Day 19: Places I've Lived

Also, an account of how many times I've moved

1. Yacolt, Wa. I lived in the house that my parents built until I was 11. In fact, my mom went into labor when my dad was doing the insulation.
2. Pine Haven, Wy. We moved for about four months when I was in 4th grade.
3. Yacolt, Wa. Back to our house for the rest of 4th grade and most of 5th grade.
4. Longview, Wa. My family moved to a rental house in Longview while we built our new house.
5. Buhl, Idaho. I went to live with my aunt, uncle and cousins in Idaho for the rest of 5th grade and some of summer.
6. Rose Valley (Kelso), Wa. We moved into our new house.
7. Bellingham, Wa. I moved into the Alpha dorm at Western Washington University.
8. Kelso, Wa. Back home for the summer.
9. Bellingham, Wa. Back to Alpha dorm for my second year of college.
10. Kelso, Wa. Back home for the summer
11. Bellingham, Wa. My third and final year I lived in a house called The Mansion, with 9 or 10 other women.
12. Oakesdale, Wa. I moved in with a girl from The Mansion. Her family had a wheat farm and I was planning on going to school in Spokane after my year off.
13. Spokane Valley, Wa. I moved in with a girl from work towards the end of my year off and through part of my first (summer) semester of grad school.
14. Spokane, Wa. I lived in an apartment on the South Hill. Ironically, I found my roommate online and she was the best roommate I've ever had. She was going to grad school on my same campus and getting her degree in physical therapy.
15. Bainbridge Island, Wa. I did my internships in Bainbridge (schools) and Silverdale/Bremerton (hospital). I lived with my gracious aunt and uncle through my internships and until the end of the summer.
16. Mercer Island, Wa. My first apartment. Oh how I loved that place.
17. Kelso, Wa. I moved home for the month before our wedding.
18. Kennewick, Wa. Our first home together, I moved in after our honeymoon. It was the perfect first home/apartment to start our marriage in.
19. Richland, Wa. Our current location. What a blessing it has been! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next.

And there you have it. Oohh the places I've been!

We're IN!

We are not unpacked, but we are in the 'new' house. It. is. huge. Here are a few more pictures from the move. Blake and I rocked the mega van on Friday and got the majority of our things moved in five trips (I felt like I'd been hit by a semi truck that night). All that was left on Saturday was the four-person heavy stuff and all the loose ends. We were out of the apartment and had it cleaned by Saturday afternoon. Thanks to some of our new neighbors and my parents! It was exhausting! Doing so much on our own Friday, made me really and truly appreciate every extra hand that pitched in on Saturday.

On the move

It took five trips like this to get most of our stuff over.

We couldn't believe how much we could fit in this thing!

Our friends (and new neighbors) let us borrow their van for the move. 

It just keeps coming...

The kitchen counter is under there somewhere. 

This house came with some house guests. We're plant-sitting all of the owner's plants, including this GIANT tree. It is over 20 years old. After walking through/under/around this beast a few times I decided it needed a haircut, check it out.

Before...

After...  much more manageable. 

Saying goodbye to our old place.
(yes, I'm blinking)

This little place served us well for almost three years.

I'll get some pictures of the new place soon and maybe even a garden update - it's been growing!

Consumed

...with moving.

All I've really had time for doing or thinking about is packing, moving, packing, cleaning and more packing. This week, however, is going much better than last week.

I was reminded of this clever and amusing post from my fellow blogger, Julie, who moved last October. She discusses the "Stages of Moving" and from my current personal experience, she was right on the money. She said it better than I ever could, so do click over and read through it. You'll get a chuckle if you've moved anytime recently.

Last week, when I was having a little meltdown, I was between stages three (easy stuff) and four (chaos). A couple of days with Blake at my side (or me at his side rather) and we plowed right into stage four and I believe that is still where we reside.

Pretty soon though (like tomorrow!), we will be at stage five (taking care of business). Here is a quote from Julie about this stage, which I can see happening in the very near future, "It is the day(s) every room is full of boxes, and at the end of it, you find yourself filling a box with a towel, a spatula, a box of Kleenex and a bottle of toilet cleaner because that is all that is left."

