The move-in

Well, I have to say, the move-in was pretty terrible. The Baltimore movers were every bit as bad as we had feared. Correct that, every bit as bad as David had feared. I had been tentatively optimistic.

They broke our couch, for starters. Supposedly (we'll see when the time actually comes), I have full replacement value as long as I file my claim within 75 days. But the couch irks me because we have a matching loveseat. I've been told to claim that, too. We'll see.

They also lost the hardware to our crib, dining room table, and the boys' two beds. David has since gotten the table and beds together, but not without multiple trips to the hardware store. I'm sure that was an adventure. The crib had special hardware so it's still unassembled. Not sure what to do with it. Not even sure how to dispose of it if comes to that. I will claim that cost, too, if there is one.

And then there's the kitchen. They lost all of my silverware, most of my utensils, pretty much all of my Tupperware, our toaster, and a handful of other things. I'm not filing my claim yet because I'm still figuring out everything they lost.

The quality control person told me that for a time, they had lost an entire container that belonged to us, which was why we had to wait so long for our delivery. Good job, guys. And although the ship weight equaled the delivery weight, that assumes that everything made it onto the ship, which it clearly did not.

It's just stuff, right? It is just stuff. But it's useful stuff, and I feel like I'm 20 years old trying to build up my kitchen the way I need it. Or living on furniture that doesn't fit. And I was so looking forward to getting Lilly in her crib again and getting her to sleep like a normal child. Not yet, I guess. I hope and pray that the claim goes smoothly. I hope it goes quickly. We'll see.

I have a lot of work to do. That's really an understatement. I'm not sure when it will get done. David and I worked hard over the weekend, but that was just 2 days. Little bits at a time, I suppose. It doesn't help that they took my 11 days of administrative leave from me. Nor does it help that I'm supporting something for the Chief of Staff for 3 days next week and going on an overnight trip for work on Sunday! I can't even take time off to put the house in order. Please pray for David. He hates chaos and it's very chaotic in our house right now, as you can see. We'll get there, but in the meantime...!

The good news is that our van got registered without any hiccups. I don't have to mess with that again while we're here. Huzzah!

I've enjoyed taking Alex to the bus stop in the morning. He was a bit of a bear yesterday from being tired, and he slithered down the steps this morning because he was so tired, but he's a bit of a sweetie overall. He got 4 points from his teacher yesterday for following the directions, and I can already see that the bus driver likes him. Who wouldn't?! We sure do love the heck out of our kids, don't we?

Some things are getting to normal. That is quite nice. Soon normal will be taking a weekend trip every month (God willing) and seeing more of Germany. And something else is exciting. I am going to Israel for work at the end of this month. I hope I get an opportunity to see something. I hope I get to walk where Jesus walked.

And one more thing. I realized just yesterday that in my last blog, I described a sausage fest (my friends' words) in one paragraph and then thanked Jesus for my life in essentially the next paragraph. Hm. That was a bit weird of me. But I think you all know what I meant, right?

Hope you all have a nice day (or night). Keep in touch and comment if you want to. I appreciate your comments because they make me feel just a little bit closer to home.

Toy room. Still a nightmare but not quite this bad. 

And this was taken after already working for one day. The good news is that I actually am sleeping on my bed now. Progress.