Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Wow - it's been quite a while since my last post. We've been busy with Shelby's store visits, the apartment, events, and our sad trip to New York for Lynn's funeral. Seems like we're on the road or catching up with some chore, always... But here I am, finally, thanks to a long holiday weekend :) My biggest accomplishment this weekend was finalizing my Consortium application after several months of setting it aside for one reason or another. I finished my teacher preferences (whys and hows), added my certificate information, and attached my documents. Quite a bit more to finish up than I had thought! I am so glad that this is done, partly because it is off of my plate, and partially because it makes me feel like I'm more in the game now. Shelby and I decided at 7am on Black Friday to go shopping, and it worked out great! We had fun together and were able to score a few of the deals we had discussed on our Thanksgiving Day ad review. It was a cold but sunny day, and a power outage by the Dayton Mall makes a great story to tell without damaging our shopping too much. The weekend is ours, from last Wednesday through tomorrow, Sunday. We (Shelby) made some awesome apple pie, pumpkin muffins, and chocolate pudding cake, with the help of the kids. Thanksgiving Day was nice - Tiffany was able to go, and Kait was over after work ended at 3pm. Drama was minimal (a great relief) and we were able to visit with the Eggert side, many of whom we don't see very often.

With the holiday season here and running, and the recent reminder that life is not everlasting, I think we're both feeling the need for life to get going to start this next chapter. We've made June 3 our next out-of-here goal. The kids' last day of school is June 2nd, a Thursday, so the weekend seems to be the logical choice. But it's more than that...we have to make a change by then. We trust destiny and believe that life will happen, but we need to make our change. We have been in Dayton for over two years and it is not currently the life we want. Not that Ohio is out of the question, but Dayton is. This apartment is. We need our place and our yard for our family to work at and from, and a home to create memories in. I have no expectations of a place, location, or size of home/land, just that we find our spot. So, June 3. June 3 we pack the truck and head out to wherever and start our next chapter in our new home. Start the garden, plant our trees, explore and make our mark. The beginning of our future and the peace that we felt with our family while living in Florida.

Mark Murdoch stopped by the apartment last Monday with a worker(?), but we haven't seen him or any changes since. I've lowered my expectations of living here, but it has been much quieter since so many people have left. Building 2 and 4 are empty, and 1C and 3B are gone. I have lost the anxiety every time we return home, thankfully. I haven't tackled the leaves, but will make my rounds and also remove trash from the vacant apartments if MM or his workers(?) don't beat me too it. We have plans with Grandma for breakfast - she's treating us to Bob Evans - and we're planning on decorating our tree while Kait's home tomorrow morning. Kait is leaving for her Florida trip on Tuesday, and returns a week from next Saturday. It will definitely be weird not having her around, but it will be nice for her. Grandma gets her new awning on Monday, I think, and she wants to have us over to decorate her tree next weekend. Life will be super busy for the next couple of months with the holidays and Shelby's work - good for helping time by and allowing us to enjoy our family here as we get ready for the hope of a new year.