Falling into fall

Cute baby alert! Oh my her looks steal my heart. She doesn't need words, she just looks, points, yells and we do it. And then she smiles at us and we don't care that we scrambled around during her high pitched screams to figure out her every need. Oh my are we in trouble. But wouldn't you?

This our little dock....Not the one on the left, the little platform that Braxtyn is standing on..

We wish it was the dock to the right..but we make due. It is just big enough to fit our family as we load onto the Robert's boat.
And here we are loading 8 1/2 children and 4 adults.
This is a sunset barely captured by my very mediocre camera..we are leaving the fall festival
Face painting...
A little fishing..
We have some pretty lazy days here..not too many plans and with the good weather we try to sneak to the water as much as possible. Daniel and the boys caught a 16inch flounder. We are saving it for when we catch another couple..hopefully:)

The ER again...

Ok, this is getting ridiculous. We have been here almost three weeks and this is my second trip to the ER. This time Graham was playing at the Robert's house on bikes and after making a great jump over their ramp, missed his turn and went straight over their 3 foot wall. He landed ok but the bike found its way on top of his head. The one time this week he was not wearing his helmet! He kept wishing all the way to the ER that he had been wearing it. A little different tune to the cries and complaints when I brought the helmets home and told them they had to wear them no matter what. Well we learned our lesson..hopefully:) I took Graham still wearing the bloody shirt to make sure they got us in quickly, worked like a charm. We went right in and didn't wait too long for the Dr. to place 4 staples into his sweet little head. Graham was so brave and barely made a peep. He was so nervous beforehand he wouldn't talk to the Dr.'s. He just kept looking at me with tear filled eyes when they said he had to have stitches. However, after they were finished he was back to his old self. He was happy and chatty. He is such a worrier. He has now been asking how long until they remove them and wondering if that will be hard..ect.. ect... Please pray for him not to worry about it and that he can just enjoy each day until that day arrives without worry.

It's like a bathing suit...

I hate bathing suit shopping. No one I know, except little teenage girls, like shopping for bathing suits. It's like a battle between showing too much and looking like well, a balloon or worse...anyways, even when I think I've found one, I usually don't love it. And then you have to decide to actually wear it in public. And then at some point, the call of swimming, boating, sun-bathing just overwhelms my need to cover up, and I dive in. Still, I look for the nearest towel as I exit the water. And I feel much more comfortable in my old cover-up the one I've had for the past three summers.

Well, this is also how I feel about moving. Some days I am so ready to put on this uncomfortable new suit and run to the beach for a day of swimming and exploring, but somewhere while I'm sitting on the boat listening to its engine, I am imagining myself on Lake Pleasant and looking forward to going home. I just can't get comfortable in this new place, I feel very alone and very overwhelmed with life here. The strangest part, is that we have had so many amazing adventures and beautiful scenery, you'd think, I was just falling right into it all. And sometimes I get a glimpse of a feeling of comfort, but it is not home. I know the Lord is working some things out in me and offering me little tid bits of something great that He would like to show me. I'm just squirming in this lycra/polyester blend fitted material and would like to run and throw my cover -up on..now, please! I suppose I could keep the cover-up on the whole time, I just think I would miss out on all the fun. And if you know me at all, I'm not a sit on the side lines kinda girl. So here goes...I suppose we will make a splash:)

Beach Day

Sea shells are not food!

Finding crabs

Diva

Sand bath

Competition!

Total Dude

Trouble

Cuteness!

So much fun!

Beach baby

This is our favorite beach spot on Topsail island. It rarely has people and the water is beautiful. There is a turtle egg nest roped off nearby and we are hoping to see them hatch..who knows! The kids love going to the beach it is a daily request. We have gone almost every day when the weather is nice. The car and the laundry room are covered in sand!
We went exploring on the Island last night and found a great pizza place we all loved. We still have another playground to visit that's near the house. We've been to the library, downtown and a nearby beach called wrightsville.
Downtown Wilmington is right on the Cape Fear river. It's huge and houses many large boats including the US.S. Carolina.

Saturday, the Robert's are picking us up at the dock with their boat and we are headed to Topsail Island's Fall Festival.

