Musings from the Threshold

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Backtracking… A Visit from the Garness Family!

A few days after we started sleeping at the new place (and with the whole moving process very much still in the works) we were blessed by a visit from our friends Joe and Jaine Garness and their sweet daughter Anne Marie. We got to know Joe when we lived in Missouri, and had not had the blessing of meeting Jaine and little Anne Marie until this visit. It was a delight to pause in the midst of the whirlwind and just enjoy their company!

We went to the Reno County Museum on Tuesday. Most of the Blessings had been there before, but it was the first time for the Garnesses and me. I got a few shots outside, as it was a gorgeous day and they have a neat courtyard, but most of these pictures are from the Oodleplex play area upstairs in the museum.

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Backtracking… Miscellaneous May Moving

We closed on our new home on April 27, but didn’t have our first night here until May 5. We spent the intervening week doing lots of scrubbing, sprinkling of baking soda followed by vacuuming, and packing. Saturday the 5th, we moved beds and essentials and had our first “Pancake Night,” which actually wound up being Pizza Night instead. Nobody complained!

The kids got in some game playing with friends in the evening, but they also put in a huge amount of effort throughout the day:
The next Friday, Jonathan and Dad Smith set up the computer desk in our room (a space necessity):
And some progress pictures after one week in the new house:

This first shot is also a progress pic of the Dr. Who scarf
that Wendy is knitting for Jonathan!

Davey/Kitchen

Davey/Dining Room

Buffet (in living room)

Computer desk in our room (obviously, without computers thus far)

Master Bedroom

Temporary computer center

In the master bath

We had our first yard sale of the purging process on Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19, at Dad and Mom Smith’s. We by no means made out like gangbusters, but it was a good experience overall.
A view of some of our workers Friday evening:


Andrew is not used to getting up at 6.30 on *any* morning, and fell asleep on our bed Saturday morning while everyone was getting ready to go:
A view of some of our “goods”
We had this really good looking guy that kept looking over the tables:
There was a lot of hanging out on the porch going on on Saturday…
We have a large amount of sale stuff waiting in the garage at Dad and Mom Smith’s new place, and are still trying to decide on whether we will do another sale this weekend or wait until fall…

It looks like I stopped taking pictures of the moving/settling process after the yard sale, and currently the new place looks a bit crazy. I guess I’ll have to see just how “real” this blog needs to be about that!

Backtracking… Andrew’s May Day Birthday

Our little darling boy turned TWO on May 1st… amazing!

We had his birthday party planned for a few days later, but I snapped some pictures of the two of us the evening of his birthday after his bath, and made this collage with one from right after his birth and one from his birthday:

Then on Friday, May 4, we had his birthday party!





Andrew is really doing so well. He had his re-evaluation with his team from the Early Education Center recently, and is at or close to “age appropriate” development in most areas except his expressive language. That in itself is misleading, because wow, can that boy communicate without words! He’s quite expressive, just not very verbal.

A brief rundown on his reported developmental levels from his yearly evaluation on May 15 (mostly for my easy reference and for his grandparents):
Gross Motor: 14-16 months (and actually, I think he would be in another range just a month or so later)
Fine Motor: 21 months
Expressive Language: 9-12 months
Receptive Language: Age appropropriate
Cognitive Skills (playing, thinking, problem solving): 18-24 months
Social Skills (interacting in environment and with people): Age appropriate
Self-Help (feeding, dressing, sleep, toilet-training): 21-24 months

June 1st This-and-That

Happy June 1st!

~ Happy 9th birthday to our darling Victoria Grace!!!  She is such a joy to have in our family, and I love my memories of her arrival nine years ago.

~ Almost done at the old house.  Just have trash and a few boxes to take out this morning, then next week a bit more cleaning, paint in a few spots, yard clean-up, and clearing out the shop.

~ Jonathan’s 20 year class reunion is this weekend – a date for the two of us for tonight’s event at The Anchor Inn, and a family picnic tomorrow (bring your own food).  We’re skipping the keg party tomorrow night.

~ Dropped a shelf on my big toe this morning.  Big pain.  🙂

~ Double birthday party tomorrow night for Stephen and Grace.  Need to make dinner and two birthday cakes.  Might cheat on dinner since they want pizza and time is scarce.

~ Davey and Barak will be home from LTC tomorrow (at least until Sunday… I don’t know yet if they will be staffing next week).  I’m looking forward to seeing them!

~ Kate and Grace will both be campers at Grade School 1 next week, and they are ever so excited.  We need to get clothes ready, get stuff packed, etc.

~ Need to get food together for Katie for camp.  I’m so thankful we’re now only about 4 miles from camp, because each day I will be taking over food for her.  Food allergies are challenging… I’ve looked at the menu and there is not one meal that I can feel comfortable about her eating.  The fact that her eczema is completely non-evident right now is extremely motivating, though!

~ With all of the “to-do’s” involved in the above items, I’d better get off the computer and get busy.  Blessings to you!