April/May Reading List

 I have to be honest. There was a lot of stuff going on in my life during the past two months, and while I read a lot, I didn't do a very good job of keeping track of what I read. My yearly book count will most likely be off this year as I am sure this list will be leaving out something I read, but in order to maintain some sort of accountability I am going to track what I do remember.

I was totally bummed by this books ending and will not read it again. I was really looking forward to it, and it was good in the beginning and then kind of petered out. The ending left me feeling sorry I every picked up the book to begin with. 

I love books on The Roosevelts. This one was another good one that I would probably read again. 

This book was a good quick read that pointed out some thoughtful tips for someone like me who doesn't know how to pull through hard times without thrashing about. I will probably read it again at some point. 

This was a good one. This is not a book I would normally read, but it caught my eye when I went to the Charlotte library to sign up for a library card. I ended up reading it in one day because I found myself rushing back to it in between my other responsibilities. I am glad I read it. Not sure I would read it again, but it was definitely worth my time to read once. 

I also read a book about Crazy Horse that I cannot for the life of me remember.  I also read a book about Amish women that I cannot easily find a picture for online to post here. 

January: 5

Feb/March: 8

April/May: 6

Total: 19

Our NC Home

 The home that we chose to live in is in an established neighborhood in Charlotte proper. It was built in 1982, and at one time you can tell it was something special. The crown molding (in the rooms that have it) is beautiful as is the wood fireplace. It has been in the hands of a rental company for nearly a decade now and you can tell that this house is seen as a business commodity rather than a home to love. It is worn out and under appreciated. The floor is uneven, some of the windows won't open (we are remedying that through the property owners), there are cracks in some of the walls and ceilings, the "repairs" that have been made over time are sloppy and unprofessional, and yet...This was the house that gave me a spark of recognition that this was the house for us when we toured it on our house hunting trip. (Bobby on the other hand did not like it one bit, and dismissed it as a potential property for us almost as soon as he walked through its doors.) 

We actually put in an application on another property here in Charlotte, but because of a snag from our Indiana landlords the property paperwork didn't get in on time and it was rented out to another applicant. I was okay with this (for the most part) because it offered  no fencing and no privacy, two things I was looking for when we moved down here. After some discussion I talked Bobby into applying for this house mainly because we were on a serious time crunch and because I refused to rent anything I hadn't walked through after our experience moving into our home in Indiana. (Let's just say that the photos shown online were NOT representative of the actual condition of the property when we moved in. I would have never rented that home had I actually walked through it.)

Our home here is dark because of the amount of trees, but I am hoping that winter will bring more light into the home once the leaves fall. The darkness has been a bit of a bonus as it has kept the house notably cooler in the 90+ degree temps we had last week.  I will need the extra light come winter though and look forward to it. 

Despite its condition (and incredibly small secondary bedrooms) there is something about this house that I really love. It is cozy and the trees surrounding the property make me feel like I am in a wooded wonderland. We have an abundance of creatures living in the back and front yard too. 

I look forward to all of the memories we will create in this home. 

The front of our house

Our entryway 

Living room

View from second floor

The dining room 
(my favorite room in the house)

The kitchen

The family/school/computer room
(Basically the catch all room. We are planning getting a small love seat, area rug, and small coffee table for this room, but I refuse to pay full price for furniture so we are scoping second hand sources.This is probably my least favorite room right now, but it will do.)

Deck/backyard. 
We are looking for a patio set, but they are going like hotcakes right now because of the time of year it is. This is our first priority in terms of getting the small list of items we would like to have for the house. 

Downstairs 1/2 bath. 

Second floor landing

Andy's room

Josh's room

Girls room - Sarah's side
(I was washing their sheets - otherwise their beds would have been made)

Girls room - Elizabeth's side

Kids' bath

Master bedroom

Master bath

19

 On May 25th, my youngest son celebrated his 19th birthday. The day was planned in advance to be pretty low key as Joshua was flying out of Charlotte that day to spend the summer with his best friend's family. 

I ended up with an excruciating migraine and did not celebrate most of his half day with us. This upset me greatly (and still does), but when I get a migraine as I had on Josh's birthday I am almost completely incapacitated. 

The birthday boy opened his cards, had his requested breakfast of Aunt Jemima pancakes & syrup, and went shopping for a trucker hat to go with his mullet that his Uncle Beaver cut for him (and a subsequent barber butchered, but we won't go into that...)