Looking forward to that! Here are some pictures of our stages so far:

We started a month early and packed up most of the guest room/office and finished a little painting:

Then we did almost nothing for two weeks, except we did buy some tape and looked at our stash of boxes. I wish I'd taken a picture of this because I found it comical. We have a storage room on our balcony with the water heater and a potting "bench". Stacked around and behind those things were all of our moving boxes and darn near every box for almost every item we received as a wedding gift or purchased in the last two and a half years. We did stop collecting original packaging/boxes a few months ago (with only a few regrets). We always knew that we'd move out of this apartment and so we kept them. Sometimes, I don't think we needed to, but the box came in handy for something else. However, when we finally got some real packing done last week, those boxes came in handy! How do you pack a heavy 6-quart mixer? Why in a heavy duty box that has custom fit foam inserts of course (and conveniently, it is also labeled quite accurately)! I'm sure we would have gotten by without them, but it was humorous to see all that we kept and nice to put it to good use.

Here's the guest room now (not much different really)

Blake decided that it would be easiest to start filling up our garage with the boxes so on moving day we could just back up the truck and load up. We're getting there!

Garden Weekend

This weekend we devoted ourselves to our new garden. The couple that owns the house that we will be renting are kind enough to let us come and start a garden while it's time for planting. We had our work cut out for us.

Here are some before shots from my phone:

Grass, everywhere.

Grass and weeds!

After we pulled most of the grass and weeds and then some more grass, it was time to till.

Blake pretty much handled this part.

I planned the layout and then took some pictures. I did other supportive things too, like bringing water and making comments on his manliness. Unfortunately, my plan isn't to scale and I didn't leave adequate room to draw the mounds that we planted squash and watermelon in, or the rows of big onions we planted off to the right side of the boxes. Next year, I'll get it right.

We are using the Square Foot Gardening method.

Here are some of the flowers I'll be taking care of. It's interesting to be moving into an established house with fully landscaped flowerbeds and lawn. Lets hope we can keep it up ;)

Not sure what kind of tree this is...

I *might* resort to using this photo for my photo challenge
day 4 - clouds. So don't look too hard if you're a part of that group ;)

We went out to dinner - a rare treat - and went home and hit the sack. We were beat! We only got half of the space tilled (which is only half of the garden that we're using). Blake got up early on Saturday and finished tilling and leveled it out some. He also had some garden dirt delivered and built some raised beds with the neighbors leftover boards and landscaping fabric (Score! We have awesome neighbors!). We were worried that all of that grass and those weeds would just come back, since most of it had already gone to seed. We figured we'd keep some weeds out by lining the bottom of the boxes and using new dirt. We'll see how effective it was in a few weeks!

I was productive at home while Blake was working.. but who takes pictures of vacuming, laundry and cleaning toilets ;). Once the dirt was delivered and boxes built, I showed up with the results of my plant buying trip that afternoon. Now the action really begins! We got most of it done on Saturday, but had to come back Sunday after church and plant the things that are outside of the boxes (corn, squash, melon and onions).

Lots of shoveling dirt, super dry dirt, which took forever to wet down.
That was the hardest part of it all, wetting and mixing the dirt!

First box planted! 8 little peppers and several tomatoes in this one.

The last plants to go in were the onions.
Walla Walla Sweets and red onions

A row of corn started, a row of corn in seeds, and in two weeks,
we'll plant another row of corn from seeds. That should space out the harvest.

All done! 

We planted:
Tomatoes - three varieties, hot peppers - three varieties, beans, sugar snap peas, artichoke, cauliflower, broccoli, okra, carrots - regular and rainbow, beats - golden and red, cucumbers, onions, celery, corn, butternut squash, acorn squash, watermelon, zucchini, yellow squash, oh, and cabbage.

We have one empty square in one box, not sure what will go there, and some empty squares in another box for spinach and lettuces. We'll wait to plant those until we've moved in, because once they start producing, you have to stay on top of them or it will bolt in no time flat.

We bought what we could find in starts, but had to plant some things in seeds. I hope they come up! I'll keep you posted ;)

Movement

I like to be comfortable. I like to make a plan and put on cruise control. I like feeling in control and having my bases covered. I like learning from my mistakes and I like learning from other people's mistakes even better.

I don't know many people that like unpredictability, instability and constant change. I sure don't.

