Misplaced Ramblings of the Displaced

This Saturday marks exactly three months we have been displaced.  Three long months of feeling very in-between, all the while trying to not let it impact our work lives, married lives, and kids' lives.  I knew it would be a challenge, but I underestimated so much.  Like not having an address for starters.  We put a forward on our old address to my parents' house, but didn't change my online billing address for various places because I knew we wouldn't be here for long.  Then, when we started ordering lots of merchandise for our new house - light fixtures, furniture, window coverings, etc., we found it a gigantic pain to have them shipped to my parents', only to have to load them in our car and take them to our new house in Cedar Falls.  So, we started shipping things to Beau's office.  Long story short, it seems we get a shipment almost daily right now - sometimes, to Beau's office, sometimes, to my parents', sometimes, to our old address on accident, and other times, well, we have no idea!  If I can't keep it straight, I'm almost positive UPS can't!  I've gotten so confused when I call online companies and they ask to verify my home address that I play a guessing game with them until we get to the right one.  And poor Cruz!  Of course our preschool would pick this month to start learning addresses!  He's asking when we get to move to our new house more often all the time, I think because I reminded him of all his toys in storage.  It's going to be like Christmas for him soon enough.

When it comes to building a house, I most definitely have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  On one hand, I don't know how people designed homes without it, while on the other hand, I'm confident it's cost us a lot of money. :)  Not to mention, it's made this decision process completely ridiculous at times.  In many ways, our decisions got much easier after the "big things" were purchased and decided.  Big things like flooring and siding, electrical wires and plugins, cabinets, windows, and tile.  Once we got past the dreaded paint colors, I made the mistake of thinking it was smooth sailing from then til move-in.  Wrong!  I have spent the last three weeks tirelessly searching for light fixtures for every room of the house.  That's over 20 light fixtures, people!  And to think my loving husband actually thought I could go to Menards and pick them all out at once!  Our contractor suggested we go to a few lighting specialty stores, but I decided to take my own route and rely on Pinterest to direct me to my favorites online.  Much easier said than done.  After keeping in mind a budget, measuring and searching for ideal sizes, matching and coordinating colors, attempting to decide what look I'm going for in each room, and dealing with company return and restocking policies when something arrives damaged or definitely not what I was going for, I have been in the depths of lighting hell!  And then I get these brilliant ideas from Pinterest that involve things like buying a cheap ceiling fan, replacing the hood plate with a three-bulb ceiling fan light kit, removing the three bulb 'hoods' and replacing them with cage lights and Edison bulbs for our outdoor ceiling fan.  So, instead of buying a completely fine outdoor ceiling fan, I buy a fan, a coordinating fan kit, and then find cage lights to order online.  I can't wait to see the look on my electrician's face when I explain that one to him. :)  Needless to say, I'm sure others have approached this building process much more efficiently than I have.  

And then comes our stories from the seats.  Car seats, that is.  If I have learned one thing in the three months I've commuted to work, it's how very lucky we are to live within five minutes of our job, our kids' school, and Target. :)  I have completely taken for granted the luxury of being able to run home to grab lunch, to throw something in the crock pot for dinner, or to grab my computer charger when I forgot to pack it the first time.  My alarm goes off at 5:30 every morning and it's a race to the finish just to get showers in, makeup on, bags packed, breakfast prepared, and kids out the door in time.  But the worst predicament has been when the kids are sick.  Beau and I are blessed with jobs that allow us to be flexible.  We take turns being where we need to be and often run back and forth so our kids can be home on days when they need to be.  When you live a half hour from home, this is far more difficult, if not impossible!  And with how sick we have all been the past three months, we've had to be creative and flexible with our schedules far more than I thought we'd have to be.  I swear Mila's been sick more than she's been healthy this winter and I am counting down the days until spring is here and my baby can kiss this dreaded cold season goodbye.  

But then, there are the sunrises.  I have seen my fair share of them the past three months and they have been this sweet, beautiful glimpse of perspective and hope to start so many of my mornings.  I've been able to catch a lot of them driving east every morning on Highway 3, and they always make me smile and glance in my rear view mirror to stare at the faces of my babes as they watch their movie with their stocking caps on, content and at peace in their car seats.  It is in these moments that I remember we are doing just fine.  God gives us hope in every sunrise, in every new day.  That drive, no matter how cold some of the mornings have been, has become this quiet little pause button at the start of every day, an opportunity for me to reset and recognize all the good that has existed during this crazy challenging period of our lives.  I smile and remember watching Cruz climb up on the couch with Papa to snuggle before bed.  I remember Cruz and Mila's baths together, trying to get Mila dressed as she crawls away from me on Cruz's bed, followed by "Five Little Monkeys" and lots of cuddles to follow.  I remember waking up with Cruz standing next to our bed after making the long trek from his all the way downstairs every night.  I remember impromptu visits to Great Grandma and Papa's, Parenthood sob sessions and Bachelor girl fests with Mom, and picnics at the library on a Saturday afternoon.  It's been wild and crazy most of the time, but I have a feeling we are all going to miss each other quite a bit when we part ways.  My kids aren't going to know what to do.

Thankful for this season, for the lessons, and most importantly, for the sunrises.  For there was never a night or a problem that could defeat them.