The day before Belgium!

 This time tomorrow, we will be on our flight to Belgium! 

This week has been everything you would expect from wrapping things up, plus a few extras to keep us from relaxing too much. ;)

On Monday, they picked up Arturo's car. We put a tracker in it and have enjoyed watching it drive up towards Canada, then over to Montana, before it made its way down through Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and finally, Texas as of today. Once it's on the ship, it will be 26-28 days before we receive it in Belgium. My car has made it to our base in Belgium and is waiting for us to pick it up on Tuesday! 

Monday was also our first day that the packers came. They arrived with 3 workers at 10:00 am.  They worked until 2 p.m. and left for the day. They could easily have finished in one day if they worked 8-5, but that didn't happen. They came back on Tuesday morning at 10:00 am again. This time, there were only two men, and only one could work. The other had just recently had hip surgery, so he was just there to drive. The one guy worked until 4:30 and said he would be back tomorrow for loading and would finish the packing then. I was very "unrelaxed" that night with things still not accomplished and not being sure they would have it done on time on Wednesday. They told us they would begin very early and to be there by 8:00. We arrived just before then and sat, and sat, and sat until they showed up at 10:30! This final day, they had 3 guys, but they were a few hours late, so after lunch, 3 more guys showed up, and they really made work of things. Everything was packed and loaded in the 12 crates, sealed, and off by 2:30pm. 

We moved into our hotel on post, 5 minutes from the house, on Tuesday. It's all four of us plus the 3 dogs in a one-bedroom suite. The boys sleep on the pull-out couch in the living room. This will be the same setup once in Belgium until we get our new house. The dogs have been excellent with this move. Between the movers in and out, the change in living quarters, and having to go out on leashes now instead of their backyard, they have been more relaxed and easier than I expected. I say that except for on Friday, when I had to take all three by myself to the vet for their health certificates to fly. We found out that Lucy (age 10) now has a heart murmur. The vet said it does increase her risk of flying, but since it's new and she is showing no other signs of heart issues, she should be fine. 

On Thursday, I went and had my last hair appointment, and Arturo and John began getting our home cleaned after all the boxes were gone, so it would be ready for the move-out inspection on Friday. 

Thursday was also John's Graduation!!! I can so clearly remember John's first day of school with us in Auburn, AL. He was dressed so cute and was excited to be with his siblings, going off to school for the first time. Just before I was able to take the "first day of school photos," he fell down our concrete stairs and was scratched and bruised all over his face. If it had been any of our other kids, they would not have wanted to show up for the first day of school looking this way. John, however, told me he was ready to go and didn't want to miss school. He went off that day, smiling, and has been that way ever since with school. Always with the best attitude and with lots of friends. :) I have two funny (now) memories of his school time over the years. One was getting a call that John wasn't allowed to ride the bus for two weeks because he brought a pocketknife on the bus and was showing all the kids. He told us Grandma warned him of snakes around, and he wanted to be safe.     The second one was when we got a call that John returned "the finger" to a classmate during an assembly while everyone was reciting The Pledge of Allegiance."   John has always had the biggest personality, and although I know he will shine without us, we will be a little less without him every day. I know all parents feel this, and it's a part of life we go through. 

Yesterday was our move-out inspection, the dog's vet visit, and then finally we got to go back to the hotel and hoped to get a nap. As my Dad would say, that's what you get for hoping. ;) We got a call from Liam's school. His brand-new phone had been stolen. We talked to the school, made a police report, and then we had to go out and buy a new phone. I was sorry his last day of school ended on such a negative note. Last night, John went to a graduation party and Liam to the teen center for a last goodbye. We were all in bed by 9:30, and for the first time in over a week, we got more than 6 hours of sleep, which was much needed!   

Some of you have been asking about John's plans. He will be staying with our amazing friends for the week until his dad arrives for his college graduation. Then they will drive back to Colorado, where John will attend UCCS. He will still be working for the military CYS, taking care of the school-age kiddos while he attains his degree in Biology and Secondary Education. 

Today will be spent repacking all our belongings. We have it down to 6 27-gallon totes, 2 large duffel bags, 1 large suitcase, 3 backpacks, and 3 dog carriers on wheels. Our flight is tomorrow morning at 8:00am. We will be picked up here at the hotel at 4am and then have 3 hours to check everything in and get the dogs approved and through TSA. Everything WILL go smoothly, but prayers are appreciated.