The move

Thanks to an army of angels and a lot of blessings from God, we have made it to Oregon. Saturday, after the garage sale, I had a rude realization that it would take a miracle to completely clean out the townhouse by 4 on Sunday. I sent up a prayer, and started asking for help. God answered with 4 teen boys, one awesome former bus driver, three pick-ups, and two loving friends with vans. This army helped me donate all the furniture which didn't sell at the garage sale, and take care of the "dump or donate" process of my kitchen and storage closet.



Shortly after 4, we were on our way to the airport. If I had known you couldn't go through security at the Lincoln airport until 1 hour prior to your flight, we could have waited an hour. So we grabbed a bite to eat. The flights from Lincoln to Minneapolis, then Minneapolis to Portland were uneventful. We slept most of the flight from MN to OR. We were met at PDX by Terry, Chris and Whitny. After wrangling all of our bags and luggage into two vehicles, we grabbed a late supper/early breakfast, then headed to the hotel.



Monday morning, Terry picked us up and we were off to our new apartment. Herb and Linda arrived just as we finished bringing our luggage and bags to the apartment. Then an army of angels showed up. Chris and Terry's cousin Tammy was available with a pick-up, her husband (Robin) and two teen-age sons(Robbie and Jamie). The trailer was emptied in no time flat! It was like a swarm of worker ants had taken over! Herb and Linda were on their way to re-load the trailer, to head back to Nebraska on Tuesday.

Between Tammy's pick-up, Chris' mini-SUV, and Terry's car, we split up and started the hunt for bed frames and mattresses. The girls got their mattresses set up, then we headed to IKEA (think Nebraska Furniture mart without the electronics, plus a Swedish touch.) Kendra bought a bookshelf and CD shelf, and both girls bought closet hanging organizers. I bought my headboard and frame, along with a tv stand for my room. Back to the apartment, where the electric drills and back up batteries had been charging. By 10 pm we had both beds set up, as well as accessories built and set up. What a huge relief! We were a day or two ahead of schedule!

Tuesday was car buying day. I don't care what the end result is, I simply hate car shopping. It may be stereotyping, but I hate being talked down to, because I'm female. That being said, I did buy a silver 2004 Kia Rio. It's a good little car that's supposed to get great gas mileage. We will need to get used to non-electric door locks. I have to remind myself and the girls to lock the doors when we get out of the car. Terry wanted to make sure the brakes were in good working order, so we had them inspected at Midas. The front brakes were brand new, and the back brakes were in good condition. To be on the safe side, we replaced the brake shoes on the back.
That night, Tammy and Robin invited us up to Vancouver (WA) for a BBQ and swimming.

Wednesday was kitchen supply day. Walmart to the rescue. Pots, pans, plates and flatware all taken care of, as well as a few stock-grocery items. Spent most of the day, organizing and arranging what we had. There are still about 10 totes/boxes sitting in the dining area to go through, but we are getting there.

Thurs. off to IKEA. There was a dining table and chairs on sale for $59 that I decided was too good of a deal to pass up. Also found a good coffee table. Jaydee had found a mirror for her room, and asked for the car keys to put it into the car. The next thing I know she's calling me saying she locked the keys in the car. Knowing those two, I thought she was joking at first. Thank God Chris was available to bail us out. My extra keys were on my nightstand at the apartment. She picked Jaydee up, brought her back to the apartment to get my extra keys and then dropped her off at IKEA. Nothing like a 4 hour trip to a furniture store. We did manage to get the boxes into the car. Kendra was a little cramped in the back seat, but we got back across Portland. Another night of building furniture. Forutnately, these didn't take long to put together. I think Terry is ready to go back to work, after spending 4 evenings here putting furniture together!

Here we are on Friday. There are still a lot of little things that need to be done, but all of the major items have been taken care of. Next week, I will be working on school schedules and appointments related to that aspect. Dusting off the resume' and hitting the help wanted ads are next.

Thanks to all who have been praying. As you can see, I have been beyond blessed!