Today we should be in Canada but I am still looking out on our tiny Ohio backyard blanketed with 3 inches of snow today. This started off on what seemed like a fun excursion to Canada with the U.S. Military. My husband Jr (whom may add his own posts later) was to take the place of another that was leaving in October. Our original report day was the beginning of January but because the other Sgt. was leaving in October he wanted us there sooner. In the end my husband compromised and agreed to the beginning of December but, had no idea the trials this would bring. Around the end of October we find that if we want our household items moved by the military it will take at least 45 days to get the movers here which of course is a little to late and this is just the start of our headaches. After a short trip to TX we do some searching and opt for ABF to move our household goods, we pack it and they move it. Now we had to buy the boxes and pack everything we own and narrow it down to fit in a 27'x10' area. We had a month at this point and it seems a lot of time but it really isn't. I start with the school room (homeschool) which went easily but got messy in the process (who knew packing could make such a mess). I combined a lot of the toys from the playroom into the schoolroom boxes and anywhere else they would fit. The kitchen is tackled next but really it about tackled me, after boxes upon endless boxes. A and T's room is very simple with the exception of clothing. We are taking abundant clothing thanks to hand-me-downs and thrift store shopping they are set for quite a while. Within about 3 days I complete their room and head to ours, the master bedroom. In the process of doing our room I knock out the hall closets, kid's bathroom and J's room, our room is still not quite complete but very close. J's room is also the office area minus computers. I took many boxes of books out of his room as well as files, photos, clothing, toys and more. During this time my sweet hubby helped me keep up on the endless cleaning that seemed to be getting out of hand as well as cleaning up the garage and getting it ready for packing and packing his own clothes and the electronics as well as working on disassembling large furniture.
At this point during the move we were prepared to leave. We said our goodbyes at church on Sunday the 21st still thinking we were leaving Dec.3. James had his going away lunch from work the next Wed. and that is the day we found out we would be here until the 9th. That meant I was far enough ahead in packing that I could go with hubby to Texas.
We realized we may have a few things that we like but that may not be allowed to cross the border or fit in our moving van so we do a turn and burn to TX leaving late wed. afternoon...for those of you unfamiliar with holiday traffic the day before Thanksgiving in Ohio is horrible to drive in. Managed to make it to Texas in about 20 hours with a 2-3 hour nap break at a truck stop. So, we are there Thursday (Thanksgiving) afternoon and work on clearing a path in mom's shop so we can haul our cargo upstairs which is all completed by Friday afternoon (big thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for the help). Friday night we have a girls night out (Christmas shopping) while the guys watch all 6 kids :) hehehe, a good break from a lot of stress. Saturday morning after sleeping in we had to reload the car thanks to giving it a much needed cleaning the day before and that took till noon. I think we left mom's about 1pm to head to dad's shop and say goodbye. Dad wasn't available on our first trip to Texas so I was glad he had time to see us this go around. We stopped at good ol' McD's for lunch and hit the road about 3-4pm (this is still Saturday).... We didn't get home until Sunday at 7pm. J had one seizure in Memphis, TN so we went to the ER and after several hours and 2 hospitals we were given the 'good to go' and hit the road but stopped at a rest area for some sleep. J had a second seizure in Cincinnati and we drove the 45 minutes home and Jr took him to the ER while I got the kids bathed, fed and to bed. Longest trip ever for us between Texas and Ohio.
Jr found out the next day that his friend had passed away the day before which saddened us both. This was Monday and our moving truck was to come Friday and Jr still has no orders so one of the ladies cut him orders on Tuesday that stated his family couldn't go until we were medically cleared but at least he now had orders. Well, all seemed well, Jr attended the memorial on I think it was Wed and on Thurs. (Jr had requested delayed reporting prior) instead of delayed reporting they just cut him new orders all together. Now, the report date is the end of January and the earliest we can leave is January 1st. This is just insane to me. If we had actually gotten movers then we would be living in an empty house at the moment. Currently it is all in boxes except what we were getting rid of, taking with us or trashing. We will be celebrating Christmas here, going back to the church where we said our goodbyes, and Jr is back at work after they already had his going away.
I am working on figuring out the B4 forms and trying to figure out if we have to list each specific item or if we can do it more general... like one craftsman screwdriver, one craftsman wrench or just tools. Lord help us if we have to be specific. The lists on the boxes are fairly specific but it will still take time. Then we also have to come up with the value in Canadian dollars (yippee). I am NOT looking forward to this trip across the border but I will be relieved when it is all over!
