Things I learned. . .

I have been trying to form this post in my head to tell the story of our crazy few days at Ft. Stewart, but I have had some trouble. A LOT happened, but I do not want to have a really long post. (You know how long winded I can be. . .) So I decided to try and list things to make it easier. I will include pictures where applicable.

Things I learned during this move:

1. Unloading is hard when it POURS down rain ALL day when movers bring your things.

2. Unloading in the rain means all of the boxes, furniture, carpets, floors, dogs, people get soaked.

3. Boxes are not sturdy when they are wet. Sometimes they cave in, break, and fall apart.

4. David's brand new HD TV is lost. Not broken or wet or damaged, it is GONE.

5. Wal-Mart particle board bookcases are good for storing toys, but disintegrate when wet.
6. it is hard to fit 15,000 lbs worth of household goods in a house that is designed for 10,000 lbs.

7. Dunken and Cooper are the sweetest, most patient dogs in the world.


8. Jessa and Spencer are also patient and precious most of the time.


9. Wall to wall boxes make it hard to walk.


10. I miss my big house and garage.

11. A 10x5x8 storage area is not as big as I thought.


12. Drinking a few beers with your mom after a long, wet, stressful day makes things seem better.

13. It is hard to find curtain rods longer than 120" long.


14. I am lucky to have such a great mom who will help me when David is gone.

15. I cannot install a modem and wireless router without a lot of detailed help.

16. Fences are expensive, but priceless when you do not have time to wait on a doggy to go potty.

17. Houses built in the 50's are different and smaller.


18. Kitchen cabinets are a necessity, why did the builder of my house not know that?

19. A good way to find a new muscle is to pull it. I have sore muscles where I did not even know I had muscles! My hair is even sore. . .

20. Jessa and Spencer think hotels are really really FUN.

Most importantly, I learned that things are never so bad that they could not be worse. Momma raised me and Lucas with that as our mantra. And it is true. Is the house too small? Yes, but at least I have a house. Did I want to rent a storage unit and haul a ton of stuff? No, but at least I have a van to load and I can afford the rent. Was unloading in the rain miserable? Yes, but at least I had things to unload. Did I miss having David around to handle all of the paperwork and running around? Yes, but I was able to figure it out and I had all the proper paperwork and powers of attorney to get everything taken care of. Was it extra tiring and stressful for the kids and the doggies and us? Yes, but we all made it and we did have a good time. And I am so glad that I had them all with me!! They are troopers and so adaptable. Moving is extra stressful on babies, but they go with the flow most of the time. And I would not want them to be anywhere but with ME! When we moved in at Ft. Polk, lots of things went wrong, but now that move seems easy. It is all about perspective, right?

I now have a house at Ft. Stewart. I have received (most of) my household goods and they are all unloaded. The kids (and mom and mimi and poppy and lucas and daddy and anyone else I can rope into helping) and I will make trips down on the weekends to get things all settled. Our goal, of course is to get as much as possible unpacked, organized, and fixed up before my David comes home in January.

I do have to share one appalling story with you. We were wet and cold and tired, but we were doing ok. I was so frustrated with not knowing where to put things since this house is literally half the size of the last one (I went from about 2700 sq. ft. to about 1400 sq. ft.). The unpackers were really nice and they were doing an admirable job considering the awful rain. It was so windy that it was raining sideways. Then they came across something that the packers on the other end had done that upset them so much. It also REALLY upset me and Momma (and everyone we have told since). These darn packers, who were packing a US Army family, had trouble figuring out how to keep David's rakes and post-hole-diggers in place to put them on the truck. So they had the nerve to wrap the lawn tools up in MY AMERICAN FLAG and then put several layers of tape on MY AMERICAN FLAG to move it. It is the very flag that is displayed prominently on this blog!! Can you believe the utter stupidity and lack of respect that these people showed by this thoughtless packing strategy?? Icing on the cake of a crappy move! I swear, I was more bothered about that than I was about them making off with David's TV that cost more than $1,000!! A TV can (and will) be replaced. The flag and what it represents is pretty much the meaning of our lives. Hello!? We are moving from one military installation to another while my husband is serving in Iraq! Nice.

Really, people!