We're Almost Outta Here!

Our time here in Rochester is QUICKLY coming to an end. Tomorrow the movers will be here. They will pack everything (including this computer!) up and load up the truck. Friday will be spent deep cleaning our townhouse, returning the "big yellow truck," and then we will do a final walk through and turn in all of our keys. Then....it's off to our next stage in life that will take place in Racine.

On Monday we made the 3-hour drive to Sibley, IA to re-claim all of the belongings that we were so graciously allowed to store there. Man, we sure do have a lot of stuff! It's amazing how you forget about some of the things you have. It really makes you think about whether or not you really need all of those things that can be so hard to part with. We were surprisingly greeted by a nice crew of men and women from the Sibley CRC who helped us move all of the boxes and other stuff out of the building and into the truck. We are truly thankful for the way they generously gave of their time and energy. What a wonderful group of folks!

Ella was pretty excited to find Dave's old bouncy horse (I think they're considered "unsafe" for kids now, so they're no longer made), his old tricycle - which is bigger and better than the one she has now - and his old red wagon, which now has all of the wheels fully attached (thanks Don!). It wasn't easy getting her to let us load them onto the truck. But she finally did, and then dutifully served as Dave's Co-Pilot of "the big yellow truck" on the way back to Rochester. So now we hav a big Penske truck full of extra stuff sitting in the driveway. We'll just let the movers take it from there. :)

Last Friday was Dave's final day as an official Mayo employee. It was definitely happy-sad for him. He's very excited about the job awaiting in Racine, but found it somewhat difficult to leave the job here behind. It was a great experience, and he would have loved for it to have lasted longer I think.

So now - it's time to finish getting ready for the packers that will be here bright and early tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how Ella reacts to the frenzy. And how she reacts when all of her "essential" items are being packed up. It should be interesting.

So the next time I write it will be from a new place. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days. Pray that all of the million little details that need to be figured out and dealt with during the move go smoothly.

I'll let you know....

An Evening of Celebration

Last night we celebrated. Dave and his colleagues each received certificates recognizing the completion of their four units of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education). It was an intimate ceremony. There were three others who completed the year-long residency alongside Dave. Each of them came from very different backgrounds, and each will continue on to very different future endeavors. It was an interesting year. It was a year of spiritual and personal growth. I'm sure Dave will never forget the unique personalities of his supervisors and fellow residents. And I don't think they will easily forget him and his "Christian Reformed doctrinal firmness" either. :)


After they were given their certificates, they responded by reading Robert Frosts well-known poem "The Road Not Taken." They followed it by offering up their own Frost-inspired poem entitled "Residency: The Road We've Taken." Here is Dave reading his verse.


It was an evening of accomplishment, thankfulness, inside jokes, dancing on the stage (by the kids, not the residents), dinner, wine, and warm feelings all around.
Congratulations Dave!

Afterwards, we walked outside where we found music and flea market style booths downtown. We walked around, taking it all in. We never realized what a happening place it is downtown on Thursday nights! And Ella even got to play in the water.

We Have A New Home!!

Yay! I am just SOOO excited! I was almost scared to write the last post since I didn't want to jinx it, but the house we were so excited about is OURS! Yippee!

I am excited because it is a BRAND NEW one - never before lived in by anyone else! It has a living room with vaulted ceiling and fireplace, a family room, pretty large kitchen, nice laundry room, 2-car garage, 3 bedrooms, and 2 and a half baths. So plenty of room for us and all of our stuff. I think my mom just may be a little jealous! :)

It's actually located just outside of the city, but still super close to all of the major shopping, and still a fairly short drive to the hospital for Dave. Here are a few pictures so you can see what it looks like:








So now we just need to plan all of the details that go along with moving, including the exact date that will be. But at least I won't have to do much packing. Oh yeah, did I mention that Dave was able to make it part of the job offer that they would pay for professional movers? Oh yeah! As much as I just love to pack (NOT!), I am way more than willing to pass all of that work on to the professionals. This is gonna be pretty nice I'm thinking. :)

The Hunt for Our New Home

Well, our weekend of house hunting is over. Yay! And we survived! We left for Racine on Friday afternoon and spent a good chunk of the day on Saturday viewing different rental properties. One was REALLY nice, a couple were definite possibilites, and a couple were places where we just couldn't envision ourselves living - ever.

The second home we looked at was the one that was really nice. Both Dave and I felt very good about it, and didn't want to "lose out" should it be the one we would decide to go after in the end. So we took a bit of a risk and went ahead and filled out all of the necessary paperwork and gave a small "earnest money" deposit to ensure that we would be first on the list. And it was a good thing we did since two other couples arrived to view the home just as we were about to leave. And in the end, it was the home that was on the top of our list. We would definitely have been a bit disappointed had someone else filled out a rental application first.

We definitely got to know the area much better. And after many u-turns after realizing the roads ahead (that we had planned to drive down) were closed, scrambling to find new routes that hopefully were "closed-road" free, as well as a stop for a drawbridge, we did eventually arrive at all of our destinations. Even if a bit stressed out from all of the construction chaos.

But I think all that we went through was worth it. We did end up finding a home that will be just about perfect for us. So now we wait. We should know whether the house is "ours" for sure in a day or two. So, hopefully we will have some good news for you then! We'll keep you posted!