A lot of people have asked how the dog is adjusting to the new house. While she was my shadow for several days after the move, not wanting to leave my side, it really didn’t take her long to adapt to the new environment.

As long as she has her people, her bed, and her food (not necessarily in that order), she is a comfortable, content dog.

We are experiencing a new sport in the Johanik family: softball.

Ruthie is on the Tigers–a team consisting of kindergarten and first-grade girls.

I was unsure at the beginning of her first game whether this was the right fit for Ruthie, who tends to be easily distracted. She appeared to be more interested in the color of the batter’s socks than getting the batter out at first.

But after a little coaching, she began focusing on the ball and understanding her job. By the next game, she was hustling to the ball during every play, determined to get an out.

She enjoys getting on base, as any good softball player does.

And got to try out the catcher position last night.

She is especially encouraged when her fan club comes to cheer her on.

We are looking forward to a fun (and entertaining) season!

Peter has been itching to decorate a cake with the fondant he had on hand, and decided that Mother’s Day was the perfect occasion for such a cake.

Per his dad’s suggestion, he went with a springy tulip theme.

Beautiful!

I’m thankful for my mom.  Wonder Woman superhero.

Baseball season is in full swing (pun intended), and my dad has offered his coaching services to Peter and Jeremy, in order to help sharpen their skills.

It is quite convenient that we live across the street from a high school softball field! The boys walked over with their grandpa and told him what they would like to work on with him.

Then they got to work for the afternoon. They remarked later how much just that one coaching session helped them.

We have many trees in our new neighborhood, which means we also have a lot of birds. After moving in, Jeremy decided to build a bird house as a way of introducing ourselves to the neighbor birds.

We met some robins and cardinals; until one morning, I looked out and found the bird house fallen to pieces on the ground with bird seed on the rail of the deck. A bushy-tailed squirrel promptly hopped down from the rail to the ground. Evidently, the squirrel didn’t want to be left out. Unfortunately, the bird house was not built to sustain the weight of squirrels.

Ruthie collects wildflowers

while Molly spots rabbits.

We weren’t sure how many guys were going to be available to help with the move until the actual moving day. As it turned out, we had ample help–a group of strong young men to load the truck at the old house, and another shift of strong young men to unload at the new house.  An FCA coworker provided lunch for all of us, as well as moral support.  We were very thankful.

Saturday was not only moving day, but also my parents’ 45th wedding anniversary!

They spent their special occasion bringing kids to baseball games, then later unpacking our kitchen. How romantic, no? They even came back a few days later for grandparents’ day.

When we returned to the old house Sunday to clean out the attic and the storage room in the basement, we hit probably the lowest point emotionally. We were thankful for our small group friends for their presence and help that day.

We got to work right away, making our new house a home suitable for our family. Our first order of business was removing wallpaper.

Some was easier to remove…

…and some was on the more difficult end of the spectrum (nearly impossible).

But we succeeded!

We’ve also done a lot of painting.

And ripping up carpet.

The latest frontier has been creating a laundry room. Previously, the house had a second front entrance which led straight to the basement.

Now you see the front door on the left…

…now you don’t.

There is now a floor over the concrete staircase, along with a couple extra walls to make a laundry room. Peter Stephen “Tiler” Johanik has been the lead tiler on this project.

Thankfully, we’ve managed to have fun throughout this experience. When we’re all working together as a team, the work isn’t so bad.

From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward. (Proverbs 12:14)

Before closing on the old house, we decided it would be good to share memories from the past sixteen years and say goodbye to the house. The tulips welcomed us one last time.

We called up Jake so he could participate too. Unbeknownst to him back in December, his last time at 3146 was over Christmas break. We toyed with the idea of flying him out for a weekend to see the house one more time (and help pack a box or two…or twenty), but it wasn’t practical.

We walked through the empty house, room by room, sharing memories…

…and in the process, making new memories.

Molly savored her hands-down favorite spot in the house during mild weather–at the threshold of the deck.

We ended in the basement, where Jim prayed to the Lord our thanksgiving to Him for His faithfulness in that home for sixteen years. We experienced so much life in that place–good and bad–and God was there with us through it all. It was a somber and emotional moment for all of us.

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. (Psalm 36)

By wisdom a house is built,
    and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
    with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24)

May God be glorified here.