I joined along on the last minute errands that needed to be done in preparation for his two months away from us and shopping, but stayed in the car almost the whole time. We grabbed a quick lunch of subs and we were off to the airport. 

To be honest, this wasn't my favorite birthday of his by a long shot, not only because I had a headache and could not celebrate the day with him as I would have liked to, but because he spent a good chunk of his day away from us. I know this is going to inevitably be the way future birthdays will be, but I am not ready for that yet. 

Uncle Beaver creating "the vibe"

Love this boy so much

A New State To Call Home

 A little over a week ago the Gregg family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. 

This move has been months and months in the making. The idea of moving began last September when there was an inkling of hope that Bob's job might move home full time permanently. After several months of waiting for company decisions to be made, we were finally given the okay to move on Bob's birthday (April 14). 

We kicked things into high gear and made a weekend house hunting trip, secured housing, a rental truck, and gave notice on our Indiana home, and 30 days later we landed in Charlotte.

In the fall of 2020, when this idea of moving was just a seed, Josh went ahead and applied to a bunch of colleges in different places. He ended up getting a partial athletic scholarship to play for a private DII college in a small town outside of Charlotte. At that time, we were still looking all over the country for places to land, but this opportunity for Josh to play college ball solidified North Carolina from being a top runner in places we might land to THE place to land. (In order to not walk out of college with a mountain of student loan debt, Josh needed us nearby so that he could live with us. His scholarship covers about half of his private school's tuition. He has some savings and is taking on some student loan debt to pay for the rest.) 

We love that North Carolina has both an ocean and mountains within a 2-3 hour drive from us. We love that there is more sunshine here than in other states we've lived in. We also love that Charlotte is very diverse. 

We haven't ventured out too much as a family yet.  Bob has been working and I have spent the last week trying to get the house set up. The four kids have made a couple of trips on their own to Lake Norman to boat and swim in its waters. Thankfully, we are almost finished unpacking and putting things in their places. I will be sure to post pictures of the house one of these days soon. 

North Carolina is the 5th state we've lived in since 2014. I think our plan is to stay put for a little bit here, or at least until Elizabeth has graduated from high school. (She is finishing up 8th grade this summer.) You never know what life is going to bring you though, and so I don't know for sure what our future looks like. All I know is that we are here right now and we are all excited to see what life here will bring. 

42

 Almost three weeks ago I celebrated my 42nd birthday. Because we were moving out of state 3 days later, my birthday was extremely low key. 

Elizabeth, Bob, and I went to the Indianapolis zoo for a couple of hours followed by lunch at a nearby brewery. When we got home from that excursion all of the kids, Bob, and I went to the neighboring town to do a bit of shopping. 

 Our kitchen was already packed up by then (which I didn't think about when my cake ingredients were purchased) so we skipped out on the homemade birthday cake and opted for a store bought one. 

I didn't mind the day. There was so much going on in the house trying to get ready for our move that the low key vibe was just perfect. 

May 18th

 Today is May 18th. 

For our family, today's date is one of those in which we will never forgot. All family's eventually have a date like this - the date that marks the before and after; The date in which your whole life is upended and irrevocably changed forever.  

May 18th is that date for us. 

8 years ago was Sarah's first ER visit. It was the first time Sarah's vision left her completely; The first MRI; The first lesions found; The first abyss into darkness. 

Today is the first day of our family's education into the deep seated belief in HOPE. 

When I was going through my initial grieving process mourning the life that I knew my daughter would no longer have a friend reached out with the following poem. I fell in love with its truth from the moment I first read its words. It is the perfect story to describe to a person the Before and After of a life unexpectedly altered. 

In honor of Sarah's diagnosis day, I would like to share that story with you again because it is worth repeating.

 

21

 

Yesterday Andy celebrated his 21 birthday. 

Andy chose to have a rather low key day. We went to his favorite restaurant, the Olive Garden, for lunch. We then went to a couple of local breweries in downtown Indianapolis and then came home and had a chill night. 

I think part of the reason the day was so low key is because we have a lot going on in our family. The boys are finishing up their first year of college and are taking finals this week. Our family is also planning a move to another state next week and are in the midst of packing up a life. 

For his birthday present Bob and I gifted Andy a trip to the Smoky Mountains. He will be going the first week of June to be in nature, unplug from life, re-calibrate, and climb some mountains. He will truly be in his element.