Lately, God has been moving me to a new place. I love it. I love that God is stretching and growing me. I've said it before but I'll say it again. If you aren't growing you're dying and I'm glad to be in the place of growth. I'm glad that He cares enough to challenge me.

That said, growth sometimes (usually) comes from discipline or trials that push us out of our comfort zone and ideally, push us toward greater dependence on God. We're so independently minded in our flesh, but God created us in His image, and His image is dependent... I know, I know that sounds like a fault but it isn't. Look at God, He is three in one. He is the definition of relationships and interdependence. He knows that we are at our best when we are in constant communication with Him and consider His ways in every aspect of our lives. He knows that we are going to stumble and get lost when we forge ahead on our own, in our own power and with our own plan. He knows, just like any parent knows, that sometimes the uncomfortable things lead to a better long term outcome.

In the spirit of dependence, God has been teaching me that my plans are lovely, but what is important is that I continuously seek Him. No cruise control allowed.

Through some unexpected changes at work God has taught me that He will provide. He has better plans for me than I could imagine, so just trust Him. I won't go into all the details but essentially I have no idea what my employment future looks like after this contract ends. This has happened before, and God always provides. I'm excited to see what is ahead and what I'll learn from it. I'm thinking of James 1:2-4 and finding joy in this situation, because I know that it will produce good things in me. God is moving us toward a deeper relationship and dependence on Him, and I'm rejoicing in it.

: :

The other part of this post (or maybe it should be its own?) is the blessing that has already come from seeking Him. Not only is God moving us closer to Him, He's also literally moving us!

The possibility came up that a house next door to and down the street from some good friends would be available to rent. We love the area and have talked about looking around there when it's time for us to buy/build a house. The couple that owns the house are going on a mission trip for 18-23 months (in Russia) and would need just short-term renters.

It sparked our interest because as we count down to starting our family, their return from Russia would fall in line with when we need to be thinking about permanent housing. The time line fit ours... but it really would come down to the money. We don't need to move.. but would sure love to if it didn't upset the budget. However, most rental houses are smaller than our apartment and cost more to rent, so it's never been cost effective to move into a house.

So, after much prayer and consideration (remember that I'm not sure when or where I'll be working soon!) we met with the couple that owns the house and discussed it. Initially, they wanted more than we wanted to pay (which the house is totally worth: 3 beds/3 baths/3 car garage, on some acreage), but after meeting with us they decided that we could work something out (we are appealing short-term renters because we have no kids). So after more prayer and consideration, we came back to them on Sunday with a number that we thought was do-able, even though it would mean still paying more in rent than we need too (because actually, we don't need to move). When we told them our number they smiled and said that after our last meeting they talked and had agreed on an amount that was fifty dollars less than what we'd offered to pay!

That just felt like God's stamp of approval. Not only would he bless us with the ability to enjoy living in a bigger space, with a fantastic yard, deck and garden, which is also really close to several of our friends.. but he would also do it for less money than we'd expected.

We are SO excited to have more space and to feel a little more grown up in a house. I'll miss our apartment and moving is never fun.. but it's an adventure and a step forward. It's God's movement and it feels good!

"God's Country"

It is no small secret that I am not thrilled about my future move to Tri-Cities. I love the West-side and all that is rainy and green. I don't really enjoy the blistering heat and prefer cloudy skies over skin cancer causing sun. Vitamin D-vitamin schmee.

Jared, my older brother, so kindly helped me move out of my old apartment and caravaned with me to Kennewick. He was there with me while I sadly packed up and lamented, pouted shamefully and constantly really, about having to move to the Tri-Cities. He would say over and over how he just didn't understand why I was sad. After all, I was moving to 'God's country', they grow things there, the earth is fertile, they have more sunny days and wide-open skies! Seriously, he reminded me of this hourly and tried to impress upon me just how lucky I was, after all, it was God's country!
I maintained that it was the desert and nothing good was in the desert (except Blake, but I'd rather him not be there either).

So Jared stayed for a week to hang out with Blake and to use our super high speed Internet. He had helped me unload my stuff into 'our' apartment. Blake had been 'living' there for a month now with his bedroom furniture, scant dishes, his TV and two camping chairs. I was providing most of the furniture and really didn't want any of his bachelor furniture to make it over the threshold! I went to live at my parents' until the wedding.

