The Drive and What We've Been Up To

First off - To all my family in MN I(/we) MISS YOU!!! Weird to be blogging to you all now instead of the family here...

Moving Day/The Drive ~ When planning the move to Texas, Jon and I both thought it would be best to drive through the night with Sawyer and Ruby so they would sleep. I was definitely on board with this travel plan thinking that I had made many a long road trip and traveled through the night without a problem, so this trip would be no different...

Friday, Oct. 23rd. My family all gathered at our place. We had pizza and took lots of pictures as our Fuller family got ready to leave. We left around 6:40pm. My family and bestest of best friends stayed to wave us off. Once I got in Jon's truck (which I drove with Ruby and Texas for passengers, while Jon drove the Uhaul with Sawyer and towed my car), I couldn't look out the window at anyone... I knew I would totally loose it and probably not put the truck in 1st gear (yes a stick shift for almost 1,000 miles... FUN!) and drive out of driveway... But, put the truck in 1st gear I did and we were off to Texas! The 2nd big move of 2009!!!

I was feeling great for the first few hours! Ruby and Texas were sleeping soundly and I had the radio and my thoughts for company. I was feeling very positive that we could make it to Fort Worth without stopping to sleep... HaHa ~ Really? What was I thinking? Somehow I had totally forgotten how sleep deprived I was to begin with... Ruby is a good sleeper, but she is still up every 3 hours or so to nurse. So, I haven't gotten more than about 3 hours of consecutive sleep in 7 weeks. Not the best conditions to be making an all night road trip cross country in!

We made it until about 2:30am until I really had to stop driving. We were somewhere between Kansas City and Wichita... I was knodding off and all the caffeine I had pumped into my body completely stopped working. We pulled over at a gas station for a couple hours. I think Jon got some good sleep in. I however nursed Ruby and she stayed fussy for most of the time... But, it was so nice to stop driving and relax for a bit!

We got back on the road around 4:30am and even though we had to stop every couple hours because I was so darn tired we still managed to make it to Fort Worth about 2:30pm. Jon's family was out in the front yard waving to us and it was great to see their smiling faces! I got out of the truck and handed Ruby right over to her Gramma Jan :-)

(For those of you who don't know, we are staying at Jon's parents house for this next chapter of our lives. They have a little one bedroom apartment on their property and are letting us stay here for a while!)

We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon and Sunday hanging out with family.

What We've Been Up To ~ Well, the apartment needed a little bit of sprucing up before we could move in... So, Sawyer, Ruby and I have been sleeping Jon's youngest sister Libby's room. Libby got booted to the couch for a week (Sorry, sweetie!). And, Jon has been sleeping in an extra bedroom all by his lonesome.

The apartment has gotten a fresh coat of paint! It looks great :-) Jon's aunt Ronda came over earlier in the week and started priming the front room for us. Jon primed the kitchen and the bedroom and then painted all three rooms. The paint has really brightened up the place! Jon ripped up the carpet in the front room and the wood floors that were under it look good. They would look great sanded and sealed, but we aren't going to do that at this time...

Today Jon and I have been arranging the furniture. Our front room has the couch and TV in one half and the other half has our desk/office. This is the only room that is currently completely set up (besides decorating). Our bedroom, which all 4 of us share, has our bed and the kids's cribs set up, but there is still a bunch of boxes and stuff all over the place. I will hopefully get working on the kitchen tomorrow.

So, things are moving along and we are settling in. I think tonight will be our last night in the main house and tomorrow we'll be out in the apartment. Hopefully!

Jon's worked a couple days at his new job. He didn't have to work a couple of days because of the rain, which was actually kind of nice because he got work on the apartment! So far things with the new job look good :-)

The kid's and I have just been hanging out... It's hard to do a lot with moving when you have an 18 month old and newborn... Libby has been great with the kids! She plays with Sawyer and cuddles with Ruby, she even changes diapers!!!:-)!!! She is an AWESOME auntie! On Monday nights the sisters and sister-in-law get together for dinner. So, this past Monday I went to dinner with Laurie (Jon's sister) and Liz (Jon's brother Daniel's wife). Usually Lindsay (another one of Jon's sisters) is there too, but she couldn't make it this week. Other than that, I've basically stayed around the house...

Tonight, I'm home alone with the kiddo's. Jon's youngest brother Brandon is playing his last football game of the season tonight and the whole family is there. I didn't go because the game didn't start until 7:30 which is Sawyer's bedtime and the weather isn't too great for having a newborn outside... I'm bummed to miss the game because it would have been fun to get out of the house a bit. But... Then I wouldn't have been able to Blog! :-) Or, catch up on the Blog's I like to read. Or, quietly enjoy a cup of hot coco while reading my book. So, the evening alone has actually been kind of nice.

I have a bunch of pictures to share, but I'm not able to use the internet on my computer. I'll add them when I can :-)

First week in Texas down, and many, many, MANY more to go!

Hello & Good Bye Party

We had a Hello party for Ruby (a baby shower) & a Going Away party for our family at my parents house this weekend. Family and close friends joined us for the day :-)

The Guests of Honor!


My sweet, sweet Little Lady Ruby!

I am so in love with this little shirt Ruby has on... My obsession with Elephants is a bit silly! She just looks so darn cute!!!

G'Ma with the Grandbabies.


Got rambunctious kiddo's and need a moment of quiet? Turn on Noggin'. Works like a charm!


Papa and Ruby.

Kristie and Ruby.

Great-Aunt Karin and Ruby.

