This week's adventure

Disclaimer: a lot of this might sound like complaining but I'm really just... sharing. :)

Ok, so... my last update left us with boxes boxes everywhere. And now... its quite different! Lets see where to begin....

We thought we were closing... today actually. And we knew that it would be difficult to find moving help in the middle of the week when everyone was working, so we moved ALL of our stuff out of the house Sunday and Monday (most of our helpers were church staff guys who are off on Monday). The plan was to stay here with as little as possible, because its free :) until we closed. But now the closing has been pushed back to Monday, so we'll be in "camp mode" for a little longer.

What does "camp mode" look like? It looks like a completely empty house with the exception of: Mattresses on the floor in each room and Mabry in a pack n'play. The living room has just a small table with a tv on it, one laundry basket of toys, and 4 or 5 throw pillows and couple blankets on the wood floor. The kitchen has three booster seats sitting on the floor for the 3 little ones and two barstools at the counter where Ashley and Emily eat and do homework. (Jake and I stand to eat or wait til the girls are done.) I have one skillet, one pot, one mixing bowl and a couple of utensils for cooking, but we eat on paper plates, paper bowls, plastic cups, plastic forks, etc etc. I set aside 5 or 6 outfits and pajamas for each of us because they took the washer and dryer too.

The most difficult part is... well, life. :) Micah and Abby are still on spring break this week, and they are bored to death. One basket of toys is only so entertaining. And you can only watch so much "Super Why" and "Caillou" ya know? Its been cold and raining, so they can't play outside. And Micah and Abby both have way green snotty noses so I feel bad to take them to McDonalds playland or anything like that. Mabry's been incredibly clingy and I can only assume its because she's confused by these strange living arrangements and not having the comfort of her usual routines. So she won't let me out of her sight and wants me to hold her as much as possible. And because she's stressed, Abby thinks that must mean she should be too... so she'll watch Mabry fuss and then give this fake wimper and want me to hold her too! Micah could care less about the changes but wants to test all the new boundaries constantly. Like seeing how much wire comes out of the floor when he pulls on the cables, or pressing all the buttons on the TV (this is not new, its just closer to his eye level and more tempting now), or seeing what he can reach when he turns the laundry basket upside down and stands on it. This is all great fun. *insert sarcasm* As I type this, he's pulling the air vent cover off the floor and throwing little toys into the vent. Awesome.

The other thing is that its hard for me to sit in the living room with them while they play because even sitting on a throw pillow, my joints are not happy. Nor is my back. Nor is Avery. Especially when I'm cross-legged on a pillow on a hard floor with a baby in the belly, Mabry on one leg and Abby on the other. Which is how they prefer it 90% of the day. Oww.

So again, back to my disclaimer- this might all sound like I'm complaining, but I'm really not! Just giving you the low down of real life at soon-to-be old Spencer house. :) Wanna know what I'm thankful for? I'm thankful our house actually sold! I'm thankful that I don't have a washer and dryer or dishes, so there is no laundry or dishes to keep up with! REALLY thankful for that. :) I'm thankful that clean-up is quick when you only have one basket of toys in the whole house. I'm thankful that we aren't crammed into a tiny space (yet... keep reading), and that we still have mattresses to sleep on. I'm thankful that Ashley and Emily are back in school and aren't stuck here with us, bored. I'm thankful that this isn't going to last forever! :)

As for the next Spencer abode....

The short sale that we were waiting on... well, thats not going to work out. Jake just happened to the Lord divinely appointed Jake to drive by that house on the very day that the family was moving out. And they told him that they were taking it off the market and they're going to rent it. Hmm, that would be useful information to the people that are trying to buy your house... heck, even your real estate agent! Whatever. Thats okay. :) So while we were really disappointed, at least it was an answer one way or the other. And time to move on to the next thing.

So now we've found a foreclosure that we really like. Its 4 bedrooms and an office (that will work as a bedroom) and a huge bonus room. A big nice kitchen and a livingroom with lots of tall windows. The back yard is fenced in and its at the back of a culdesac. All awesome features. So we put in an offer yesterday and we're waiting to hear back.

The current plan is to go from here to my in-laws' place next week (which is where the cramming into a tiny space comes into play). But its free! Praise the Lord!! Again, thankful for free. :D And when they get home from Costa Rica, we'll go from there to... hmm, thats the part we have to figure out. :) But, this is all temporary. And in the end, we'll have a nice big house that we can stay in... forever!

And then comes the next adventure: unpacking. And the next adventure: a new baby. And the next adventure: Jake spending the summer at youth camps and mission trips while Amy is at home alone with 5 kids and a new baby!! The adventures never end, really. But... lets just take it one adventure at a time. :)