oh Jacqueline

On a lighter note... How many ways can I count how much I love Jacqueline's little personality. I doubt there has been another child with as much of it as she has! She prances around here doing her own little thing and every one in a while says something that reminds us this is her world and we just happen to be here! Some of it shocks me.. but sometime the things she says just leave me speachless... I hope you can picture the following...

I sent the girls in to retrieve the clothes from the dryer, so I could continue sorting the mound of socks in front of me. Jacqueline comes in the room wearing a pair of Adam's boxers.. shes holding them up to her armpits! and says in a deap voice.. do these fit me okay? I laughed and sent her back to help Makenzie.. a few min later she comes busting in the room yelling very loudly..

MOMMY! We found your thing.. it fell out of the dryer but we found it!
Me;what thing Jacqueline? at this point I was still sorting socks...
MOMMY!!
WHAT?!? I realized she was waiting for me to look at her!
MOMMY we f ound your thing that goes over you.. (at this point she stading there with her hands in cups holding fake boobs and yelling) ya know, it holds your big things and makes them bigger!
me: trying not to laugh I said; My bra?
NOW SHE WHISPERS... yeah, we found your (looks around) bra.. but it's okay we put it in the basket!

and she ran away.. I absolutly had nothing to say! Where do they get this stuff.. I loved the fact that she could yell your big ol' things, but whispered we put it in the basket.

The next day, Adam came home and we went to walmart, Jacqueline walked up to the bras, picked up a big bra and yelled at Adam... Look I have boobs!

He just looked at me and shook his head!

Centered

Today has been .. one of those days. Not a bad day... just a long day! We've had some great news, some good news and some frustrating news. I ran a million errands, caught up on some emails, did some chores (even though you can't tell!) made some phone calls and packed some boxes and just got done with dinner with the girls. It's 15 after seven and I can't decide if my thought is, it's already seven, or it's only seven. Because either way, I have hours of work left to do tonight before I can crawl into bed. I need to get some more boxes packed, dishes and laundry done and work on a project I've been working on at night, and Adam is out of town again until Friday. It will be like this until we move.

I really do hate him being gone like this. Its tough on him, it's tough on the kids, and it's really hard on me, especially now! I could really use his help with some of this packing stuff and could use his opinions and input on whether some things should go or stay. Tomorrow, Alexandra is getting an award at school. It's the first time she's ever gotten one, and she can hardly stand the wait. But, he's going to miss it. Just another in a long line of little things he's had to miss being gone like this. It's been almost 5 months of this gone, home, gone again. The kids literally can't keep up with if he's home tonight or not.

I know it's only for a few more weeks, and I am thankful that we are not still facing a year of this!! Yet, at the end of the day when I'm exhausted and mentally worn out, when the kids are in bed, and it's silent. I still hate it! I sat down just now for a few minutes to answer and e-mail from a friend.

I am frazzled and a bit stressed trying to cram life and kids and packing and (somewhere mom) into one day. But, when checking my e-mail, I ran across something a friend sent. It's one of those that makes you smile, makes you sad and makes you think all at the same time. It snapped me back to where I am in my life and centered me.

I am happy with where we are in our lives, the future looks pretty great from where we are standing. There are going to be some hard moments, like leaving our friends and family, but we know and understand that a new life is on the other side of the sunset were riding off into. We are excited about the new house and Adams new job. It doesn't make the task at hand feel any less daunting when I look around and see what still needs to be done! I just might have to print this out and post some of the sayings around my house to remind me!

I Believe...

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born. A Death Certificate shows that we died, Pictures show that we lived!

I Believe...That just because two people argue, It doesn't mean they don't love each other.

And just because they don't argue, It doesn't mean they do love each other..

I Believe....That we don't have to change friends if

We understand that friends change.

I Believe....That no matter how good a friend is, They're going to hurt you every once in a while And you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...That true friendship continues to grow, Even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love..

I Believe...That you can do something in an instant That will give you heartache for life.

I Believe....That it's taking me a long time To become the person I want to be.

I Believe...That you should always leave loved ones with Loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...That we are responsible for what We do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...That my best friend and I, can do anything, or nothing and have the best time.

I Believe...That sometimes the people you expect to kick you When you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe....That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, But that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...That maturity has more to do with What types of experiences you've had And what you've learned from them And less to do with How many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe....That it isn't always enough, To be forgiven by others. Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...That no matter how bad your heart is broken The world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...That our background and circumstances May have influenced who we are, But, we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe......That you shouldn't be so eager to find Out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I Believe...Two people can look at the exact same Thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...That your life can be changed in a matter of Hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe....That even when you think you have no more to give,When A friend cries out to you -You will find the strength to help.

I Believe...That credentials on the wall Do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...That the people you care about most in life Are taken from you too soon.

I Believe...'The happiest of people don't necessarily Have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything.

And now we wait... sort of

Well, here I am again, packing for my trip. This time, I am packing to go home to Nevada. It's bitter sweet really. On one hand, it's nice to go home, see my babies and my friends. On the other hand, I have a list of stuff near two pages long of things I have to get done when I get home. To top it off, I know that now it will not really feel like home anymore, it will feel like that topsy turvey place full of boxes!