Apparently, during Jared's stay there was a pretty major wind storm because after Jared came home from his week in 'God's country' he gave me a hug and expressed deep sympathies that I had to move to such an awful deserted land. He said that the wind blew so hard dirt seeped into every crack around every door and every window. The wind/dirt sandblasted the writing off of an unopened case of soda in his truck bed and destroyed our barbecue. He reported with quite a bit of enthusiasm how horrible it was and that this place indeed was not 'God's country' but a dry, nasty, sand blower, of a desert.

Now if only this 'win' would somehow make it better to live there! At least he tried to be positive.. I guess ;)

Farewell Old Friend

It's time to move. It's silly I know, but I will miss this place. I know I'm moving on to better things: marriage, my first home with Blake, etc., but it's the end of this chapter and that still makes me sad. I just want to capture all that this place really meant for me. 

This was the first place I lived alone, and I have loved living alone! I've lived here longer than any of the other 11 places I've lived since I moved away to college. I moved in with a bed, dresser, desk and hand-me-down couch. I painted, decorated and furnished this place from top to bottom. This place represents my successful independence. This is where I really grew into my own life and style. This is where I really started cooking. The joy of every type of food and ingredient within minutes. Selection and variety at my fingertips.This place is what I'll think of when I remember my 20's. The convenience of Bellevue and Seattle in 20 minutes or less (when the M's weren't playing). Meeting friends for coffee, happy hour, dinner or drinks. Walking to the grocery store. Tuesday night dinners with Whitney. Ups and downs shared over food. Learning what it really means to be an SLP. This place is where I come at the end of a long day and melt into bed. This is where I cried with friends and laughed with friends. But more importantly:

This is where I lived while falling in love with Blake. I was painting the accent wall in the living room when he called to check on me late one night and for the first time I had expected him to call. I was putting together my bedroom when I realized he'd called every night that week...he must either be bored or there's something serious going on here. It was the weekend I felt helpless because a heavy piece of furniture had been delivered to the concierge and I had no way to get it into my apartment.. there he came to the rescue, visiting in his big truck.

This is where Blake proposed.

This is where he first said 'I love you'.
(Yes in that order)

I'm sure I'll look back and see that what I'm leaving behind is nothing compared to what I'm moving towards. But for now, it still stings to see this place be packed up and painted over.. all that hard work. That classic, old hardwood floor.. open and empty. My cousin was kind enough to photograph it before I started packing and moving. This is how I'll chose to remember it. Warm and full of life.

 

Work Weekend

This weekend Blake and I met down in Kelso to help get my parents' house ready for the wedding. My mom and dad have been working really hard all spring and even last fall to get things caught up and spruced up. We were glad that we could finally help out, even just a little. The weather wasn't great, but it felt better to have a sweatshirt on than melt in the sun! Even though it was work, it was nice to be home and spend time with family. Jared even came up to help. It was really great to see him!

Blake was great with the pressure washer all morning and finished the lower levels of the house and front porch. It made such a difference! I didn't think to get before and after pictures, but I did get some pictures of Jared and Blake working very hard to scrape stuff off the windows and Dad up on a ladder spraying the wasp’s nests. That was so gross! You can see the mud streaking down the eave!

Mom and I did a ton of weeding, mostly with the ferns in the lawn area below our house. It was pretty gross but looked a lot better once we got the dead stuff and unwanted plants out of there. Blake and Jared worked hard edging around all of the tree areas. There is still a lot of work to be done; next week the plan is to paint all of the newly washed trim.

Blake will do the painting, while I do some other bride duties. I have arranged a play date for my flower girls. We're a little worried about the youngest one, Blake's niece Emily. We're hoping that if she warms up to Ada, then she will really make it down the isle. Then that afternoon I am going bridesmaid dress shopping with my friend Alicia. It should be fun, despite her aversion to shopping!

We also knocked out all of the invitations this weekend. I got Blake to help finally and my mom pitched in too. You can expect to see them in the mail this week! I can't tell you how good it feels to cross some things off the list!!

