Last call...

We move to our new house on Friday. Today is Monday. I keep thinking, "Oh...this is the last Monday that I will do this (open the blinds, put Gianna on the bus, take a picture of Cecilia and Justin playing outside on an unusually mild January morning)!"

I am excited to move. I haven't been overly emotional about it because I know that it is a wonderful thing for our family. I also TRY to live by valuing people and moments, not material things. But, this is the home that welcomed five babies. It's a home linked with so many precious memories and an amazing stage in my life. These walls watched me become a mother (if walls could talk...). So, I'm a little emotional!

I had a flashback in the backyard a couple of minutes ago (the kids are still out there playing...I can see them through my bedroom window!). It was the summer of 2006, and I was 9 months pregnant with Gianna. I was sunbathing in the backyard (yes, in those days, I still cared about my tan!).

I was absolutely petrified about becoming a mother. I wanted that baby more than anything in the world, but not knowing what my life would be like was agonizing. It was my first week of not working (often 2 or more jobs) in about 10 years...I did not know myself. I wasn't feeling any peace when I prayed. I was being called to simply trust.

The six years since then have been beyond my wildest dreams....praise God!

Something else that keeps hitting me. I have lived in this current house longer than any other house that I have lived in for my whole life. Seems weird that I am 37-years-old and 6-1/2 years in a house is my record!?

We moved a lot when I was growing up. I was always blessed to have a safe, loving home with two parents and everything I needed...and most of the houses were in just two towns in Massachusetts...but we just didn't stay anywhere long (lived with grandparents for a bit, needed more space, bought instead of rented, needed to rent again, etc.!). After college, I took a job with lots of travel and rented one apartment after another.

I pray that this new house will be the only house that my children ever know! Of course, only God knows if that will be the case. I'll just keep on trusting!

Here's my new house, so I can keep perspective...and to keep myself excited for the packing which still must happen: