How do people collect so much stuff?  Or, should I say,

WHY do people collect so much stuff?

It reminds me of a brother from the church in the Philippines who came to the United States to visit.  He commented about how "rich" the Americans are and then said, "They even have houses for their cars."  Hmmm... Makes you think, doesn't it?

Yes, we got all moved into our new house.  We had intended to get all of our belongings into the 26’ U-Haul and be out of our old house by Friday night (March 3^rd).  Well, we ended up having more stuff than what we thought and had to make another trip on Saturday to get the rest.

It was late Friday night when we pulled the huge U-Haul into the driveway of our new place.  The boys had both gone to sleep, so they were a little out of sorts when they woke up to an unfamiliar place.  We went inside the house and found some surprises – yes, good ones!  Norman’s older sister had come earlier that day and put some goodies in our new house.  The boys both received small tubs filled with snacks, a puzzle, and Magnetix.  Norman got a bucket with snacks, cleaning supplies, and a $25 gift card for Menards.  And, I was overjoyed to find a large wicker basket filled with snacks, cleaning supplies, kitchen rug, matching towels, dish rags & hot pads, paper towels, etc.  It was such a nice welcome!  We ended up just leaving the U-Haul loaded that night and having a slumber party on the living room floor.

Boy, if you want life to pass you by quickly, just move.  I can’t believe how fast time has flown in just the last few weeks!  We have been so busy getting things finalized, packing, unpacking, hooking up things, fixing locks, cleaning, lining kitchen shelves, opening up new accounts, putting in electrical outlets, changing addresses, etc.  Plus, all of the normal everyday things like laundry, eating, washing dishes, etc.  One thing that I was neglecting, though, was giving much-needed attention to the boys.  In fact, I am not into messes and things being in disarray, so I was getting a little grumpy.  I never really noticed this until I overheard the boys playing a game.  They appeared to be hiding from a vicious monster that was going to eat them.  They would come in a little closer and then run away yelling and laughing.  It sounded like an innocent enough game until I realized that the monster… was ME.  J

Most of the boxes are now unpacked and we did finally start back up with our schooling a couple days ago.  There’s still lots to do, but I think we’re going to like our new place.  We have met some of the neighbors already and our youngest son has figured out where the nearest cats and dogs live.  Now, all we have to do is put up our “WARD’S SWARD” sign out front and it will be...    HOME SWEET HOME.

~Connie~