So backtrack a bit, I should probably explain why we moved and all the huge changes that have been going on this last month!
Okay so back in the summer when we were visiting Utah is really when it all started. I saw my kids playing in the yard and saw how much they loved it and remembered how much I loved it and how much we miss having a yard. That's when the seed was planted. As the year progressed I began to enjoy living in an apartment less and less. Our neighbors below us complained quite a lot about how loud we were. Brent's solution: "Well we could cut off their legs, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea". Yeah, the neighbors loved it when he said that.... not.
We also had issues with other neighbors, I won't go into all of that in a public blog but lets just say that it was pushing me to my limit and I was about ready to crack. I needed for us to be on our own.
There just wasn't much space to run and play unless we went all the way out to the playground, which we had to cross the parking lot to get to. It wasn't the worst situation by any means though so after toying with the idea of moving we decided to stay. We liked the pool, the apartment itself was really nice and we really didn't have the money to go spend on a house paying MORE for rent. We finally decided we wouldn't move UNLESS we found a place we liked better for LESS than what we were paying at our apartment.
So one of Brent's PA classmates was moving somewhere else for her clinical rotations so her house was coming available and the rent was $15 less than our apartment. We decided to go and look at it even though it seemed too small. Well the looks were deceiving, it had more space than our apartment and I just fell in love with the yard in the back. The problem though was... no dishwasher. That was kind of a big deal to us. I'm NOT the best at keeping up with cleaning. I need a dishwasher. So Brent negotiated with the Landlord. Brent wrote up a bid of what it would cost to put one in. After a couple weeks of not knowing if it would work out or not (which was pure torture for me!) the Landlord and Brent came to an agreement in our favor! Dishwasher was approved! Our lease at our apartment was up on the 31st so we decided to just enjoy Christmas and then start packing up and moving out on the 29th.
Of course Brent somehow threw out his back a few days before we were to move. Luckily we got a couple dollies lent to us by a church member. We took load after load back and forth with our van. Holy cow, that was a lot harder than I thought! Our friends from church let us borrow their truck while they were in CA so we were able to move the piano and washing machine/dryer with those and some other friends from church came and helped lift the piano and couches into the new house.
There are a few things about the house we don't like as much as the apartments but holy cow it's so nice to have a bit more space and a yard and not to have anyone below us and to have our car right outside our door instead of down a flight of steep stairs. We're also able to spread out in the kitchen a bit more, OH and the girl that moved out sold us her table and chairs for a price we could afford! The table and chairs work so much better for our family!
There are a few things about the house we don't like as much as the apartments but holy cow it's so nice to have a bit more space and a yard and not to have anyone below us and to have our car right outside our door instead of down a flight of steep stairs. We're also able to spread out in the kitchen a bit more, OH and the girl that moved out sold us her table and chairs for a price we could afford! The table and chairs work so much better for our family!
So anyway, things are looking up! We're in a place of our own, Brent's didactic year is OVER, and I'm going to Physical therapy to help my shoulders so I can start exercising again, and we actually even have TIME to exercise now!!! Right before Christmas I wrote out a Christmas card:
Dear Family & Friends,
Hello from Paris, TN! This has been a memorable year. Hopefully a lot of those memories will fade
with time. If you would like to appreciate the details of this year’s experiences, insert your finger
into the corner of your eye; hook your finger around the back of your eye and then pull. Brent made
it through his first year of PA school which has been just about as enjoyable as getting his Wingtip
shoes shoved down his throat.
Yes, it was a hard year for us but we still have so much to be grateful for. We’re all still alive. We
have plenty of extra pounds of fat storage in our bodies so we won’t starve too fast if there was a
disaster. And best of all we have hope, hope that next year will be better than this year!
We’ve actually gotten to do a few fun things this year during semester breaks. In April we went backpacking in Mid-Eastern Tennessee. Our friend Taran stayed with us in June. In July the kids and Sarah got to visit Utah and spent 2 weeks with family. In August we went camping at the beach
in Florida. In October we had a visit from Sarah’s parents and camped in the beautiful Smokey Mountains!
Update on the kiddos:
• Chico... He is quite good at math and likes to wake up bright and early to practice math
facts. He can already do multiplication! He is quite an amazing lego builder. We are
constantly amazed by the creations he comes up with, often they are space ships or robots.
He still draws occasionally and we are amazed at how well he can replicate drawings he
finds online. He’s got a gift!
• Griz... started Pre-K this year. He is now sounding out words and frequently pointing
out letters and numbers he sees in random places. He is so eager to learn! He is also such
a great friend, he is constantly making new friends at school and at the park. His smile and
humor are very important to our family. He’s still a cute and cuddly boy but he also likes to
fight and wrestle and you have to watch out because he is pretty good at landing a blow! He
loves to play with toys and use his imagination. We love hearing he and Chico come up
with imaginary scenarios involving “Pumpkin”.
• Bubba or Sanna is now 2 years old and speaking quite a bit. She has the cutest, funniest voice. She likes to repeat us a lot. When she repeats us it sounds like someone has just recorded your voice and then distorted it with a computer. She’s getting into princess stuff but she still likes super heroes with the boys. She’s a momma’s girl and wants to go everywhere Sarah does, especially Walmart! She still likes to climb and get messy and tries her hardest to keep up with the boys! She has also very recently really started liking to build, mostly with duplos but she can also do the little legos a bit too.
Update on us:
• Brent finished the didactic year of PA school and received his “white coat” and will begin
clinical rotations. Each rotation lasts 5 weeks and each will involve a different medical field.
These rotations will last until he graduates in May 2017.
• Sarah spends a lot of time in our new mini van driving children and neighbors here and
there. She hasn’t done as much photography and art this year with life being so crazy.
We hope you all are doing well. For those of you we don’t get to see as often, we miss you and wish
we could have been with you this Holiday Season.
Love,
Brent, Sarah, Charles, Alvin, and Savannah Hatch
No comments:
Post a Comment