Saturday, December 27, 2008

One Month Away

You've all heard the saying "time flies". After our time in Porto Alegre, Brazil and being the daddy of a 2 and a half year old I really believe it! One month from today (January 27th) we will board a plan and leave the place we have called home since March 9, 2004.

Jennifer's parents were here for a visit last month. They left on November 27th to return to the States. We marked in our minds the date of December 27th (today) as a half-way point between then and when we leave Porto Alegre. It is hard to comprehend that we are at the half-way point.

Today, Jennifer and I were talking about how we only have a few more weekends left to spend with a particular couple that we are close to here. Some of those weekends are already spoken for, so there really isn't that much time. It made me have the thought "we are running out of time and I don't feel like I have had enough". I know it is time to "move on", but saying all the good-byes is tough. Especially when you want to do it right and make an effort for it to be meaningful and not just a one-armed hug and a "tchau".

Well, those are my thoughts for today. I'm sure that I will have many more to share as January 27th grows nearer. Until then...

Monday, December 22, 2008

Overdue Update

I stated in the last post that it is hard to find time to post on the blogs. That is so true! Today I finally made a post on the "Elisa Blog". If you are interested in seeing what is going on with our family I recommend you click here. Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Relocation Update

It is getting difficult to find time to blog. There is a lot going on, but almost too much to sift through and mention in a post. I do have the time now to share some details with our faithful readers a "relocation update".

In preparing for a move of this magnitude there are certain things that really set things in motion. You can talk about the move all you want for as long as you want, but before you do certain things all it is is talk. So, here are 4 huge things that we have done recently that puts this beast on the road of no return.

1. We turned in our 30 day notice to the real estate office and owner of the house we are renting that we will be moving. Once this is done there is no turning back. We, at the very least, will be moving out of our house.

2. Last Saturday (and continuing until we don't have anything left) we had a garage sale. We made the decision to sell a lot of things that we either don't need or could easily replace in the U.S. This will make the move much easier. It is hard though, because in many ways we feel like we are already in the camping stage (no dining room table = lots of picnics on the living room floor; dismantled bed = sleeping on a mattress on the floor).

3. This week (on Monday) we bought our one-way airline tickets from Porto Alegre, Brazil to the United States of America. Again, this is huge and makes everything that is happening so much more real.

4. Today (only an hour ago) we hired a moving company. They will be here on the 15th of this month to pack our belongs and load our container. They will store our belongings until our departure date on January 27th, then they will put them on a freighter and send them to the States.

We can tell that Elisa is a little troubled by all this and doesn't really know what to make of it. Please keep us and especially Elisa in your prayers as we continue moving through this transition. We need wisdom, peace and unity as a family. Thanks in advance for remembering us.

Over the next several weeks I will do my best to keep you all up to speed on what is happening. Don't read to much into a lack of blog activity. We are just really busy.

Peace.