On the last leg of the weekend, Blake came up to Seattle and took a load of my stuff over. It was the beginning of a long process. It was mostly the stuff from my closets but it made me realize how much stuff I have! I hope to purge a lot of it (yeah for Goodwill!) it's hard to think about moving to a new life. Things that I very rarely use but consider it worth the space to keep, craft supplies and research articles.. now I have to question if it's worth our space. Not only do I question if I think it's worth it, but is it worth taking up our limited combined space. Hopefully it will help me get rid of things I don't need (and make room for all those great wedding gifts!).

What happened to April!

Well so much for once a month.. not that it matters because I think that my cousin Macey is the only one that reads this anyway ;) and I keep in touch with her fairly well (most of the time!).

Life moves so fast and I guess it only goes faster as the years progress. Not necessarily as we get older, but as earth adds years and we add technology everything gets kicked up a notch. I used to think that it was just because we were young that we thought time flew. Then I started working in geriatrics and I realized that the mature and wise elderly people felt like it moves faster every year too. I always thought.. but you're so slow, maybe you just can't keep up!? No, I really think that the world is going at a faster pace. Just like the dollar loses value, the second is too. Probably just America actually. That's also why we are so unhealthy.. stress, high blood pressure... strokes.. and that's what keeps me in business. Sorry! Kidding! I would have plenty to do if everyone stayed healthy and stopped stroking out.

Hey, I didn’t call it “Jillian’s blog of warm-fuzzies”!

So that leads me to my point, which is that my wedding is getting closer!! Blake should hear about his job this week, and in two weekends we’re going house hunting. I realized that moving out of my apartment and away from Mercer Island is like breaking up after a two year serious relationship. Every time I think of something that I had hoped to do with Blake here, or that I had hoped to do with friends or some plan I had for life that in mind would happen here. All of those standards that I have set so high and each time we have a sunny day and the sight of that clear blue water against the green trees and mountains takes my breath away… a little piece of my heart breaks. It’s like I’m slowly realizing that the life that I had planned will never happen.

However, just like in love, life goes on. You meet someone new, you appreciate qualities in someone that you never knew you wanted or needed and somehow you find yourself in love with the most unlikely friend that takes your breath away and amazes you every day. Now the likelihood of my falling in love with Tri-Cities is very slim, but the point is you just never know what is out there. The most unexpected things might sweep me off my feet. Like maybe I’ll learn to like the sun… we'll see!

Chasing the Wind

Well, in keeping with the once a month posting schedule ;) here I am again! I don't have any wedding updates to share but I do have some future Mrs. Chamberlain updates...

We've been looking at places to rent in Walla Walla. Blake and I went down last weekend and looked at the greatest townhouse.. and a few serious dumps. But the townhouse is really cute. Its downtown, really close to some cute restaurants, the farmer's market, Starbucks, and what they call 'shopping' down there. I can't tell you how much I like this townhouse. Especially compared to all of the other options out there. It's complicated though.. of course.. nothing I'm involved in can be simple ;) there are 2 and 3 bedroom townhouses, we want a 2 bedroom because we don't really need a 3 bedroom and they're more expensive, we may as well be making a house payment at that point. The 3 bedroom ones are waaay cool too, they have rooftop deck with piped in gas for your bbq and piped in hot/cold water for an outdoor kitchen. Soo cool, but again, more than we need. SOO the drama comes in now. There are only so many that are 2 bedrooms, and two of those are owned by the state for reduced income families. I know that people that don't make a lot of money need to live somewhere... but these places are SO nice!! The other available 2 bedroom units are pending right now... so if we want them, then we will need to sign a lease as soon as one is available.. if one is available.

The trouble with this is that we can only live in Walla Walla if Blake keeps working at Boise. It's too far of a commute otherwise. So he's miserable at his job right now, and is worried that it won't be around in 1 year. He has been very actively trying to find a job anywhere else lately, and if he is successful in that venture, then we'd need to break the lease and find a new place closer to wherever he finds a better job. The fact of the matter is.. I may have to move to tri-cities. I hate the thought of it, but it might have to happen. Ugg. It's just so gross there! Going from Mercer Island with nearby Bellevue to Tri-cities... not easy on the lifestyle I'm used to.

*Sigh* We'll see what happens! There are so many unknowns right now, which I don't like, but it continues to bring the two of us together and is really nice to have the experience to bond through.