We Made It!

I am going to keep this short because I have now been up nearly 30 hours, and I am not making much sense. I did want to let everyone know that we (and all of our giant bags) made it to Brighton safely. We left Houston Tuesday around noon, had a layover in Charlotte N.C. and then arrived at Gatwick around 7:30 Wednesday morning. Somehow we made it with all of our bags onto the train from Gatwick to Brighton (about 25 min.), and even more amazingly we all fit in one (large van) taxi when we arrived in Brighton. The taxi took us to our new house, but unfortunately, our new landlord wasn't there. He had told us if he wasn't there, the keys would be at the knitting shop around the corner (our landlady owns the knitting shop). Sadly, we arrived around 9:30, and the knitting shop didn't open until 10:00. We did get a chance to meet a couple of our neighbors as we were spread out all over the sidewalk. Sorry I don't have pictures or more details now, but I will blog them as soon as I am able.

ONE MORE WEEK

It is hard to believe, but we only have one more week left in the United States. We will be in Austin until Saturday, and then we will leave for College Station for the weekend. In College Station we are going to say goodbye to Nana, Grampy and Meme and drop Lucy off. Lucy will be living with my parents until November when she will be able to join us in Brighton. Then we will head to Houston to visit with Gran and Grandad until we fly out of Houston on Tuesday the 24th.

Even though we have spent the last couple of weeks sending items overseas, moving some things to our parent's houses, having a garage sale and making many trips to Goodwill and church, we still have things to get rid of here at the house. We have to get it down to the things we will be able to fit in the bags we are taking on the plane. I was kind of hoping this week would be a time of rest and recovery from the last couple of weeks, but that hasn't happened. There just isn't enough time to do all the things we need (or want to do).

The main thing we want to do is say goodbye to all of our wonderful friends here in Austin. If we haven't seen you or talked to you yet, give us a call or just stop by. The clock is ticking, and we don't want to miss you.

Downsized

I have never been so tired in my entire life. Keith told me on Tuesday that he had good news and bad news. The good news was the moving company was coming on Friday to pack and ship our stuff, and the bad news was the movers were coming on Friday to pack and ship our stuff. Needless to say, I have spent the last several days (and nights) scrambling to decide what we were going to take to England with us, what we were going to store at our parents' houses, and what we were going to have to get rid of.

We decided not to try to ship our furniture, because it is so outragously expensive. In order to take some personal things (like clothes, pictures, toys, etc.), we decided to just ship a small container. That means most of our things couldn't make the trip, so we have been very busy selling our big items on Craig's List and trying to talk our families into taking special items for us.

The main question I keep asking myself is how in the world do we have this much stuff. I feel like we have intentionally tried to live simply, and everyone knows that I do not keep anything (I hate clutter and my family makes fun of me for throwing everything away). This has definitely been a convicting experience, and I have sworn to myself to never gather this many possessions again.

It has been a little difficult having to part with some things that I really like or that have sentimental value, but I am reminded that it is all just stuff. Really, I think that is what part of this process is all about. Today I have felt really thankful. I am thankful that God has blessed us with so much, and I am even more thankful that God has given us all peace about giving up so much. Simplifying and downsizing is not an easy process, but it is extremely liberating.