This week has been, well crazy! We got in on Wed. night. It was a very long day. We found each other, our rental car and then our hotel! We managed to find dinner and then pretty much crashed. Thursday we had to get up early and have breakfast and go meet with the new guys at the office. They were the most warm and inviting group of people ever. They sat and talked with us about places to look for a home, weather, schools, shopping, people and of course work for four hours. They took us to lunch and chatted with us some more. We felt very welcomed by everyone in Adams new office. During the whole meeting they kept saying, if you decide to come on bored. That was nice to hear, it ment, they wanted Adam, they were waiting for him to say yes. After the meeting we left and took a drive around the area, we went and looked at the area we were going to look at the house in and visited what would be the girls new school if we took that particular house. The school was nice, has a HUGE play area with LOTS of very cool play scapes. The guidance counselor could not be any sweeter, or any more southern if she wanted to be. It was a nice experience for us there. She gave us paper work for the school, a list of what the girls would need and offered to tour the girls and us around the school when we came back. That pretty much took up most of our Thursday!

On Friday morning, we drove back out to the house and looked at it. It's hard to explain! On the main level, there are 3 bedrooms, a "mud" or breakfast room, a parlor and a living room and a bathroom.
On the lower level, that used to be a basement, there is a HUGE room they used as the master bedroom.. its massive with a "closet" that's the size of 2 or three walk in closets... there is a laundry room, two more bedrooms, a bathroom and an empty room. The master bedroom has a fireplace, and there is one in the living room upstairs. There are 4 doors leading to the outside.. the outside is equivalent to one and half football fields. It's stupid big!! Half is grass and half is woods. We are told there are deer and many wildlife that come to the property, and while we were in the yard we saw, red robins, wood peckers and heard countless other birds. Its very peaceful While we can see the neighbors, the property is so big, we are in no way on top of them.

The home needs updating... they had begun the work on the place and had to stop before they had to sell it. There a several little projects we would do, but are excited about doing.

We filled out the application and are now, waiting to hear back. It should take a couple of days to hear back from them on if everything went well. The only thing that we are trying to get settled is, we don't want to start the payments until March when we would move in, leaving the whole month of Feb for them to not make any money. So, we are negotiating right now with that.

Once we looked at the house, we went to home depot and priced some of the projects we would want to do right away to see if it was something we could work with. We then took a drive around some more of the area, the other way. We accidentally found Philipp Moris USA. The plant is massive! But, not that I ever thought about it, it really had a strong oder of tobacco just driving by! (it's over an hr from where we'd be living) We found and drove around the Lowes motor speed way, which too is gigantic! We found the huge mall that looks like something I'd never want to walk through! After that we went back and relaxed for a while at the room. Then we realized it was a Friday night and we had no kids, so we went to a 1030 movie last night! It was odd to be out late and not have to worry about getting home.
Today we went and visited a plantation. It's very old and has original buildings and land, it was very neat to see. While leaving there, we passed and stopped at the Carolina raptor center. Its a sanctuary for injured raptor birds. If you don't know what those are, they are owls, vultures, hawks, eagles, any bird that hunts and kills with talons and beaks. It was fascinating to us. They try to heal the birds and release them into the wild, but if they can't do that, they provide them with a home of their own and provide as much natural invironment for them to live in.

After that, we went back to the room for a break, and I crashed!! I slept for a few hours, missing our hockey game, we were going to go to. But I guess I just needed the rest! We went and had dinner and talked for a while.. now we are getting ready to head to bed and have a very very long day tomorrow. Adam will get home around 4 and I will get home around 10 (pm for both).

After that... we wait on news. News on the house, should get the final offer letter for Adam to sign all in the next few days. But while we wait, my life gets crazy....er! I have to make appointments for the kids, pack the house and make arrangements. Its going to be a while before I "rest" again!
We feel our trip was successful, I'm happy with the way it went. I won't feel comfortable and easy about it until we have signed papers from everyone, but that's just me!

Well, I'm all packed for my trip. I need to get the rest of the laundry put away and straighten up my house a bit. I leave in the morning for the airport, man, I hate to fly. It's been quite the week for us with plans for our trip and the death of my cousin. It's been stressful for us to say the least. Iv'e been stressed out with everything that's going on, it seems a bit surreal that it all seems to be coming to the front now.
On Thursday Adam meets with his "new" boss. He will review the offer letter and sign it. That makes it pretty much official. I'm a bit nervous to see what the letter has to say, it will tell us how much money they are offering us to move. But, at the same time it will be nice to know, so we can move ahead with some plans. On Friday, we meet with a realtor who is going to show us a couple of houses. One we are really looking forward to seeing, so that's exciting for us.
The downside of our trip is that due to some miscommunications, we had to buy my ticket separately after Adam had already purchased his. Due to this, we had to book me on another airline. So, I will be getting in an hour before Adam does in Charlotte, but coming back, I will be leaving 7 hours after him. So, Ill be hanging out in the airport most of the day on Sunday. But, it's one little afternoon in the middle of the adventure our family is embarking on.

It's hard to believe that after this week, we have a little more than three weeks to get everything planned, packed and moved.
Life is about to get really busy for us!

