Sonlight
Core F
Week 29 "A"
June 9-13th, 2014
My first post from Grand Rapids, MI. We are in a teeny, tiny apartment, on the bottom floor (ground level- first floor). We have a total of three windows, which is funny b/c our home in Indy has three windows in our Master bedroom alone! I should say that everything about ending up in this apartment has really felt lead by the Lord. The other apartment that we were really leaning towards getting was on the THIRD floor! With this apartment we backed the UHAUL back, almost to the door, and unloaded in record time. It was just SO easy, and you usually don't hear "so easy" when talking about unloading your furniture!
This week I focused on packing, packing, packing and Dd did her reading and some packing. Then on Wed. we got our UHAUL, and filled it to the brim! It was a 20 ft. truck, and we did a great job organizing it so that nothing was broken during the drive. Our wooden bed frames somehow got scratched, but that is all of our bad news. We unloaded on Thursday (with Giz and Grampy helping), spent the night, then headed back to Indy on Friday.
Dh and Dd were too tired to do much packing Fri., Sat., and Sun. but, I still had plenty of motivation and energy to keep going. I mowed our yard and got some more things in boxes. Then on Sunday we drove back to GR with our dog and cat. Giz and Grampy have agreed to take the stray kitty to the farm and feed it there while we are in the apartment. (We had neighbors that the husband killed his wife, then himself, and left a kitty behind. After watching the cat get skinner and skinner I started feeding it. Then the son of the couple came back to pack up the household and I gave him the cat...and then the cat was back at my door the next day! So, I've been feeding this cat for a while now. I asked the son the history of the cat, and he said he was feral and just showed up at their door....)
Dd was so blessed to go to the Children's Museum along with the "L" family on Wed. to see the actual Chinese Warriors that archeologists dug up in China. She had a blast! We had signed up to do that weeks before and I didn't know that that would be the same day Dh would plan to get the UHAUL. Dh's father helped load the van with Dh using a dolly. Grampy is in his 80's so he doesn't do much lifting, but really wants to help. Some people might think the mom/wife wouldn't be one of the most active loaders, but they would be wrong--I am the youngest of our group of workers and was busy from sun-up to sun-down. Dh and Grampy had to spend hours getting the actual UHAUL since they requested the wrong truck and then had to drive to another place to get a larger truck...mini chaos...meanwhile, I packed and worked at the house. Giz did a great job preparing meals for us, and packing some kitchen things. She is still on severe lifting restrictions since she just had open heart surgery a few weeks ago and isn't feeling strong at all. Poor dear, she is really struggling to recover from this--and she just had her knee replaced a few months before that. I made it clear they didn't need to help us, and she made it clear that not helping wasn't an option.
I asked Dd to tell me some of her thoughts on GR and I would write them down for her, and then we could look back on her first thoughts after we have been here a while and see if she still feels the same way after a few months. Here is what she said to write down:
"GR is more artistic, more developed, bigger city feel, buildings are more creative and new. People like to dress-up a lot. There is lots and lots and lots of sand!!!!! City has a "big city feel", more than Indy. The weather is cold."
Dh and Dd were too tired to do much packing Fri., Sat., and Sun. but, I still had plenty of motivation and energy to keep going. I mowed our yard and got some more things in boxes. Then on Sunday we drove back to GR with our dog and cat. Giz and Grampy have agreed to take the stray kitty to the farm and feed it there while we are in the apartment. (We had neighbors that the husband killed his wife, then himself, and left a kitty behind. After watching the cat get skinner and skinner I started feeding it. Then the son of the couple came back to pack up the household and I gave him the cat...and then the cat was back at my door the next day! So, I've been feeding this cat for a while now. I asked the son the history of the cat, and he said he was feral and just showed up at their door....)
