Hi there from our maze of boxes. Actually it isn't that bad anymore. We have located most of the needed items. Well, except that printer cable...

The new house is great and not so great. It has lots of typical "foreclosure" issues. Which is why we were able to afford it! In other news, I got a different van. after spending weeks and lots of money, we and our mechanics had to concede that Ben's white van was not going to ever have air conditioning without the purchase of a brand new compressor, etc. that would cost more than the car! So, as summer dragged on, we hunted for a replacement. At long last, we made a convoluted deal with a friend an bought a jump seat online so my Honda Odyssey would seat eight. You KNOW this is a Chastain blog, so the seat was shipped to our address on base, but we did not find out about it until too late. Who knows what happened to the seat. hopefully we can try to track it down this week. in the meantime I am road tripping to see relatives.

Just in case you are wondering about my strange typing, I have just realized someone hit the insert button and I can't figure out how to shut it off. It is so frustrating that I am signing off now. Hope to have pix when I return.

Let me know if you need the new address. Our phone numbers have stayed the same.

IT's my Birthday!!

Now if I could just remember how old I am. Oh my, or do the math. Never mind, let's skip that part, though I am accepting gifts in the form of service.

We are signing for our house, FINALLY. As usual, the Chastain "summer vacation" did not go as planned. We MUST move this weekend, and have this house clean by Wednesday(July 1). Also, the other house is not clean(at all) and then there is the little matter of packing and shifting lots of large furniture.

My red van is gone. I am sad. I have been driving Ben's white van which I am told will be mine for the duration. I can't come to grips with it. Someone told me they were selling an 8 passenger vehicle when this first happened. The kind she mentioned, I had never heard of. Once I saw it, I could not get it out of my head. As it turns out, we cannot afford it, at all. But now I am always thinking how nice it would have been. Then I feel guilty for not being happy with what I've got. The truth is, I have cared very little what we drove over the years, as long as my children and stroller/groceries fit. Why am I suddenly so taken with this particular car? No idea.

Back to my birthday. It's a strange thing. My mother told me that they almost changed it to the day I was adopted in October. It would have changed who all my friends were, because my grade in school would have been different. Just a random thought. As it turned out, my parents had three more children, 2 born in June and one July 1st. So, I fit right in. Funny how little things like that make a difference.

Enough philosophical birthday musings. However, I just want to say I will NOT be celebrating my birthday in the same manner as my sister chose to observe hers yesterday. I will NOT be filing for divorce. I will NOT be having a tattoo changed from Kanji to a flower. I will NOT be drinking margaritas or going to a dog park. Now there IS a difference!

(my computer will currently NOT let me add a picture. I'll try later)

Life at Supersonic speed!

This month just sped by. All that end of the school year stuff. I have tons of pictures. Awards night, Field trips, reader's theatre, Graduation, beach days, car wreck, new house, grandparents. I could leave the longest post in the world trying to make up for lost time. I would never make it on Twitter. I have not got the time to keep up with that, anyway.



Currently, we are experiencing an onslaught of car woes. I was rear-ended, and the driver left. My insurance decided to total my car, against my protestations. Ben had a flat. The sliding door fell OFF my car. We moved my seats to Ben's van and made him start driving Savannah's car. It had a flat. Today it overheated and is back in the shop.



We are closing on a house this Friday(PLEASE Pray). It needs work and moving ourselves seems overwhelming. BEcause this is hanging over our heads, we cannot look for a new(to us) vehicle of any sort. Liberty has been in destructo mode, coloring herself( to include her nails), a doll, 5 shoes, a box, the wall and several bricks with sharpie marks. Fifteen minutes later, she dumped glow in the dark nail polish down her front.



10 runners came to breakfast this morning, then played video games. We primed Trinity's dresser for painting and Jeanette packed 10 boxes! We are in the middle of vacation Bible school where I am doing the nursery. We have 3 physicals scheduled for this week, a visit from the pest control man and Ivy and Anna will be off to AWANA camp on Friday.



I'd love to be witty and philosophical at this point, but haven't the time, or quite frankly, the energy. However, If you do not read Savannah's blog, please check it out. Time is closing in for her to get her support. If you would like to see more photos, go to my facebook page. I hope to put more up soon, but no promises!