12 days and counting......Letting Go of stuff

Stuff
Our lives the past week or so is about stuff. Stuff we have to sell. Stuff we have to ship to Korea. Stuff we have to store here in the States. Stuff we have to sort....pack.....give to Goodwill. Stuff to put in the trash. Stuff to send home with my Dad. Stuff, stuff, stuff. Organize it, clean it, repair it, trash it, pack it, move it.....or put it in the front yard and sell it.

Seriously? Did you know you can put stuff in your front yard and people will come in droves to buy it? Yep, they really do. They will ask if they can come look through your junk pile and take things away. They are looking forward to pawing through piles of your old stuff. One of our older two (who shall remain nameless) was mortified that Dad would put old junk in the front yard. But, we sold everything we wanted to in one day, making enough money to buy a new camcorder.

We have had to let go of lots of our stuff. We sold our RV several months ago. In the past week we have sold: the Yukon, the Nissan Altima, couch, loveseat, desk, dresser, skateboard ramp, kiddie pool, baby stuff, a bookshelf, high chair......most of that went in one day. It has been somewhat hard getting rid of this stuff. Saying goodbye to our RV was so sad....and our Altima. Alti has been a part of our family for 10 years. We drove her off the showroom floor. Kade had a hard time saying goodbye to our couch and loveseat. As the family left with our furniture, Kade cried "couch....my couch." He whined "couch bye-bye." I reassured him that the couch went to a good family. They had adopted a little girl who was darling, darling, darling. I told Kade that the sweet little baby was going to have our couch now. The next morning the first words out of his mouth was, "Baby...couch."

We are in the process of tearing the house apart, organizing it for the different shipments leaving our home. Storage, stuff to go to Korea by boat (taking 80 or so days), stuff to go to Korea by plane (taking 35-40 days) and the stuff we will take with us in our suitcases. Wanna look into our messy life right now?

This is our front parlor room.....holding stuff going into storage. There are a few minions hiding amongst the piles.
Went to Breadbeckers to buy a year or so worth of wheat and grains. They don't do a lot of bread baking in Korea, so I am not expecting to see wheat fields blowing in the breeze when we get there.
Keeping all the rooms straight is quite a job. Piles move and get rearranged. Toys appear out of nowhere. It will be a miracle if everything gets to the right spot. Deciding what needs to go to where has been a huge job. How in the world do I know if I am going to need ____________ (fill in the blank) in the next two years?
This one was painful. Taking apart my beloved, beautiful scrapbooking area. Seeing it all in boxes rather than jars and baskets. *sigh, wipe away tear*
Command central. My bedroom. Suitcases waiting to be packed. (And how am I supposed to know what clothes I am going to want/need for the next month or two until everything gets to Korea??) Planners, calendars, lists and paperwork are hiding beside my closet. Winter jackets for the sub-freezing temps of Wyoming. My Project 365 binder and cards so I don't fall behind.

It is amazing how much work and toil stuff is. Makes me long for the days of throwing a few pots in a covered wagon and heading west. I don't know where all this stuff came from. I think it reproduced while I wasn't looking.
What are you doing with your stuff today?

Jessica

Weekend with friends....

Last weekend we went up to see the Sanders family. We had so much fun with them. It was a relaxing time to just hang out, fellowship, and have fun, especially in our busyness right now. It was also really nice to see Dorothy and her brand new baby! It was sad to think that it was the last time seeing them before we leave. I'm going to miss them so much!



Dakota and Dorothy's baby Enoch. He's such a sweet little thing! (the baby I mean.... :) )

Us kids went down the road a bit to a cemetery, pretty much just for grins and giggles.
We got some great pictures too though! Mt. Pleasant?!?....really? It's pleasant? It's a cemetery!!

I know....disturbing....

Awesome silhouette of us girls.

everyone soon caught on. :)

AAHHH! I just love all their faces!

Dakota and Ethan. Beautifully silhouetted! The sunset was just perfect. :)

posing by the oldest stone. It was from 1850. Some of the grave sites were of Civil war veterans.

talking...

Time to play four on a couch!!

The parents enjoying the weather and nice conversation.

Keep 'em coming Beckah...we have a bunch of hungry people that want your yummy peanut/chocolate shakes!!!

The last night we were there we decided to have a pajama party.
We danced for hours! I loved it! And since we wouldn't be around for Christmas we decided to dance to some Christmas music too! What an awesome time we had!!

Me with the sweet baby.

Me and Grace. I miss you already!


Thanks to the Sanders for having us over and opening their house to us. We had such a grand time!

We love you guys!


K.K.M.D
Prov. 22:24

Thinking of Korea...

Hey everyone!

This is Dakota. We just passed the 1 month point until we move and I thought that I would share a video with you guys that is about Korea. The first part of the video contains landscapes, then the end of the video has some shots of Seoul, enjoy!



God Bless,

D.J.C.D.

A peep into our crazy life....

It's been busy around here. We just got back from VA. Before that we were in FL. As soon as we got home from FL, we did a pitstop, and got on the road to VA the next morning. Now we are going to stay at home until we move. Well actually, we have just one or two more trips. :) My aunt and uncle dropped in for a few days to hang out in the hotel. It was so funny because they called us from our drive way wondering where we were. We told them we were in FL and they thought we were joking. So we just had them come down to FL and stay at the hotel with us...they were going that way anyway. It was nice to see them, considering it'll probably be the last time before we leave. We got our fill of vitamin D after a day from the beach. After all that we headed home...but only for a night.
We went to VA because a man that was pretty important to my Dad and his career was retiring. We went to his ceremony. I'd heard a lot about him and how he helped Dad so much. It was neat to meet him. the man that was retiring talked about how special Dad was to him and how I had a awesome father, and that he was a very special man. It was sweet to hear him say things like that about my Dad. We took the opportunity to do some fun things while up there. We went to Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, and the theme park Busch Gardens.
It was neat to learn more about all these places...the historic ones I mean. :) What fun we had....on with the pictures. (We didn't take a camera to Busch Gardens...so we have none of that day.)

it was really funny...our key didn't work for our original room. Mom went down there over and over. Finally like the 3rd time they gave us a new room. They actually upgraded us to a suite for our trouble!! :) Cha-ching!

