Life is Good

We have a potential buyer for our home! After seeing many homes this family wants to buy ours -- they just need to finalize the financing with their bank. Hope all goes well!

We are so happy in our new home! I've always dreamed of a neighborhood with lots of kids for our boys to play with and a feeling of safety where we are comfortable letting them go. We've definitely found it! On Sunday there were about 12 neighborhood kids engaged in a water balloon battle with our backyard as one of their bases -- they take it seriously! Adam had the wagon out and was pulling a friend and a giant pail of balloons down the street ready for war. There were kids everywhere and lots of smiles and laughter! At one point they were all in our basement making a movie together and I was loving it! There's nothing like the sound of kid's laughter to make me happy. The families on our quiet cul-de-sac are wonderful and there is such a sense of community with everyone looking out for each other's children.

Adam starts band this fall and tried out some instruments today at our local music store. He tried the trumpet, trombone and baritone. His face lit up when he was handed the baritone and I knew instantly that was his choice. He tooted on it for awhile and could barely stop smiling. He's excited to get started! I fell in love with a ukulele I saw there -- it was so much fun to play. If I get one I plan to learn to play "Mele Kalikimaka" for our Christmas sing-a-long!

Love to everyone!
Joy

Congratulations Carlsons

Congratulations happy family. May God bless you in your new home and may it be filled with love and happy memories.

The Queen of the castle

The King (Ryan means king) coming home to his castle and his awaiting Queen.

What strong and capable movers......and they were so much fun.

Isaac, I love your room. It has personality....... and so do you!

Joy, I must admit....I have a serious case of tub envy.....enjoy!

Moving Tim's Stuff

What an adventure we had moving Tim's stuff yesterday from Lansing to Royal Oak!

Background: Tim needed to move his stuff out of his storage facility before the end of August.

Problems:

1. No truck,

2. no time,

3. no money,

4. no where to put the stuff,

5. Wrong size trailer hitch and a rusted-shut pin!

6. Torrential Rain

7. 90 degree plus weather

Solutions:
1. Genesis the Church lent us their crazy Dodge Ram (I think it actually had been rammed a few times)

2. We made time

3. UHaul trailers cost a lot less than their moving vans - sweat equity is cheap!

4. Our friend Alli has an empty basement

5. Leverage is beautiful - we managed to bypass the lock and actually remove the wrong size ball and replace it with the right size using various instruments/bars/hammer/wrenches from tracysbluehouse garage!

6. We got wet - very wet

7. We were hot - very hot

Tim: "Hmm - rain was not in my plan"

"Two girls and a boy are going to move all of this stuff in this truck and a uhaul - in the rain?"

"I wish my sister would stop looking back and saying 'good news the trailer is still attached' and 'Tim - I think I heard a noise' and 'Tim - don't the tires look like they are about to explode'"

"All the furniture in the back of the truck"

"Ta-da - we're hot and hungry - but the stuff is all in the truck"

Tracy: "Hey Tim - doesn't that tire look like it's bulging?"

A few hours later . . . we drove from Lansing to Royal Oak (55 mph!) to Alli's house!

There are exactly 10 stairs from the first floor to the basement. We didn't trip once!

But alas - the stuff has found it's home - at least temporarily!