Dd was so blessed to go to the Children's Museum along with the "L" family on Wed. to see the actual Chinese Warriors that archeologists dug up in China. She had a blast! We had signed up to do that weeks before and I didn't know that that would be the same day Dh would plan to get the UHAUL. Dh's father helped load the van with Dh using a dolly. Grampy is in his 80's so he doesn't do much lifting, but really wants to help. Some people might think the mom/wife wouldn't be one of the most active loaders, but they would be wrong--I am the youngest of our group of workers and was busy from sun-up to sun-down. Dh and Grampy had to spend hours getting the actual UHAUL since they requested the wrong truck and then had to drive to another place to get a larger truck...mini chaos...meanwhile, I packed and worked at the house. Giz did a great job preparing meals for us, and packing some kitchen things. She is still on severe lifting restrictions since she just had open heart surgery a few weeks ago and isn't feeling strong at all. Poor dear, she is really struggling to recover from this--and she just had her knee replaced a few months before that. I made it clear they didn't need to help us, and she made it clear that not helping wasn't an option.
I asked Dd to tell me some of her thoughts on GR and I would write them down for her, and then we could look back on her first thoughts after we have been here a while and see if she still feels the same way after a few months. Here is what she said to write down:
"GR is more artistic, more developed, bigger city feel, buildings are more creative and new. People like to dress-up a lot. There is lots and lots and lots of sand!!!!! City has a "big city feel", more than Indy. The weather is cold."
I do see and agree with Dd on the "dress-up" comment. I sat outside Meijer grocery store with Sophie (our dog) while Giz, Grampy, Dh and Dd went in, to watch the crowd and get a feel for the people. I was amazed at how many people were dressed up. Most men had khaki dress pants on---that wouldn't be the case in Indy. In Indy, there would be lots of jeans and shorts. It seemed the majority of people were dressed very nicely, and only a very small percent were wearing t-shirts and/or shorts. Oh, and she is right about the soil being VERY different than Indy---clay vs sand--very different!!!
The "lessons" from our week:
Bible:
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller
Audio's:
by Laura Ingles Wilder
*narrator: Cherry Jones
by Laura Ingles Wilder
*narrator: Cherry Jones
(Heroes of Olympus, Bk 4)
The "lessons" from our week:
Bible:
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller
Audio's:
Little Town on the Prairie (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairie--completedby Laura Ingles Wilder
*narrator: Cherry Jones
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House)--in processby Laura Ingles Wilder
*narrator: Cherry Jones
The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4) by Rick Riordan
The House of Hades--in process(Heroes of Olympus, Bk 4)
Reader's:
A Hardy's Day Night (Hardy Boys Graphic Novels: Undercover Brothers #10) by Scott Lobdell
Hardy Boys-A Hardy Days Night--completed
The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, Book 2) by Rick Riordan
The Son of Neptune--in process(Heroes of Olympus, Bk 2)
by Rick Riordan
Cave of the Dark Wind: A Never Land Book (A Peter and the Starcatchers Never Land Book) by Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry
A Never Land Book: Cave of the Dark Winds--in processby Dave Barry
Escape from the Carnivale: A Never Land Book (A Peter and the Starcatchers Never Land Book) by Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry
A Never Land Book: Escape from the Carnivale--in processby Dave Barry
Art:
Made a great Father's Day card!
Gym:
Worked out alone in her room---she is getting in shape to be a surfer!
Geography:
Two trips from Indy to Grand Rapids, and back again.
Field Trip:
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/
Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Tera Cotta Warriors/Chinese Warrior exhibit
Take Me There China
Waterworks
Baking:
She twice made Shortbread Cookies from scratch
........
Oh that is so interesting about GR being a dress-up city!!! Wow. Glad you are thankful for your apartment. Three windows -- yikes! Glad you have some anyway. Glad you found a place for the kitty.
ReplyDeleteWhat a really great post! I really enjoyed reading the details of the move here. I am praying. I am so thankful for the L family and how they are including your dd when you are close to them. I also enjoyed reading her thoughts on the new town. Isn't it funny how different towns have different feels? I know that hit me most when I moved to San Diego, too... deep down the people are the same... but the way the people were more laid back than the people here in dress and attitude...
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