Tag: Relocation

New Texas Residents

On By debweeksIn Holidays, Relocating, TexasLeave a comment

On Friday we bid farewell to Illinois.  I had been so focused on getting everything ready for our move that I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about the move itself.  So as I put the last of our belongings in hubby’s car (minus my cast iron skillets – story to be shared later), I suddenly became teary as the enormity of the move flooded over me.  After all, we had spent 19 years, 9 months in our Illinois home.  We had not only built our house, but we had built our life there and that life was full of memories.  Those memories we carry with us and it was those memories that flooded over me in that moment.

I wish I would have taken pictures of the empty shell we left behind, but those pictures will be available on our realtor’s site soon enough 🙂

On Friday night we stopped in Missouri for the night.  Driving Georgette takes a little more time.  For safety reasons, I don’t push her too hard and with hubby following behind in a packed U-Haul truck, we weren’t on a mission to make good time.  Our mission was a safe arrival period and we arrived very safely to the Springfield KOA.

On Saturday we headed out and a short time later stopped at a truck stop to find some fuses we needed for Georgette.  She had blown a fuse that caused the break lights to go out and that didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy at all.  Hubby got the fuses, found the culprit and replaced it.  Voila’ – break lights.  That was until we hit the interstate and he called to let me know my break lights were out again.  Obviously, this was a problem and we were going to need to have Georgette looked at.  When and where was the question.

Hubby followed behind and we cautiously continued on our way making it to the KOA in Durant, OK.  It was dark by the time we arrived, but from the little bit we could see, it appeared to be a very nice campground.  They offered shuttle service to the Choctaw Casino next door, but I suppressed my urge to go drop some change in the slot machines and we hunkered down for the night.  Good thing too since the rains came in during the night and they came in hard.  Torrential downpours which tested Georgette, but she held strong and had no leaks.

Early the next morning we headed out and before long we were in Texas and not too long after we pulled into the RV park – Shady Creek.  The goal was to arrive early enough that we had plenty of time to set up and unload the U-Haul before dark.  All went well and we were in Georgette before it got dark and I was faced with my biggest challenge of the move – finding a place to put everything.  I either needed to find a way to add more space or we were going to need something bigger.

Amongst all the clutter, one thing was abundantly clear, Georgette needed some Christmas spirit, so we got our Christmas on.  We dodged containers and all the mess and this was the end result.

FOTE338

Yesterday we added a star.

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And we hung stockings.

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I still have a lot of mess to clean up and put away, but at least we’re ready for our first Texas Christmas and that is the most important thing.

First, Last, TWO WEEKS

On By debweeksIn Holidays, Relocating, TexasLeave a comment

We’ve celebrated 19 Thanksgivings since living in this house.  I’ve hosted about 15 of the 19 Thanksgivings, baking the turkey, ham, making stuffing, mashed potatoes, a variety of vegetables, and desserts.  This year, however, I had our Thanksgiving meal catered.  This was a first for me, but with only two weeks til moving day,

TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!

my time needed to be spent packing and cleaning.

I ordered the food from my favorite grocer, yet it was still a little unnerving for me.  Overall, the food was pretty tasty though and it made Thanksgiving much more relaxing.  Just a few dishes to do and we headed out for another first.

A movie!

We’ve never gone to see a movie on a holiday, but with all the changes happening in our lives these days, it seemed like another fun first to try.

Of course this Thanksgiving was also the last that we will spend in this house.  For a matter-of-fact, it was the last holiday that we will spend in this house.

We’ve made some terrific holiday memories in this house over the years and those memories we will carry with us always.

Typically, with Thanksgiving behind us, I turn my focus to Christmas.  I’m typically dusting off the decorations and decking the halls about now,

but instead I spent the day bagging up more donations, helping hubby dispose of our mattress and box (we really need a new one), tear down the girl’s bedrooms and get them set up in the master bedroom.  I also packed.  I do that daily now.

We made some good progress as we tackled all the things that need to be done before we pull out in two weeks.

TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!

Now time for bed, because tomorrow it’s only 1 week and 6 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Will Be Tough

On By debweeksIn Foster Care, Relocating, Uncategorized1 Comment

Our move to Texas, while really good for our family, means loss for us and the two little guys we had allowed into our home and our hearts for the last 15 1/2 months.

This Saturday, FS1 and FS2 will be moving to their new foster home.  They’ve visited their new foster family a few times and had two overnights at their home, so they won’t be going to complete strangers.  Regardless, Saturday is going to be a tough day for all of us.

Let Me Answer a Question

On By debweeksIn Changes, Foster CareLeave a comment

Since we made the announcement that we’re moving to Texas, I’ve had several people ask me about our foster sons.  I want to explain what is happening on that front.

First of all, the boys are still with us.  Unfortunately, their time with us will be coming to an end.

The goal for the boys still remains reunification.  As such, they must remain in the State of Illinois where they can continue to have visits with their parents.

Whether or not reunification will actually take place is yet to be seen, but I have also confirmed that the particular county handling their case is very slow to bring foster care cases to a close.  After talking to the boy’s case worker, there is likely many more months of foster care in their future.  That breaks my heart as much as leaving them behind.  These boys deserve to have permanency sooner, rather than later and it’s unlikely that anything will be settled for them for a very long time.

We had every intention of following their case through to the end, but life had other plans.  So as we leave Illinois as a family of four, I will leave behind two little pieces of my heart, along with the hope that we’ve created a positive change in their lives.

Dallas

On By debweeksIn Adventures, Dallas5 Comments

A 1980’s show about a wealthy oil family

living at Southfork Ranch.

There is also this Dallas.

The third largest city in Texas behind Houston and San Antonio.

The ninth largest city in the U.S.

Dallas and the surrounding areas are home to the Cowboys (football), Mavericks (basketball), Rangers (baseball), FC Dallas (soccer) and the Stars (hockey).

By year end, it will also be home to the Weeks Family.

Hubby was offered and accepted a new role with Microsoft down in the Dallas area.  On top of that, we have family in the North Dallas area, so it’s a great relocation spot for our family.

However, we are leaving some very important people behind when we leave Illinois.  Two of our sons will be here as well as other family and friends.  We will most certainly come back for visits, but two people we will be leaving behind make this move very difficult.

FS1 and FS2 have been with us for about 15 months now.  We’ve watched them grow and change and we feel very sad to be saying good-bye to these two little people.  While we wish we could have continued to be their family, foster care in Illinois (as well as many other places), is a slow process and at this point, there is no definite end in sight for these two little boys.  So we must trust that we’ve had a positive impact on their lives and that our agency will do their due diligence in finding a wonderful new home for them.

I’m quite sure this move will provide great material for future blog posts, so please check back from time to time and see what’s happening as we move World of Weeks from Illinois to Texas in the coming weeks.