Moving Day

For the last month or so, I have been slowly packing up our belongings. A little bit everyday, just to lessen the stress level. John was at work, and when he was home, he organized his tools, took down the Christmas lights, and whatever manly jobs that I couldn't do. His last trip back to Dawson before moving day, he took along a truck full of tools, and the camping trailer loaded with large home décor stuff and other big items.   

    So, when we decided to move to Dawson, the search for a house began. Everyone we talked to wished us well with the search. "House rentals are hard to find" they would tell us, also promising us that they would talk to someone they knew up there. Well, I found a lady on a Facebook group that was looking to rent in Quesnel.  So I contacted her, to see if she wanted to do a "house swap". She agreed, and after talking to both landlords, they decision was made. John was working in camp at this time, so when he got back to town, he went to look at the house. He was not convinced with this house, as it was  not in the best neighborhood, and was on a steep road, which would be hard to get up in the winter. So, he posted a paper on the bulletin board at the Alliance church. We got 2 phone calls through that ad. One was a 1000 sq ft house.. newly renovated. The other was slightly bigger, but older. So, I left the decision up to John (eeek!) and he chose the house we live in now, the bigger but older one!

   Along came moving day. We had reserved a Uhaul truck about a month in advance, hoping that by doing so, the truck would be ready in Quesnel. When you reserve a truck, the receipt tells you the pick up location, but in small letters (of course) it says: "NOTE: this location is preference only!" So after talking to a few people who knew of somebody who had used Uhaul, I was getting a little worried. The stories weren't good. People had to travel distances to pickup the truck, and had to fight to get one on the day they needed it. So I got the phone call, early morning of the day before moving (Wednesday). The truck was ready for pick up..... in PRINCE GEORGE.. an hour north of us. Yes, JOhn had to travel through Prince George to get home, but usually he is in PG about 8:00 at night, and Uhaul was closed at 6:00. He didn't think it was a wise decision to leave DC too early in the morning, pack all day, and drive back to DC, so he still left Wednesday night with his buddy Danny, and stayed in a hotel in PG. He picked up the Uhaul at 7:00 on Thursday (moving day).  He arrived in Quesnel at 9:00. The girls were in school, finishing off their last day. So, we had 3 amazing people show up to help us load, and by noon, we had the majority of it loaded.

    I had prepared for this day, thinking that we would load everything except the mattresses, spend the night in Quesnel, and then head for DC in the morning. But while I was in town, doing some lsat minute errands, John loaded the mattresses! They weren't at the back of the truck either.. nope.. they were about 7 feet in. So 4:30 came along, and we were all tired. There was no way I was driving 6 hours to DC yet that night. So our amazing Pastor and his wife, took us in, fed us supper and provided a bed for us all. Friday morning, we were up by 5:30, and heading back to the house, to finish off loading, did some sweeping, and we were off! I took no pictures, but now thinking back, I should have at least taken one of the back of the truck. Picture the bbq and a BUNCH of crates stacked up. Now, laying on top of the bbq and crates is a door, frame included, laying horizontal.. like a shelf! Now on top of this door is everything and anything that could fit.. blankets, more crates, garbage cans, coolers... etc. This truck was packed full.  But we fit everything in.. except for the piano (WE WILL NOT TALK ABOUT THAT!) When we got to DC, all 3 of us girls had to use the bathroom. So where were the house keys? In John's work bag that was packed behind the bbq and everthing stacked on top of the door! After about 20 minutes of unloading, we found the bag, and ran in. Good thing there are 3 bathrooms in this house. So, a week later, and we have mostly settled in. Upstairs is completely done, just adjusting a few things. I haven't started on downstairs, as I didn't want to get too worried about it when John was on his days off. Now he is in camp, so I will have lots of time. Plus it is supposed to be hot this weekend, so it's a good excuse to be downstairs. I took some pictures anyhow, just so you could see what the house looks like. Enjoy!

The living room.. take from the top of the stairs.  The bear and deer have found their place. Think I might have to name them. They are kinda like part of our family. 

 

 

The dining room, taken from the kitchen. From the location of the deer on the wall, you can see where the living room is

 

 

Kitchen, taken from the dining room. Note the upright (included in the house) in the middle of the picture? That's the little "room" in the next picture.

 

 

Sorry for the dark picture, but that upright is on the right.  There is a large pantry on the right, and a portable pantry on the left. The patio door leads out to a large deck. This deck does not have stairs, so the only way to get to the back yard, is through the front door. John hopes to build a deck on one of his days off, when we are actually home :)

 

 

 

The main bath.. a nice tub, that is VERY comfy! Sorry Ev, now your tub will no longer be a luxury for me!

 

 

McKenna's bedroom. It is much larger than the one she had in Quesnel. My plan is to store their toys in their bedroom, as they won't be having a playroom in this house. 

