Day o' Packing

Yesterday I went for an 8-mile run in the morning, which was actually harder than the previous week's 10-mile run because of the horrible winds. At one point when I was running west and feeling a bit like a cartoon character that runs but doesn't get anywhere, I finally stopped and walked while singing at the top of my lungs, "Oh, no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm, oh, no, You never let go, every high and every low, oh, no, You never let go, Lord, you never let go of me!" Food for thought that as I approached the cinder block fence to a subdivision, I was immediately sheltered and could continue my run. Thank God that He is my Refuge, my Rock, and my Strength!

Back at home, we accomplished quite a bit, though it didn't feel as if we were actually packing that long. During the morning hours we had several home school families stop by to pick up some items I had advertised for free and also sold our Total Gym, which I had bought from Sarah over a year ago and had never even used! (Sarah, you can rest easy knowing that it will likely be a great clothes rack for Hilary R. now!) I was glad to unload some kids' items to friends as well as other miscellaneous things that I just didn't want to move anymore.

So far, Ted has completely packed all of our books, CDs, and movies. I've packed several boxes' worth of kitchen materials and almost all of the office, including stamping supplies. We unfortunately didn't have anyone who could come over and help us yesterday, so our work was frequently interrupted by short people. We did try to stop and do stuff with the kids now and then as well as involve them as much as possible. Charis is a great helper--she helped me pack some office items and is a great runner when I need stuff moved. Arden packed the ABC magnets, and Tobin helped tremendously by occupying himself with another 1000-piece puzzle. If he's not bothering his siblings, life is generally much easier for us all! Packing is difficult enough without having to serve as a referee every 5 minutes, which is what it seemed like we were doing on Friday. The kids also all helped clean up the backyard, which somehow had accumulated a lot of trash--mostly recycle-able materials that the kids had snagged from the recycle bins to put rocks and dirt in.

Today we'll attend church, but I've requested today and next Sunday off from the pre-school ministry. Every hour is important as we count down to October 11.

I've also made the difficult decision not to go to my Homecoming. I'm very sad about not being able to visit with my friends, but I simply can't pick up and leave for 4 days in the middle of all this mess. It's frustrating on so many levels, not the least of which is having already paid for plane tickets. They can be changed to use anytime in the next year, but with $130 in total change and processing fees for non-transferrable tickets, Kenna and I would only get $95 each in credit for a future flight. At least we have the option for the credit, I guess. Sigh.