COUNTDOWN

This is crunch time. We're in the final days before our move.
We've had success crossing off the tasks on our checklists.
Now things are falling apart...

• leaking water in the house
• lots of tears for our 10 year old daughter and her friends
• difficulties moving things out of the house (a treadmill that took off parts of the wall, cut up the carpet and nearly broke some backs)
• while moving the above mentioned treadmill my wedding ring broke and the diamond flew out, luckily my nephew found it soon after
• we were unable to find the title to our van that we are supposed to sell in 2 days; we've applied for a duplicate which takes 7-10 business days to process
• after getting the above mentioned van detailed to prepare for sale, the fan and lights would not turn off afterward nor would the remote entry work
• a broken light fixture by my 6 year old playing cars with ramps he built out of our plastic storage bins
• little sleep
• too much food from gatherings with friends, neighbors and relatives
• great agony on what to do with our beloved little guinea pig
• no luck from the schools to which we've applied
• no apartment to move in to - we'll be in temporary accommodations for the first 30 days while we figure this one out

 Oh my goodness what have we gotten ourselves in to????

moving to London...

After a month of agonizing over the idea of our family actually moving to London, some uncertainties, some worries, some "is this the right thing for us" questioning....we are forging ahead to make this big change happen.

During that month, my head was spinning.  Finally David and I said "ENOUGH"!  We must move ahead!  It was a very tough period for us.  David was gone every week either in London, or more recently New York City, and I was home single parenting.  Dave has always traveled for his work, but never for seven weeks in a row.  It has been a challenge for everyone!

 

Last Friday, the shipping company came to do a pre-ship assessment.  We will have three categories in which to place/sort the entire contents of our home:  shipment by surface (6 wks), air shipment (2 wks), and what will be stored.

 

We have a 40 ft surface ship container and 1,000 lbs to ship by air.   

Our house is now listed for rent!  We are praying for the right renters to find and love our home while we are away.  

 

We're cleaning out as much as we can, having tile cleaned and paint re-touched.  

 

Dates - we believe that we will surface ship the furniture around March 16-18th.  It takes about 3 days to pack the shipment.  It will be interesting to live without our furniture for 6 weeks!  We would send an air shipment about March 28th, and perhaps we would fly over March 30/31st.

 

Then we will live in temporary housing the month of April while we try to finalize schools (hopefully) and find something to live in beginning May 1st!!  I assume I will have to home school all three kids the rest of the year - should be interesting!

 

Right now our first choice is for the kids to attend the American School in London.  If all three get in, we will be thrilled, ecstatic, giddy!  They are picky and can be - it's an incredibly popular school with a long wait list.  Last we heard, the chances are not good, so we're disappointed about that.  It is the only school where they would all be together.  

 

We've also applied to a bilingual school (Ally has been accepted but haven't heard about the boys yet) and will apply to an international school called Southbank International.  We'd like to know the school before we have to make a housing choice, but we might not know.  The relocation specialist told me it is possible that all three kids would be in different schools!  What fun it would be to get them around London to three different places at the same time!

 

I'm strongly considering the idea of continuing to home school all of them next school year.

 

We have been approved to take our home leave this summer, so the kids and I will be coming home for hopefully 4-6 weeks and Dave will join in the middle of that time for as much as he can.

 

This week we are going to have biometrics done in St Paul for visa requirements, and then the visas will be processed which will clear us to go.

 

WOW, that's about all we know right now. 

It's an exciting adventure for sure.  But knowing that we will be away from all of our dear friends and family makes our hearts break.  Those summer visits home, combined with visits in London, will get us through!!

Announcing to our kids that we would be moving!

Dave came home from work early and we called a "family meeting" to talk to the kids about this situation.  Jonah was very upset at first, and took it the hardest, saying NO NO NO NO!!! and Ally started crying, and Josh was crying, and it was very hard to watch.  We gave them lots of time to ask all their questions.  We re-assured them that we would do our best to make it a good experience.  We had interesting discussions about how many people have to move away for a job relocation and they don't get to come back home, it's final.  We talked about how some people lose their homes to foreclosures and have to leave their neighborhoods and don't get to come back.   We shared all the exciting places we could potentially travel, all the wonderful friends and family who will come to visit us, and how we will come home at least once per year and a long time each summer.

 

They immediately asked about Cocoa, the cherished family guinea pig, and with our unsure reactions (she almost certainly will not be joining us) they began bawling again.

 

Then Jonah and Ally wanted to email their friends & cousins.  I thought that was interesting that they chose to email the news.  Jonah wrote "i am moving to London.  this is not a joke."  with lots of crying emotion thingies following:

 

Then Ally went to the next door neighbor's home where her friend and Jonah's friend live, and once again the bawling and sobbing recommenced.

 

Josh wanted to go tell his friend up the street.  The mom called and told me that Josh said "We're going to London.  You can come and visit us.  It's only a 30 minute flight!!"

 

Later in the evening, a couple of Ally's friends called her....each time I saw the caller ID and knew it was Ally's friend, I picked up and heard a very shaky trembling voice on the other end which sent me into hysterics (I tried my best but.  seriously.  these 10 year old girls.  they are so sweet, it breaks my heart.)  and then Ally would take the phone and start crying again.

 

Jonah said later "this is the worst day of my life".

 

NOW.  Today!  is a much better day.

 

Jonah wrote in his journal:  "I am sad, excited and happy.  I am sad because we are moving to England for a couple of years.  I am very excited because I get to see new things and visit cool places.  I am happy because I am going to London and I bet there soccer program is very good.  I am also sad because I will miss my friends and family."

 

He also said a sweet prayer at lunch saying "Dear God help me to understand that it is a privilege to go to London and help me to be excited about it".

 

We've had interesting questions today like:  "Is there a swim team there?"  (Ally)  "Can I play on a soccer team there?" (Jonah)

and "Is there a Target there?"  "Will we have a basement?"  "Will we have a tv?"  "Can we bring our Wii?"  "Do they have Annie's? or at least macaroni and cheese?"

 

It's gone from being the "worst thing ever" to being something sort-of interesting and exciting.

 

New Adventures

Welcome to our blog!

We're not quite sure yet what we'll be posting here!

Probably:  day to day news and happenings, family history, stories from the kids, and more. 

Stay tuned as we embark on our new adventure!!