Say a little prayer, and keep your fingers crossed that everything runs smoothly this week and weekend and that we get everything we need to get done accomplished!

Charlotte it is

My life feels a bit surreal right now. As I sit writing this I picture a scene devastated by a tornado, debris thrown about and people crying over lost homes and loved ones, then looking down at the ground and seeing a seedling growing in the midst of the chaos. This is what my life feels like at this moment. Most know that our family is dealing with the loss of a loved one this morning, it's tragic and heartbreaking and leaves me at a loss for those of us left behind to pick up the pieces of the lives of the children left with out a father. But in the midst of this stormy day in our lives while I was on the phone hearing the news of our loved one, Adam received a phone call from Charlotte. It seems that we are on our way to Charlotte on Wed. Thursday Adam is to have his "interview" which at this point is more for show. They have his offer letter waiting for him to sign when he arrives. We will be in Charlotte for a few days, until Sat or Sunday I believe to look around at the area and decide on a home. I wish I were more excited, this is the news we've been waiting on for a few weeks. I am sure in a few days, this too shall pass, healing will begin and reality will slap me in the face in the form of a hundred moving boxes! We have three houses we are going to look at around the Charlotte area. Adam will of course sign the offer letter, assuming they have the money part figured out. That is a figure for our move. With everything falling into place, it looks like we are going to be moving on the 21st of Feb. With us loading the moving truck on the 20th (Its a Friday-if you'd like to help load a 26ft moving truck-we'd love to have you) My dad will be flying out to help with the driving part of the move which will be so helpful. We will be spending a few days in Oklahoma so the kids can see everyone there and then we will be heading to Charlotte the next weekend, again dragging my dad with us so he can help unload hehehe... My step dad and mom have volunteered to come down and help unpack and sort-it's an 8 hr drive for them... so things seem to be falling into place!

I guess this proves that even in your grief, life truly does keep moving forward.

The next few weeks are going to be a whirlwind of activity and lets face is chaos! We understand that everyone wants to spend time with us before we leave. I know a couple of people have expressed a desire to do so. We will work our calender around the best we can to allow for that time. If you have a date or something in mind. Please let me know asap. This weekend we are waiting on news of services so I can't make plans yet and next weekend we will be gone.

YAY For good news!

What we know so far

Well yesterday was a whirlwind of phone calls and information. Adam recived a phone call from the recruiter from Siemens who job it is to make sure his resume and abilites matched up with the job he was applying for. We were told Siemens could pay for some but probably not all of the move, wich we were fine with.

From there, Adam recived three phone interviews in about four hours until well into the evening last night. He has talked to every manager at the Charlotte office and seemed to hit it off with them all. The guys in Charlotte seem friendly and pretty eagar to get things moving.

At 645 this morning Adam got a call from Craig the head office guy in the Charlotte area. He wanted to make sure we indeed wanted to go there. Once Adam said yes, well it was pretty much a done deal. Now it's all about formalities, paper work and confirmations that sort of thing. He did tell Adam that he was going to make it all happen and that they would figure out what they needed to do to get our move paid for, so that was great news. Adam will have to go to Charlotte to meet the guys and do a formal interview as required by Siemens and the new office has to inform the old office of their intent to hire him. (more protocall) and then the new office will have to send over an offer letter detailing everything they intend to provide and what Adam's part will be, we sign it and presto chango, we are Carolinans.

I swear all the paper work and protocal gives me flashbacks to our Navy days!

So, nothing is offical on paper yet, but other than that it looks like we are going to be headed to Carolina mid to late Feb. Adam is in California every week until then, so if you have follwed our lives you know that he has once again magically gotten out of packing! (or so he thinks)

I will keep everyone up to date as the information comes in, if yesterday was any indication of the speed in which they are moving, we should know something in the next few days

How do you feel about NC?

I said goodbye to Adam this morning and was pretty sad because this was the start of our weekend marriage. I got up this morning and did what I have been doing for about a month. Look on the Siemens website too see if there were any new postings. I found two, one in Salt lake and one WI. So, I called Adam and said, I could live in those places, although moving to WI in the winter was not at the top of my want to list. He said Okay and would put in for them when he got to his office in Sac.

Fifteen min. later Adam called me back and said, "how do you feel about North Carolina?"
Last week Adam had not heard from anyone, so he called a few of the offices he put in for and left messages for the managers. The guy from North Carolina called him this morning, and they talked for about fifteen min. The guy said Adam sounded like the guy he was looking for, and they wanted a Sr guy who could train the Jr guys. He also said for whatever reason he had not gotten Adams resume, so he didn't even know about him till Adam called. SO, he asked Adam to email him his resume, so he "officially" had it. He said he was going to check into see what he could do about getting us out one time before we made the official decision to look at the area and make sure it's what we want to do. The manager said it was a nice area and that there is a lot of work there for them.

So, this morning Adam is sending off his resume to the guy, he sounds really optimistic about it and said he and the manager seemed to hit it off. Adam told the guy out time frame was Feb. since that's when the lease is up and the guy said that sounds good. SO... it's looking like North Carolina by March?