Line the kids up on the couch photo! From Left to Right the Schultz, Madson and Fuller Cousins :-)
Sonja Schultz (3), Audrey Madson (2), ShayLynn Schultz (12), Ruby Fuller (5 Weeks), Sawyer Fuller (18 Months), Micah Schultz (8).


Presents! Bum Genius cloth diapers ~ YEAH! :-} And, isn't this a great picture Jon's taken! Man's got skills!! HaHa

Jennie did such a nice job wrapping the present from her and Emily!

Kristie, Emily and Ruby.

Totally zonked out after a day of being passed around from family member to friend and back again... Such a pretty girl!


A BIG thank you to my Mom and Dad for hosting the party and to all the family and friends who spent the day with us!

Photo OVERLOAD

Jon likes to give me a hard time about how slow our computer is. He says it's because of all the pictures I take... I'm pretty sure it's because our computer is just slow! With little babies and digital camera's it is VERY easy to get carried away!

Here are some recent pics of the newest addition to our family ~ The lovely Ruby!




Love the look on my face! A total Mom look... "Sawyer, don't you grab Mommy's coffee!"

She likes to cuddle into the blankets!

Dad's Team Onesie on both Kiddo's


SMILE :-)

One fun thing about packing is finding things for Sawyer to play with. He still loves hats and he'll be able to wear this one at Christmas! And, look at those legs!


My Boys! :-)

Ba Da Bing ~ Ba Da Boom TEXAS

When Jon asked me what I would think about moving south for the winter, meaning moving to Texas where his family is from, I was like "For the winter? As in, NOT a permanent move?... Sure!"

Since Sawyer was born, Jon and I have been trying to "make it" with him working and me staying at home. We have discovered that at least for the next bit we both need to be working... However, we do not want to put the kids in daycare.

So, we started discussing moving more seriously and weighing the pro's of MN vs. TX. Basically, what it comes down to is 1.) Where can Jon work year round? 2.) Where will we have the most help with kiddo's so I can work too?

A few things happened to effect our decision and they happened in not necessarily this order...

#1 ~ Jon was asked to interview for the Youth Director position that opened up at our church. He did interview, however he wasn't offered the job.

#2 ~ (This requires some background info) My mom, aunt, grandpa, grandma and uncle have had their own business for going on 12 years called MSW. Having their own business allowed my aunt and uncle to have their kids with them at the office. And, when necessary, my mom would have Audrey at the office with her as well. Business has been good and it's been bad... Finally reaching a point where we were all praying for someone to come along and buy the business! And guess what? Someone did this summer! GREAT NEWS!!! However, this meant that my mom would be taking a new job with the company purchasing MSW and would no longer be able to watch grandkiddo's while working.

#3 ~ My aunt was going to start a Daycare after MSW sold. So, I could have gotten a job and had the kiddo's stay with her. Unfortunately, this didn't work out and she started working with the company that is now renting out the office building MSW used to office out of.

#4 ~ The weather is more mild in TX and there isn't 6 months of snow and snot freezing cold. So, Jon will be able to get a job that will most likely have work year round!

#5 ~ Jon's mom, although very busy with her younger kids (Jon is the oldest of 6) homeschooling and such, will have some time to watch our kiddo's when I get a part-time job of some sort (most likely waitressing...).

Ba Da Bing ~ Ba Da Boom we're moving to TEXAS

Winter has blasted into the North a bit sooner than usual. Jon hasn't been able to work a full work week in about 2 weeks... He's been making contacts in TX looking for a job and we've been praying for something to come through... Well, he called this afternoon to let me know he has a job! AWESOME! Oh, and it starts October 26th! YEAP ~ in just a bit over a week! What does this mean? Well, it means we'll be Texans sooner than planned. As in, we're moving ONE WEEK from this Saturday!...

Also, more and more, this move has become permanent, not seasonal. It's a bit bitter sweet for me. I'm excited about moving and being near Jon's family. I think it will be really great for our family. But, I'm sad about leaving my family and friends... All my friends who don't live in MN still come back here to visit. With us living in TX, I'll miss out on seeing them too...

I guess everyone will have to make plans to come visit us!

OK. Just wanted to give everyone a quick update! Gotta start packin' now :-)

Cheetah Baby

When my Aunt Sarah gave this little outfit to Ruby, I thought "Cute!". I put it on her yesterday and thought "OH MY GOSH!!! THIS IS THE CUTEST THING EVER!!!" I went a little picture crazy... None of the pictures capture just how cute Ruby looked, but I think you'll get the idea :-)

First Snow of 2009

Fall? Hello, Fall?! Where are you? In the North we've pretty much passed right through Fall and gone straight to Winter. It's freezing and snowing already and it's only the beginning of October! I'm guessing Northerner's are "in for it" this year... Good thing this Fuller Family is heading South soon!

Sawyer had fun running around in the first snow of the year!...


...At least he did until he fell down!

I'm cleaning my car off with a broom from inside the house because I'm not sure where my brush is... Didn't really think I'd be needing it much... HaHa!


After Sawyer fell down, he wasn't too interested in playing in the snow anymore. Jon had to get out the sled and pull Sawyer around to get him to go back out and play more... And, literally, Jon had to pull Sawyer out of the garage!

Once Sawyer got used to the snow, he was back to his busy little boy self!



Earlier this year, when we were starting to plan our move to TX, I was a bit sad because I thought Sawyer wouldn't get to see snow this year (and he was too little to play out in it last year). So, even though the first snow fall came early this year, I'm glad!

My, My, What Handsome Boys I Have

STUCK

Sawyer got himself stuck in the chair. He was really mad because we weren't helping him, but we needed to get pictures because it was pretty funny :-) He had his booty stuck and couldn't move! He kept saying "Help! Stuck!".