chill. Because, honestly? Life has been a little stressful lately and I can use all the help I can get. And pinning is cheaper than therapy. Or Vodka.

Update on the house: we should close on the new house next week, which means we’ll move in late October or very early November. We haven’t had any offers on our current house yet. Trying not to freak out about that.

As an adult, I’ve lived in several states, and in many homes. Our first apartment was so tiny you could walk in the front door and see the whole place. A few years later, we were so excited to buy our first house. Little did we know that less than a year after that, we would bring home twin girls when they were just over 4 pounds each. When we discovered a third baby was on the way, we decided it was time to move yet again to accommodate the needs of our growing family.

Each home holds special memories for me, but in each case, I have worked very hard to not be attached to the house itself. Someone recently told me that a house is really just a tent, a dwelling place. The memories made inside that house are what make it a home. So it is with that in mind that I pack up our belongings and prepare to make another move. This house has its share of memories too, including bringing newborn Ellie home, but the good news is I get to take those memories with me to the next place.

The new house may be our home for many years to come, or maybe it’s just a quick stop on the way to somewhere else. I don’t know for sure. What I do know, is I’m thankful to be taking my family and our memories with me. And ultimately, this world is not my home, I’m just passing through. Have you heard that before? Yes, sometimes I need the reminder too.

Recently, it occurred to me that if we would sell our house and buy something at a lower price, we could cut our mortgage in half, freeing up our income to go toward other things, most notably student loans.

So we contacted a realtor and started looking around. We weren’t in any hurry about it. After all, we don’t have to start paying on Conrad’s student loans for another two and a half years. But, housing is really affordable right now, and the interest rates are crazy low, so we decided to see what’s out there. Well, we fell in love with a house that seems like a perfect fit for our family. We made an offer, they countered, we countered back, they countered again, and we accepted.

And then my already busy life went into full speed as I dug through every single closet, cabinet, and drawer in this house. One pile to Goodwill, one pile to the trash, and one pile to the new house. I still have a lot of work ahead of me as I continue to organize and pack up this house, then move everything across town and settle into our new home. I think it’s safe to say I’ll stay busy this fall. We are hoping to move by mid-October.

Now for the tricky part: we need to sell our house. And we need to sell it for a good price. For now, we own two houses. We really only want to own one. So, if you feel up to it, would you say a little prayer that this house sells quickly? Thanks.

I’m sure I’ll be writing much more as this process continues, and I hope to get some pictures to you as well. But for now, know that we are feeling happy and peaceful with this decision and we are excited to begin the next chapter!

Our first stop was the Topiary Garden. I love this place. Conrad and I used to run in this park when we lived in Columbus many, many moons ago. Funny how different our experience was this time:

We took Ellie to the fish pond. She saw this giant fish and said, “Sure wish we could catch him and eat him up!”

Next we were off to do some shopping in the Short North. Conrad told me to pick something out for my birthday and he would wrap it up for me. I was happy to do just that, but apparently not happy enough to take any pictures of this part of the day.

At some point of the afternoon, he did make a few stops to get the info he needed for his project. I drank a coffee from Cup O’ Joe. . .Highlander Grogg with lots of cream, no sugar. Just the way I like it.

Eventually, we ended up here:

Singapore Noodles for him:

Pad Thai for me:

We shared with Ellie. She wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as we were:

She was much more intrigued by the fact that there was a little bridge in the restaurant that went over a little pond full of fish. She thought that was pretty great:

We got back home in time to get B and L off the bus, but then we were right back out the door again. This time we were off to my sister’s house to celebrate the birthday of my favorite 1 year old:

I’ve never seen a kid go after his cake like he did! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Haha! Such a cute little guy.

So we had a fun day. Pretty much perfect, really. Hope you have one of those coming right up!