Changing seasons

So, we have some pretty big changes coming up in the Johnson household over the next few weeks. As you know, we have a baby coming. Due in just FOUR WEEKS!!! That. Is. Insane! Still not sure it's real to me. Still don't have a crib. Still don't have any baby clothes (except for the pimp BYU Cougars outfit that my sister, Belinda, gave us. Can't wait to see that on our baby boy!) 

With our upcoming new addition, the bishopric decided to take pity on me and release me from my calling as primary president. It has been weird not being in primary the past two Sundays. Weird but nice. I am now the Relief Society chorister. Except I'm getting released from that in two weeks (after stake conference) and getting called as Relief Society pianist. I guess the R.S. presidency didn't realize that I played the piano until after they called me as chorister and then once I mentioned something about it, they decided to switch things around. I'm glad. I need a reason to practice! 

I also may have mentioned half a hundred times that we've been trying our darndest to get into a bigger house. We've been planning to build on our property for YEARS, but once we finally got our plans drawn up and perfect, we found out that it actually costs a lot of money to build a house. Like ridiculous amounts of money. Like so much money that the bank doesn't want to finance construction because the cost to build is more than what the house will be worth when it's complete. So, we started looking at other options. We looked into remodeling our current house. We shopped for a double-wide trailer to park on our land. We looked at dozens of existing homes on the market. We made a few offers and got rejected. Finally, we found the house that we wanted to build...only it's already built! Sure, it's not on our dream property, but it is on a beautiful piece of land just a few miles down the road, and we'll be able to keep our lake property and enjoy it whenever we like, so...we're buying a house!!! We're scheduled to close on November 14th. Yes, that's 10 days before the baby is due. Yes, that's a bit insane. Yes, I'm pulling my hair out and tossing and turning at night and packing boxes like a mad woman...a very large, pregnant mad woman. I didn't realize we had so much stuff. Who is going to pack and move all of this stuff?!?!? 

Finally, with the new baby and the new house, it turns out that we will be living in a new school boundary...and I've heard really good things about the elementary school where we're moving to...so I'm thinking I might send Eden and the twins to school next semester. This has been the hardest decision for me!!! I really, really love having my kids home with me, and there are so many beautiful things about homeschooling, but I'm just really worried that I will be in over my head trying to settle into a new house and take care of a new baby AND teach my first and fifth graders everything they need to know about long division and English grammar and U.S. geography. So...we went to visit the school and meet the principal last week and the kids seem to be okay with the idea. They will have to be tested to see what grade they should be in. That's kinda scary. After 3-1/2 years of homeschooling, what if my 10-year-old boys are only at a 2nd grade level?!? And it's all my fault?!? Yikes! That's a terrifying thought! Oh well. At least we had fun while it lasted, right? And we built relationships and learned the gospel and went on lots of great trips! Brock will stay home and take classes online. That seems to be working really well for him, so maybe next year the twins can join him in that. In the meantime, I'm reminded of how much these big life decisions really stink. It's so hard to know what is best for my family!!! 

So, we're getting ready to lay low with a new baby for the Thanksgiving holiday. Except Justin did invite his family and a few friends over to our new house for Thanksgiving dinner. I told him I'm not doing anything. I will be hiding out in my new master bedroom with it's own master bathroom and nursing my baby and sleeping all day. He will have to figure out how to cook a turkey. 

Eden & the twins are getting ready to perform "A Christmas Carol" in a community play. Austin is playing Scrooge as a boy in the scene about Christmas past. Brandon and Eden are two of Tiny Tim's siblings. I'm excited to see them on stage! (Hopefully the new baby will sleep the whole time so I can enjoy the show.) 

So...that's the deal-e-o. Lots of exciting, nerve-wracking, life-changing events in the Johnson household.  With each of these changes, I get a little emotional.  I wonder if I made the most of this season of life while I was in it.  Did I take full advantage of my time homeschooling?  Did we enjoy the beautiful lake and cottage to the fullest while we lived here?  What could we have done differently?  What could we have done more?  Maybe it's pointless to ask these questions, but I do hope that I can remember that seasons do change.  Chapters of life do come to an end.  I hope that I am composing my life in a way that I will look back and read with satisfaction. I hope this season of life will pass on without regret.