Road Trip

Just a note the the wise. The wiser than me people...Do not under any circumstances take four children 8 and under across the country in a suburban. I'm only saying this becuase, I did and it was NOT FUN. We made it from coast to coast (almost, Arizona is not a coast but close enough) in 6 days. It took my husband 3 the first time he did it. We made it to New Mexico the first night. It was nice because Darin, Daniel's brother was working there and we had a nice dinner and visit. Our plan was to wake early every morning and finish up so the kids could could swim at the hotel or something. Ah no, that never happened. We had time changes and tired kids that didn't want to wake up. So we traveled into the fussy time of night and barely made it through dinner without a strangling or two. Our second night was nice, however, we stopped early in Sayer, OK. I have family there. My cousin is married to a rancher and stock contractor for the PBR, so as you can imagine we had a blast touring their ranch and the kids got to play and run. Then my aunt made us more dinner than anyone can eat! The rest of the trip was just driving, driving, driving. Insanity sets in at some point. We tried a pool at a hotel and they loved it, but came back with chlorine red eyes and slept until 9:30am so we missed our free breakfast:). We then had to push it to Tennessee, it was gorgeous! So we added another day to our trip to explore Pigeon Forge and the Smokey mountains. That was definitely a highlight. The kids did really well for that type of trip and we did find some fun adventures along the way. But if you asked me to do it again, I would have to decline. Next time we are flying! I don't have any pictures becuase my camera got packed in the moving truck along with a whole basket of Arizona things, like library books:) I actually have to mail them to Doni and have her return them for me. Packing day was a whirlwind.

Farmer's market

A sunny day about 60 degrees with a breeze. Who could ask for more, right? Not me, I happily got out of bed ready for a visit to the farmer's market. yes, I scoped it out the second day we arrived! Wednesday from 8am-1pm. School must wait, life must break, I have an outing! My very own North Carolina outing, just for me. I left Cozy napping at home with Daniel, and the kids and I headed out, jackets in hand to find freshness! I found it, only made one little U-turn and there I was, under big tall trees, lots of sunshine and endless tents full of homemade wares of every kind. I walked slowly taking it in, oh how I missed bringing eggs and veggies to sell. But I just took the moment as another new experience. I of course hounded the many farmers who would chat with me about gardening in beach sand and how to grow big beautiful green things. We took our finds to the nearby swings and snacked on fresh peaches and homemade bread. It was a very good morning.

The afternoon that followed only dampened my high of the morning a little...I felt so sick today. I spent most of the time on the couch. Taught school from the couch, yelled from the couch, slept on the couch, I tried to make dinner from the couch, but Daniel needed some help. Later that night Wendy's frosty was the only thing that saved me...ahh.

Some pictures

The house

The entry, to the right is the living room

Cozy's room, on the main floor

Braxtyn's room on the main floor

The main floor bathroom (the girl's)

Dining room/school room

Teeny tiny kitchen

Living room

Living room

Boys room upstairs

I don't have any pictures of the master bedroom or bathrooms yet, still making them pretty. But this gives you an idea of the interior of the house.

I know, I know..Pictures!

I took a bunch of pictures today and I will load them tomorrow! I have been wanting to clean up the empty boxes first.

Today was our first "normal day". We got up, started a chore list and did school. It was a rough start but everyone is falling into a pattern. After school I did more unpacking and actually decorated our bathrooms and finished some of the laundry that is taking over the laundry room. I also prayed for someone to help me with the laundry. :) When Daniel came home, we packed up the kids and went to the beach. (we live about 1 1/2 blocks from the inter coastal, which is like a calm ocean river where boats drive past and pull up nets full of fish and crab and shrimp), so we have to drive about 15 minutes to the actual beach where there are waves and sand...Anyways, we headed out and the beach is usually pretty empty so we had it to ourselves. It was about 70 degrees and breezy but the water was warm (it was warmer than I've ever felt the California water in the dead of summer). The kids jumped right in and body surfed for hours. We then headed back home and I made some fish tacos for Derek and Amy and family. And the best part, Amy ask me if I needed any help with the laundry? .... God still hears me! Yeah! And we folded about 4 loads while we visited. Funny how the small things matter to us and our heavenly father. One more box empty!.Yes, I packed 4 loads of unfolded laundry in a big box the night before we loaded the truck. I was tired and well, the wrinkles will fall out in time. Right? I am missing certain items, can't find the baggies, dish soap and some platters. Oh well, they will turn up I suppose. My pajamas, socks and sweats are still in a dresser in the basement, we aren't bringing up the four flights of stairs. So, I'm off to Walmart to by a set of plastic drawers, baggies and dish soap! Well that's the excitement in my world across the world. I'm headed to bed at 7:45 Arizona time:)
Much love, and thank you for the blog attention. It makes me feel like you all are near me:)