 

 

Emmy's room. Also quite a bit larger than her other room. Notice the blankets on all the windows??!! The curtains are quite see through, so by 5:00 in the morning it is as bright as day in there. OUr nights are quite short here. 

 

 

Our room. The bedframes are not put together yet, so that's why the bedframe is leaning against the wall. John put cardboard in our window to darken the room. 

 

 

 the front entrance, taken at the bottom of the stairs.

 

this is our bullet making/scrapbook/potential homeschool room. See the arch in the back? That's the spare room..  

 

 

spare room seen here..the bed's there somewhere, and we already had a guest use it ;)

 

archway to the bathroom on the right, and laundry room on left. 

 

downstairs bath 

 

large laundry room, with room for the extra upright freezer!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the washing machine! 

 

front of house 

 

 the backyard

 

 

the mini veggie garden that the landlord planted for me: peas, beans, carrots and beets. Plus there is rhubarb, green onions from last year, and strawberries in the front yard 

 

 

Kids are begging me to take them to the playground that's just around the corner so I better cut it short and leave some good stuff for next time ;)

 

Thanks for visiting. Feel free to leave me some love!

The closing of a chapter

I started this blog when we first moved to Quesnel, so that family could keep up with us. Seeing as all 4 of us had lived most of our lives in Chilliwack, I figured A NEW BEGINNING was an appropriate title. We were beginning a new  life in a new town. It was a rough start, but once we got settled in town, in our own house, we made Quesnel our home. I have never regretted moving to Quesnel, and am looking forward to the move to Dawson Creek.  I look it as an opportunity to meet more amazing people that live for Jesus. Our girls are young yet, and have always been flexible and adapt well to new changes. They also are looking forward to moving, although I don't think they realize that they probably won't see that much more of their Daddy. If John is working in camp, he will be out of town, and not coming back into town, until the end of his shift unless he has to return to the shop to get new equipment. Then we can say a quick hi, before he heads out again.  If he is working in the shop, he can come home for an hour lunch, and be home for dinner. Yes, this would be nice if he could do it regularly, but it is when he is in camp that he makes the money.

Once we move and are slightly settled, I will post more pics of our house. Our landlords are AMAZING. She has offered to start a garden, planting peas, carrots, beets, etc for us. She offered several times to help John unload if he brings up a load early. She offered the house for him to sleep in.. early.. at no extra charge. She has left a $1500 treadmill in the house, and an upright freezer. I feel truly humbled that we continue to be blessed in so many ways, as we move on.

The closer to moving day, the more I realize how much I am leaving behind. Friends, that calling them wonderful, doesn't do them justice. Taking the girls for sleepovers, picking them up from school, cooking us our birthday dinners, being there to listen, having coffee with, taking me out for lunch, encouraging and praying for us.. it goes on and on. 

Since my last post, not much has changed. We went camping for mother's day weekend, but haven't done anything since. I've been packing, and now have most of it done, but will probably have to wait until the last week to pack the rest. We still have the piano, and will be moving it with us, since we can't get anything close to the amount that we want, which is quite reasonable.  So anybody with strong backs willing to help John move it.. moving day is June 20th :).  John was able to graduate and get is Dogwood Diploma.  He thought that they were going to have a ceremony for all this years grads but never heard anything, so he borrowed a gown and went to Walmart and got his pictures done. I am pretty proud of his perseverance to get this done.. and he did SO well.


We ended up just getting a cd of images, so that I could get them printed at Costco.  I am glad I did because as you can see in the 2nd and 3rd image, they didn't do that good of the job. You can see the top of the backdrop! So I have cropped and edited the best ones.

 

 

He also bought himself his next 10 years of Father's Day and birthday presents ;). A brand spanking new dodge 1 tonne, diesel, 4 door, SLT, semi-loaded, NEW BIIIIGGGG truck :). It only had about 150 kms on it. The girls love being able to have their own button for their window. We also had to put running boards on, so Emmy could actually get in.  Being the amazing man that John is, he didn't ever blink an eye or make any noise about me hopping into the driver's seat.  He actually went for the passenger seat before I was even at the truck. It will take a little getting used to driving and parking this beast.

 

And other than me getting contacts, and finally getting long overdue orthotics, nothing has changed about me! I plan to make use of my new b-day present and do a bit of biking before we leave Quesnel. Seeing as I don't have the van anymore, I don't have much choice. Just kidding.  John left me his old truck to drive around until we move. Then we hope to sell it, and go down to 1 vehicle. 

 

Summer for us is getting full. On JOhn's first set of days off we hope to go to Lethbridge. Of my 7 nieces/nephews that I have there, he has only met 1. So it will be good for him to actually put a face to the names that I mention a lot!

 

I should be home lots in the next few weeks, so feel free to give me a call. We don't have a long distance plan here, but will change that in Dawson, so I just might be bugging you all a bit more!

 

Hope you are all doing well, and if you ever feel the need for a inexpensive holiday, our house is always open!