The Plan

I have set out on the task of getting a plan in order that will help us to move our family without having to go in crisis mode. This has been my endeavor. Not really sure if I will be successful; but you never know till you try. Right? This past week I have been busy writing out all that we need to do before we head out in 26 days. Yes, you read that right, 26 days! The countdown has begun! In less than 30 days we will be living in the south, eating southern food and learning to talk a new language. LOL.

I have my list ready. I got a notebook piece of paper and numbered each line. There is one line for each day in the month of June. My list starts tomorrow; but I have been working a lot this week. I must say that I love planning. I love organizing and this past week I have been in my element planning out the move. I love this stuff! Now, actually doing the plan – well that is not so much fun; but I will stay on task. I will!

The List:

 JUNE
 1. Mudroom Completely Packed
2.
3. Church (Rob Preaching in Waupun)
4. Laundry Day / Pack and Clean Basement Pantry
5. Town Day / Go to Dollar Store and get disposable cooking trays and pizza pans
6. Zak’s last day of School
7. Kitchen Day: Make 4 Meals to freeze / Go to Horicon Marsh with the kids for a hike
8. 
9. 
10. Church
11. Laundry Day
12. Town Day: Purchase Paper Products to be used the last week in the house
13. 
14. Kitchen Day: Make 3 Frozen Meals / Pack the Kitchen Box* / Pack the Snack Box*
15. Pack Front Room / Rob’s Office / Pack Activity Boxes* / Gym Membership done
16. Pack Bathroom
17. Church – Father’s Day
18. Pack Suitcases* / Pack Girls’ Rooms
19. Celebrate Birthdays / Put Sunday Clothes in Closet upstairs w/ shoes / Got to PO fill out change of address slip / Pack entire Kitchen
20. Pack Boys’ Room (Start using frozen meals in freezer and paper products)
21. Make sure All laundry is done / Pack our room
22. Washer and Dryer brought up to garage / Tear down beds / Clean Basement / Schedule Thrift Store to pick up items not going with us
23. All Bedroom furniture down / All Yard work done / Upstairs cleaned / Kids camp out in front room / Tear Down Trampoline
24. Church
25. 
26. Rachel – take clothing and sheets to the laundry mat / Load Truck / Clean main level of house / shampoo carpets / Stay at motel
27. Leave for North Carolina!!!!!

 • Kitchen Box : Supply of paper plates, glasses and napkins and utensils / Peanut butter and jelly/ dried fruit/ baked chips/ 2 boxes of cereal TO BE USED: for the first meal there at the house and the first breakfast.

• Snack Box: Trail Mix / Dried Fruit / Water Bottles / Baked Chips / (Will be added to as we get closer to the trip with fresh veggies and fruit.) TO BE USED: in the vehicles on the trip down.

 • Activity Box: Coloring Books / Map of the route / Facts list about each state we are traveling through / colored pencils / books/ books on tape / Unused steno notebook TO BE USED: By the kids during the trip to keep Mom and Dad sane.

• Suitcases: Four total. We will use just these clothes and wash them as we need to before and during the move. Each suitcase will contain the entire families clothing for that day. One suitcase will be specifically packed with work clothes for the moving day and the unpacking day. Shoes will also be in the bags.

So this is the plan.  I will keep you posted on how things are coming here.  I can not tell you how excited I am about moving!!

Thanks for stopping by.  I am so glad you did.

~Martie

My "Catch Up" Post

I am purposing *again* to make my blog a part of my life. I would like to say that the time away has been good and I have enjoyed just ‘living’; however, I have missed it more than I can express here in cyber world. I have found that even though I have not blogged life has gone on and I can live without writing about it. I do though, so love writing and I love journaling about our family life (even if no one but me reads it!)

This past fall we went into a major debt reduction (ore better put illumination) plan. We balanced our budget and special interest items in our life had to go (a concept our Governor understood and acted upon – go Walker!) Many things were cut from our spending list. We cut out extra trips into town and cut down our gas expense. (I will not even put on paper the amount of money we were spending when we were driving 45 minutes each day to take the kids to school!) We cut out almost all eating out; although Rob and I will steal away for a date now and then and share a plate at our local Chinese move and decided that we would use the local library for our internet needs. When you have to go somewhere in order to blog – well blogging time gets cut too.

Well, with all our cuts; and may I say, we could have made more; we were able to be debt free this past February. It was a wonderful feeling! About the same time as our debt was taken care of, God began to show us the next chapter of our lives. I would like to say that change is very easy for me; but alas, it is not. I confront any change with kicking and screaming (mostly in my head and heart and not where anyone passing by our house can hear!) Well, the new chapter that God was showing to us revealed that we would be moving over 1,000 miles away. That many miles can mean only one thing – c.h.a.n.g.e. (Did I mention that I do not do well with change?)

Well, God has given peace and we are heading south in five weeks. With the move, we will be adding internet to the house and I will be able to blog more. God has provided a buyer for our house, a house down South that is everything we have ever desired and a good church for us to plug into and get involved in. I can write with full honesty, that I am SO excited about the move that is before us. (If you knew how hard this has been for me, you would be surprised that I write the word excited in a post about our Southern move!)

 It is really wired blogging about our life when I have not kept up with it for so long (similar to trying to pray to God when it has been a while since I talked with Him – you feel like you have to catch up on everything before you can go on with what you are wanting to say for right now). So, with that said, that is what has been happening (in a nutshell – there has been so much that has happened in the past year). Now, I will start blogging about what IS happening and what I am doing *right* now.

So, stay tuned for more posts they are coming. I am ready to jump back and in and I cannot miss journaling about the big move in our lives. I want this recorded so I can look back and remember how we did it and the ways God made it all possible.

Thanks for sticking with me if you are an old reader (totally referring to the length of time you have been reading my blog – not any other meaning intended in that statement!) If you are a new reader, feel free to jump into our lives now as they are happening. No matter who you are or how long I have known you I am glad you are reading and I am especially glad I am blogging again. It feels so good to be back at the computer again.

Thanks for stopping by, I am so glad you did.

~Martie