We moved! We’re still settling in, of course, but we’ve moved–lock, stock and barrel–out of our Elmhurst home and into our new home in Aurora. I can finally check off a major goal that I’ve been pursuing for a couple years.

Every time my dad moved he said, “We should have done this five years ago.” I was determined to move sooner rather than later, never regretting waiting too long to make a move. My experience with cancer also planted a desire to move so that neither John or I would ever have to make such a big move alone.

The whole process was much more difficult than we imagined. We spent a year getting the house ready for market; four months stressed by the processes of selling and buying; three weeks of crazy packing; and four days actually moving. We attempted to clean the whole house in about four hours, but failed, stretching the final move into the evening and again the next morning. We were out about the time the closing ended (after two more soaks in the hot tub.)

We were debt free for about two hours: Our second closing was scheduled 5 hours after the first one. (We pre-signed so we didn’t have to go to the Elmhurst closing.) When we finished the Aurora closing, we headed out to the new house, where we spent the night and waited for the POD and the movers to arrive the next morning.

Laura and the kids joined us soon after we arrived and were back the next morning, ready to help. The whole family was back in the afternoon for play and pizza. The next morning I picked up the boys and took them out for a Mother’s Day breakfast and then went to church with their family (while John went back to Yorkfield to teach Sunday School.) Monday was soccer and today I watched Oaks in the morning and Kellen all afternoon. A big reason for our location choice was to be closer to the grandkids so it has been great fun to reap the benefits right from the start.

John2 has been less-than-thrilled with the move. He seemed to enjoy moving into his space the first night, but since then he has slipped into a deep depression, sleeping away most of the last three days. When Kellen saw him this evening, he said “Johnny, I’ve been looking for you for three days!” We expected the transition to be difficult so we’re not surprised by this, though we wish it could have been smoother.

Lizi has been with us since Friday afternoon. She will return to Elmhurst tomorrow for three days of work, Saturday, and church on Sunday morning. Then she will come back out and stay with us until Tuesday night. This is our compromise for the time being: It allows her to work and enjoy her church fellowship, and hopefully will help her learn to be more independent. Her lease lasts through August so we have some time to decide–with her– what to do next.

Annie face-timed with us a couple of times over the weekend, saying goodbyes to the old house and enjoying a tour of the new. She and Charlee always cheered us up when we were exhausted and discouraged.

I’m really enjoying my new kitchen. It turns out there is 26 linear feet (63 square feet) of counter top, 33 cupboards and 16 drawers! I also discovered two glass panelled doors in a closet and a conversion set for a sink front tray. Laura and I had a lot of fun finding places for everything. My used Ethan Allan table (bought from friends years ago) is a perfect match for the countertop and cabinets: the wood top matches the cabinets and the green base and chairs coordinates perfectly with the formica. My “Malone” also fits in perfectly.

There is still plenty to do, but we have lots of time and no deadlines. John bought wood to build garage shelving today and has several smaller projects in mind. I have enjoyed unpacking and starting to organise our various rooms. Today I started unpacking my sewing room and tomorrow I may set up my loom.

Our new address is 2225 Roaring Creek Dr., Aurora, IL 60503. Our Welcome Mat is out!

P. S. My “Malone” is a print done by my cousin, Daniel S. Malone, gifted to me this past January.