Goodbye, Summerville.......

On New Year's Day, Matthew and I once again left Kyndall behind (sad, but necessary) and drove back up to our house in Summerville to get ready for the packers and movers to come the following day.  I hated leaving Kyndall after being away just a few days prior while we were in Jackson, but there's just no way she could've functioned there in the middle of the chaos of moving! 

The packers arrived bright and early Wednesday morning and they were there for a solid 12 hours!  I never realized how much STUFF we had!  I must say that I was pretty nervous about this whole process because I've never before had packers and movers----I've always done it myself.  To know me is to know a perfectionist.  I like things done a certain way and I'm very particular about my belongings.  So, to completely turn this process over to a bunch of strangers was quite a stretch for me.  I did my best not to hover and supervise as they packed my precious things, but it was pretty hard for me!  Although it appeared that they were doing a good job, I really wouldn't know for sure until it all arrived in Jackson---hopefully in the same condition it left Summerville!  A friend of mine told me that happy packers = careful packers.  So, we treated them to pizza for lunch and they really seemed to appreciate it.  Besides, it seemed like the least we could do!  I know it's their job, but there's something very weird about just sitting around doing NOTHING for 12 hours straight when perfect strangers are working their tails off to pack your house!  I kept telling them that I felt bad for not helping but they just laughed and said "this is our job!!"

Here's what our house looked like by the time the day was over.  We ended up getting a hotel that night because it was just too hard to navigate through the house with all of the boxes.

 

I was really missing Kyndall by the end of the day, so we had a Skype date back at the hotel and I watched her play with her toys at Nonie and Poppie's house

 

The next morning, the moving truck arrived and it was another very long day.  Just like the day before, we wanted to keep the movers happy so they got breakfast from McD's to start their day.  Unfortunately, it was a cold, rainy, nasty day---totally NOT perfect for moving your entire life out of a house and onto a truck!  This stressed me a little, but it turned out alright.  They were very careful to keep all of our furniture and boxes as dry as possible while in route from the house to the truck.

Ever wonder how they ship couches and keep them clean?  Like this, apparently!

 

By the end of the day, all that remained was the scripture on Kyndall's bedroom wall, above the place where her crib once stood.  This was so sad to me...........

 

The hardest part of the day was watching that United truck slowly drive away with our ENTIRE LIVES inside, knowing that it would now travel the country for several days picking up and dropping off other homes before returning our things to us in Jackson.  I said a prayer that the driver would be extra careful as to not get into an accident, catch fire and lose everything we own!  Also, that they wouldn't mistakenly give pieces of our belongings to other people as they made deliveries on their way to TN!  It was just a WEIRD feeling watching it drive away!

 

We spent a few more days in SC (in a hotel) waiting for Matthew to finish out his last week of work at the Summerville terminal.  Since I didn't have my little sidekick with me, I took full advantage of this time and met up with as many friends as possible.  I missed Kyndall terribly, but it was great to be able to run a few last minute errands to tie up loose ends around town as well as soak up some good quality friend time.  I also attended my last event with my beloved Mothers and More group---An appreciation dinner for the board members, of which I held the position of Community Outreach Chair.  It was a fun night spent laughing and enjoying the company of the ladies which had come to be my closest friends over the past year and a half.  Sadly, I'll probably never see these wonderful ladies again so it was definitely bittersweet for me.

On Sunday, Matthew and I parted ways as he left Summerville and headed to Jackson to prepare for his first day of work, and I drove back to Tallahassee to retrieve Kyndall, and also to be in my cousin's wedding the following weekend.  This was the longest I had ever been away from Kyndall (6 days) and I was beside myself to see her!  I spent the next week making up for lost time with her---lunch dates, a trip to the play area at the mall, Chick-Fil-A, and lots of time spent outside at my parents' house!

 

CRAZY driver on the loose!!

 

At the beginning of that week, our things arrived in Jackson and everything was accounted for!  Praise the Lord!  Matthew lived out of boxes that week and survived on frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets while Kyndall and I hung out in Tallahassee waiting for the wedding.  It would still be a week before we were finally all together as a family in our new home!  Whew---What a crazy couple of weeks!  Just for perspective, we found out we were moving on December 1st, found a house on December 30th, and Matthew started his new position on January 7th!  So, it was a busy month to say the least!!

Up next is my post about Carrie's "Say Yes to the Dress" fairytale wedding!!!  I've been itching to post the pictures but for the sake of keeping my entries in order, I've held off!  Check back to see what all the excitement was about and to hear about our television debut!  =)