MARCH 30th - COLE'S 2nd FIRST DAY

(Like the swamp in front of the house?)

Cole started his first day at his new school here in Jackson, TN and is now a Panther instead of a Cowboy. The school is fairly old, but they have some cute little murals inside and everyone was very friendly and willing to help. I took him in to get registered but figured they wouldn’t let him start until Tuesday for verification purposes. The secretary was so nice with her thick southern drawl and said they would make an exception for him.

Cole said he was a tiny bit nervous but he has no problems socially and making friends so I knew he would be just fine. He walked into the classroom, hung up his back pack, and sat at the desk waiting for him. While I was talking to his new teacher one of the kids started telling Cole everyone’s name and made him feel comfortable right away. After that I could barely even get his attention to wave bye and it actually made me tear up a little bit seeing how big he was acting. Mrs. Ross had just lost a few kids so Cole made 15 for the class…Much better than the 21 he had before.

We had a little confusion when I went to pick him up, but it was so much easier than his school in Mansfield since there really weren’t that many car riders being picked up. The schools here are county instead of city schools and so many of the kids ride the bus from all over. I think some of the high school kids actually live 45 minutes away. That is just crazy to me…I could never imagine doing that. I seem to always be running behind and would probably rather home school at that point.

I can't believe there are only 7 weeks left of school. Cole actually lucked in to having 2 Spring Breaks in a row with the move and will get out 2 weeks earlier than Texas. Now I just have to get back in to the morning rush routine to get off to school...And I dread it every day.

MARCH 10th - COLE'S ER VISIT

A few days after having a chaotic “moving sale” I was cleaning up the leftover stuff in the garage while the kids were playing outside in the driveway. All of a sudden Cole starts saying, “Oww, oww, oww, oww.” He said that another kid hit him in the head with a golf club. I told him to look at me so I could see his head and shockingly all I saw was blood gushing from his face. I gasped and then Cole looked and his hand covered in blood and started screaming uncontrollably. Then Brooke saw it and started screaming even louder. I didn’t know what to do and just ran to the front door to get a rag. It was locked and I just started banging on it. Nathan was already in Tennessee so I don’t know who I thought would open it. Then the kid that accidentally hit Cole came to see if he was okay. He obviously didn’t realize that Cole was bleeding because his eyes bulged out and he started crying as soon as saw the blood. I finally got a towel and the neighbor got some ice and started cleaning off Cole’s hands and face and then we took off.

I called Nathan’s parents and they met me at the Mansfield hospital just as they called Cole’s name. Brooke stayed in the lobby with Nana (thank goodness) and Pa went back with us. I was so relieved that they were there because this was my first big injury to deal with and I cannot handle looking and gashes and needles very well. We had to wait a lot during each little step but they did a good job. I had to take pictures with my camera phone since I stupidly left my digital camera on the back of my car bumper somewhere. They didn't turn out too bad.

We waited…
They got us in a room and then quickly came to take my co-pay.

We waited…
The nurse came and cleaned his cut and taped it up for the medicine to soak in. Cole thought he was pretty tough because he thought it was all over.

We waited…
The doctor came in and wrapped Cole up like a burrito so he wouldn’t flail around and gave him those painful numbing shots around the cut. Cole screamed so badly that it still makes me cringe just thinking about it. He was so upset and even more terrified of getting stitches. The doctor said it would take 10 minutes for the full effect.

We waited…
Pa asked the nurse twice where the doctor was because we were worried the numbing would ware off. We waited…
Finally the doctor comes back 45 minutes later. He wrapped Cole up again and I laid on him while Pa held his face. I turned the TV on to good ole SpongeBob and we both tried to talk to him to keep him distracted. I couldn’t even look while the stitches were going in. It took maybe 3 minutes and yet someone else had to come to give care instructions.
We waited…
A different nurse finally comes to tell us what the doctor could have easily done but I guess she had to get paid for something. At last we were on our way home. But wait, we couldn’t go home because Cole wouldn’t let me forget that I said he could get a new video game and was going to make sure he got it asap. Luckily, Game Stop was still open and Cole and Brooke were both able to get a “new to them” game. I think all in all everything went pretty well and I handled it okay but it would have been so much better for everyone if Nathan was there, too.

MARCH 19th - PACKING DAY

The movers arrived today to officially pack up all of our stuff. They shook my hand, quickly took a tour of the house, and then got straight to packing up my life. They weren't playing around and didn't waste any time at all. They were going so fast that I couldn't even keep up with them to make sure they were leaving out the necessities.

Hey, where's all the paper plates, cups, and forks and stuff?

ALREADY IN A BOX.

Hey, where's the toilet paper?

ALREADY IN A BOX.

Hey, where's the pile of papers that I said I needed to take with me?

ALREADY IN A BOX.

I think I was really in shock with these men in my house piling up the boxes with no problem...Like it was something I did every day. I teared up one time but had to hold it in because they didn't have time for that.

My mom came about an hour or so after this all started to pick up the kids. She was teary eyed and said she had to get out of there. The kids had actually been pretty good. Brooke was so worried that her stuff would be left in Texas. I had to keep telling her that the movers would bring it all. Cole just wanted to hang out and talk to the guys. He was probably happy to see that someone was cleaning up his room for him.

Nathan's mom was so nice and very helpful to bring lunch for the guys. The truck was blocking me in and I didn't want them to leave and take their sweet time. This was so stressful that I needed it to be over with as soon as possible. She stayed for a little while and couldn't help crying at the sight of all the boxes. That definitely made it more official that we were moving away...far away.

Most of our neighbors don't even know we are moving. Since the moving truck sat in front of our house for about 7 hours...I guess they do now!

Well…They really did come and chunk all our stuff in boxes...What a crazy day!

MARCH 6th - GOING AWAY PARTY

My very dear friend, Julie, so generously decided to throw us a going away party. We only had one day to work with and so I was shocked when almost everyone came even though they only had a week’s notice. We hadn’t seen several people in over a year, so it was really great to see them.

When we are able to get together, no one ever dwells on how much time has passed but instead just simply enjoys the time we do get to share. I love that.

Thanks again Julie for the wonderful party and to everyone else that took time out of their busy lives for us. You mean so much to us!

The McCallum's Going Away Party

For those of you who haven't heard, Nathan has just been transferred to be the assistant distribution center manager of the Save-A-Lot warehouse in Jackson, TN. The 10 hour drive is a bit too far for a daily commute so Nikki, Cole, and Brooke are packing up and moving with him.

Nathan starts work in Tennessee on Monday March 9, then he'll come back on Friday the 20th, and they'll all leave the next morning.

We hope you can join us in saying good-bye to our good friends. I apologize about the late notice...we just found out and everything is happening so fast. Kids are more than welcome to join in the fun, so bring the whole family.