Of course...why didn't I think of that?

Sweeties!

A easy and quick tip to make you grow 5 inches taller in seconds!!! Wear the biggest heels you can find! :)

After the beach we strolled around St. Augustine. K-man was instantly stopped in his tracks when he saw this store. He was so funny, "oooohhhh, wow!..Mama, mama, mama, voom-voom.WOW!!" Such a little boy!

lovely picture Dakota took, of course with a photo loving model to enhance it!

Before heading to Jamestown, We stopped at this farm in the middle of Hampton. Obviously we feed the peacocks....they pecked with such ferocity! They weren't near as graceful and the Pigeons back in San Marco square, Italy.

Lord Shen. (The creepy peacock from Kung Fu Panda 2)


in Jamestown. "You got that K-man?" :) Such a sweet Prince, pulling his princess in his chariot.

Pocahontas

I'm gonna have to give him a ticket!

Colonial williamsburg. The fifes and drums sounded really neat. It felt like were went back in time. Excluding all the iphones and cars. :)

A whoppin' pile of ice cream to sooth and cool the savage beasts.

It was a long hot day...

I guess we weren't being very good. :/ But at least we're still smiling!

Bella and her Daddy. ;)



We had fun on our trips. But, it's good to be home. We really don't have much longer before we leave for Korea. Only about 30-some days! We finally got our orders just a few days ago. Which was really nice, and a good step towards our process. Next thing is to get the packers. :)
We just have to wait a bit.....

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31


Have a blessed week!!
K.K.M.D
Romans 14:8

Just around the corner....

We are starting to get ready for our move. We move in September. September seems far off, but if you look at it in a different perspective it seems really close. When I think of September, I think of the beginning of Fall, colorful leaves, chilly weather, and all that. But, here in the south it never gets to fall....it's blazing hot here and I can't seem to think of cold weather coming anytime soon. We have a countdown on our mantel (that is slightly unnerving) that seems to be ripping away very quickly. :) Our move is just around the corner...

Our fast growing pile of stuff to get rid of. This is mainly just the attic! I can't imagine how much bigger it'll be later on.

countdown...63, 62, 61....we're off! This little countdown really makes it look like it's soon, it's slightly scary. :)


We'd really appreciate your prayers for our family as we continue to pack and get ready, that our patience will stay intact, and that also the military will give us concurrent travel.
Thanks!

Have a great week!! God Bless!!
K.K.M.D
1 John 1:7

Family Reunion....

Every Fourth of July, my Mom's side of the family has a family reunion in Kentucky. We had a great time. It was so nice to see everybody and especially because we are leaving soon. We will probably see some of them before we leave for Korea. But, for some this was farewell for a little while. We got there Friday evening and just hung out that night. On Saturday, we had a church service up on the family cemetery. After that, we all headed down to my Great-aunt Colleen's house for some fun. We had Corn-hole and Bocce tournaments, did some swimming, and had a awesome firework show that night. My great-uncle, Dakota, and some other guys put the show on for the rest of us. It was really good...just as good as a town would put on. On Sunday, we all hung out and talked. :) There is this Amish-Mennonite couple that lives down the road of where we were that used to babysit my Dad when he was 5 or 6 years old. (ironic??) What's so funny is that my Dad was there right around the 4th of July. Which means my Mom when she was little girl was in the area too. They could have seen each other?!? We found that out at my Grandma's funeral. She was there and she came walking up to my Dad and asked if he was Joel. My Dad was quite confused until she explained it all. :) She claims it was like having a "son come home." :) There is actually a picture of him and the couple's son having their birthday at their house back on the post "bring on the 80's pix." Anyway......we got to see them. She is such a sweet lady. We left Monday morning. Sad to say good-bye, but hopefully we'll see them soon. On with the pictures......


Reflection, Reflection....

Bella's reaction to a outhouse. :) I don't think she's ever used one before. Those things are extremely dark once you close the door!

The prayer circle....well not a perfect circle.

Waiting for the fireworks to begin...with yummy popcorn in hand.

K-man liked the sparklers. Bella, on the other hand, didn't so much. :)

Grillers

Old fashion day on Sunday. Aren't we cute?!? Dakota hid in the basement for awhile till I convinced him that I would do it and that he looked cool....especially with the shoes!!


Bella and her Daddy on the hay ride.

I loved all the overalls on Sunday. :) Here's my Mom's Dad, Papaw and Dakota looking at a book of old pictures.

Blue hydrangeas....one of my favorite flowers. (If anyone wants to know.) :) I love blue flowers...then again I like hot pink ones too....and red.

K-man
Isn't this neat. It's a picture of a picture of the past in the present. Cool...huh? This picture is of 1993 in 2011. It was the closest one we got. Dad actually took it. Most of mine were a quite a bit off.

The Homer family 3 generations. We are almost one of the biggest. Just a few more kids and we will be. My Grandpa's parents died when he was just a little boy. My Great-aunt Colleen who was only a teenager at the time took over the house and 9 siblings and raised them herself. That takes strength, my friends! I admire her a lot. I can't imagine doing that at my age right now. That would be really hard. She has some crazy stories. :) I loved being there! We had a fun weekend!

I hope you all have a nice week!
K.K.M.D
Proverbs 31:25