[disclaimer: if you don't know our housegroup members personally, i apologize for using their names without a description of each of them. this post would get very long if i did that - and i have more boxes to go pack up for the remainder of our move on tuesday!]

yesterday, the day between Good Friday and Easter, our AWESOME housegroup helped us pack a 26-foot Penske moving truck full of stuff from our Swisshelm Park house to our new home.

the boys and i dropped kenny off at Penske (does anyone else think of George Costanza everytime you hear that?) truck rental to pick up our MAMMOTH TRUCK on friday evening. we drove behind him all the way home and i cringed everytime he turned a corner and the back right tires lifeted off the ground. it's a lot longer than you think when you're driving it. :)

saturday, the boys and i caravaned up to the new house (rowan's favorite new phrase is "the new house") with 10 friends of ours from our housegroup to begin painting and stripping wallpaper. the drive took longer than usual and the boys were so ready to get out and run once we got to the house. fortunately, singing songs kept them happy for the last 20 minutes of the drive. they LOVE to sing and dance (or wiggle) in their car seats, and although i run out of song ideas after about 5 minutes, they don't mind repetition. kenny, his friend craig, roger and volus stayed back at the house and packed up the truck.

rachel, becky, lisa, amy, and matt started stripping the boys' room wallpaper 10 minutes after we arrived and they didn't need any of the wallpaper strippers that i bought. it came off that easily! this bodes well for the kitchen wallpaper (which i don't plan on removing right away...but eventually) and the bathroom wallpaper (as fast as i can!). sue, ellen, and a due-at-any-moment-with-baby-#2-sara entertained the kids (rowan, sawyer, abigail, and owen) in the big empty rooms on the first floor.

after a great lunch provided by carol and walter, everyone took a tour of the grounds. as they were walking back, kenny, the truck and his caravan arrived. i had to drive the boys around for their nap as they were already tired. ellen and i tried to find the nearest stores and didn't find much (a giant eagle about 10 miles away...). this is one of the things i will get used to eventually. we returned to an almost-empty truck, and two rooms that were stripped and primed, ready for a first coat of paint! we all walked over to explore the barn - i was amazed at how ready it was for animals. a gorgeous hay-loft on the second floor, and a stall that could easily house pigs or sheep or goats. the bulbs were bursting out of the ground all over the yard - lenten rose, hyacinth, a huge row of peonies, daffodils, a freshly tilled vegetable bed waiting for us to plant. it's a yard fit for a master gardener. a little intimidating to me!

at 4:30, two pizza boxes were delivered to our front door. it was our neighbors to the right, who ordered them for us.

it had been a long and tiring day. but it was nothing but fun. we gathered in a circle to pray for the great day we had shared together just before everyone went back to the city. our friend matt, who has ties to the native american community, gave us a housewarming gift of sage and ceremonial tobacco to burn in corners all over our house. this symbolizes a cleansing of the house as it changes families. he also gave us a feather with leather ties and beading symbolizing strength, watchfulness, and balance to hang in our attic. we were well taken cared-of yesterday. and we know that we will continue to be so well prayed over and cared for...45 miles away from our pittsburgh family. :)

this tuesday, we close on both houses and we've hired movers to move all of our furniture. we'll probably all sleep really well on our new bedroom floors that night!

oh...and...our neighbors told us yesterday of the "really bad bear problem" we have on our land. i wasn't going to mention this because i really shouldn't be freaking out about it. but...how can a momma with three small boys NOT freak out about the "really bad bear problem" at her new home? i guess since our neighbors aren't at all bothered by it (it's really only a problem to them because the bears attack their bird feeders!), i'll become accustomed to bear in my back yard. and all of our garbage kept inside until pick-up day.