Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Saying Goodbye to Home

Almost 2 weeks ago, we packed the kids up and flew up to Birmingham for 3 whirlwind days. After 6 months, we were finally closing on the sale of our house and had the task of packing up our remaining stuff and signing all the papers over to the new owners. Looking back, those 3 days seem like some sort of strange dream, brought on by hard labor and little sleep. But knowing that final lifeline to that time and place has been cut is reality. And now we just look forward to the next place the Lord will put us!

I thought I'd already said goodbye in my heart to our home there when we left in October. Because, by the time we left, it didn't even look like our home anymore- it was clean, staged and ready for selling! Certainly not the chaos we lived in with 2 babies and a dog! I was fine with the idea of emptying out the final furniture and passing it on to be someone else's home. Until we drove up and saw this...
all the daffodils in bloom! My mom & I planted 2 bags of bulbs under the Bradford pear just after we moved in. Every year they faithfully popped their sunny heads up, a sure sign that spring was coming! So, yea, that kinda got to me. But our movers were soon to arrive and we had a house to empty!

So, just in case you're planning to move, just an FYI- the largest POD is advertised to hold a 3-4 bedroom house. This is FALSE! Despite the fact that we already had a Uhaul trailer worth of stuff in Tampa, we still had a garage-full of stuff left after we filled the POD. And I mean FILLED the POD. So, a new adventure began...
Garage-full of stuff and nowhere to put it...

Our plan had been to put everything we had left in the house into the POD, which would be shipped south, and all 4 of us fly back to Tampa. But now we had to activate Plan C. Plan B was to just leave some stuff, but since there was a garage-full, it was too much to leave. Plan C involved renting a truck and Larry driving it, alone, the 10 hours back to Tampa, while I flew back, alone, with the kids. The least-favorite plan by all involved... but it was happening. Of course the only available truck was in Calera, a good country drive away. And I emphasize country b/c this is where we picked it up...
Outside of the office there was a waiting room...
with refreshments available...

but at least they had our Uhaul! Honestly, that little trip into the country was just the comic-relief we needed that long day!
And we filled that baby! Thankfully Larry's drive was long but uneventful, the kids did great on the plane for me, and all of our stuff, though in various places, is at least in Tampa. And the best news is we hope to have a place to put it all, under one roof, in mid-May when we close on our new home down here in Tampa!
My good little flyers! Thank you Lord for Curious George and paci's!

We didn't get to see or spend enough time with all the loved ones in Birmingham that we would have wanted to see, and we apologize for that! Hopefully the miles between us will not keep us separated! A very special thank you to the Phelps for their hospitality and kid-wrangling, we love you guys! All are welcome to come visit us in sunny Florida this summer! :)
Did you know it is impossible to get a picture of two 1-year olds and a 3-yer old together? Impossible!! Thank you for sharing your toys & momma, Logan! :)
Is it over, yet? Yes... until we have to move it all back in the next house! :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great pictures and story!! We'll plant alot more bulbs for me at San Jose and for you at the new Inman house!! And we'll have alot more time to do it together so everything will be beautiful when all of your Bham friends visit!! I know GK and Linc will love gardening.....and mommy can clean up the messes! Love Grammie

Katie said...

Oh goodness, what a trip! I love love love the picture of Lincoln asleep in the airplane!