A better day..kind of

Today was going to be a fresh start with school and getting my room unpacked. I needed Aimee Z to come over and help me re-hang all my clothes!:) So after a long cry last night, I woke up feeling hopeful and ready to begin again. And it was a nice morning until Noah showed me his arm...yep, you know Noah! He was stung by something unknown and after about two days of cream and Benedryl the red swelling was hot and traveling up half his arm. We had gone through this with him before the last time he got stung by a bee. We carry an epi-pen for him. He was acting fine but his arm was not getting better. Well because we don't have the health care switched over we had to visit the ER. Yes, it is a Zimmermann tradition to visit Er's all around the world. It was a long visit but nice Dr's and nurses. I was worried about prescriptions because our health care does not cover prescriptions out of state and Noah needed antibiotics and steroids to bring relief. Thanks to Walmart, we only paid $8. I was so thrilled, it was a moment when I realized that God is capable of taking care of us no matter where we are. It was certainly a wake up call, that God can take something scary and give me peace about it. After an all day in the ER we decided to load the kids up and find a place to eat. We are exploring different places to see where our favorites might be. We ate at the Fish Camp. It was really good seafood and a great place for the kids. Everything is fried here so you can eat shrimp, clams, fish and oysters and they all pretty much taste the same! LOL! And they serve hush puppies and sweet tea like they serve tortilla chips and coke at home.:) The side dishes were funny too, tomatoes & okra, banana pudding, black eyed peas and turnip greens to name a few. The kids opted for french fries, at least that's the same! We saw dear eating on the side of the road on the way home, they were so cute. Our house is feeling more like home when we walk in the door. We are establishing routines and getting chores done. The kids like their rooms. I have a huge tub with jets, I have always wanted one of those! So today was a better day, even though it included a trip to the ER, but that felt like home too:)

Braxtyn funny:
Today she was Special agent dog, she had many powers. She was promising Graham she would teach him to fly and he was complaining because she had taken away his flying lessons as punishment for him being mean. He was taking this very seriously and was quite hurt.
Graham: Braxtyn are you going to teach me to fly?
Braxtyn: Yes, I'm a pilot so I know how
Daniel: Are there some things we should know about flying?
Braxtyn: Yes, always wear your seat belt.
Daniel: Oh that's good. Anything else?
Braxtyn: Yes, we have coke, sprite, Dr. Pepper, peanuts and pretzels.

She had the whole list down, it was very funny and she was very matter of fact about her pilot and I guess stewardess skills as Special agent dog:)

The Suchawee goes East...

Oh how do I sum up the last few months? It is hard to do so I won't really try, this may take a few postings. There has been so much to this new life we are entering into...let me see. Most of which I'm not at liberty to discuss, so let me put in my disclaimer so I won't have to explain it in court later. Anyways, when oppression takes you over and there seems to be no way out...there somehow is way and for us, out was the way. For right now, we live in Phoenix and are commuting to North Carolina. Serious commute! Jobs seem abundant for Daniel here, not completely solid yet, but many prospects and a strong leading to head East. We will be back to finish things in Arizona, we don't have a choice in that matter, so that is why we are commuting. Once we are free, we will most likely stay here for a time. It is still unknown how long, so we are just renting.

OK, on to the heart of it...
We have been scared, excited, sad and scared most of the time. Did I mention this has been truly scary? To begin with, the loss of our lives in Arizona is what I grieve for deeply and tonight it makes me angry. I feel cheated and lonely.

I like the ocean, its a nice walk to the water near the house. We are still unpacking. I'm looking forward to exploring the island and the downtown area . The girls are adjusting fine, the boys are having a harder time. They went out on the canoe tonight and saw crabs and shrimp and a raccoon swimming across the water. Cozy and I went for a walk to the dock and watched the birds fly over, it was very peaceful.

I really miss feeding my animals in the mornings and working in the garden. I had to buy eggs at the store today for the first time in like two years. There is a farmer's market on Wednesday we are going to check out. Nothing really exciting yet, I'm sure things will get easier as we try on this new life, it just fits weird right now.