Christmas Moving Miracle

On Dec 16 my moving crew (R2D2, Wayne), (ob1kanobi, Karen) (Annakin, Mardyne) and myself (c3po) loaded up "Archie" (my car) and headed to Chico to help Princess Leah (Jodi). Leaving so late in the day we made it as far as Reno where we rented 2 beds for the night. I wouldn't call it a room as it was the most run down disgusting place I've ever seen. Cigarette holes in our sheets (non-smoking room) curtains broken and hanging and worn out carpet but we had a good laugh and slept well. We made it to Chico at 11:00 a.m. the next day and picked up Jodi at her gym wearing santa hats. After a quick tour for Mardyne we had a nice lunch in the cafe there because Jodi said they needed the business. It was obvious,watching her in place she spends most of her life, why they love her so much. She is friendly to everyone is such a light in that place. 

We were very excited to see the house. Funny that my crew found it first as Jodi missed the street! Rich was there with a moving van but had forgotten the key to the house. Most of the big stuff had already been moved in. The house is great except for a few minor things. It was covered in leaves from the large tree in the back and the kitchen floor sloped. I love the floor plan. We could hardly wait for the kids to get home from school as somehow Jodi had kept it all a secret. When they walked in the front door they had shocked and excited looks on their faces. We told them it was theirs.
David said "I love it!" and they quickly explored all the rooms, Jack laying claim to one of the bedrooms for his own. Jack even told someone in a store that Santa had brought them a house for Christmas!

Without my knowledge Karen had sent an email to Jodi's cousins asking for donations. I think she collected more than $1,000. She even got $100 tip from one of her clients. Bob, from her work stopped by throughout the days hauling stuff to the dump or goodwill, bringing her a tool kit and a small part to fix the washer door.
There was much to be done. We all just worked together from early morning to late at late doing ALL we could. It was a race against time since we only had 2 1/2 days and she had a 10 year old household of stuff to move in and sort through. It was so fun finding things that had been in storage for 3 years.

Wayne built closet rods and shelves, fixed and hooked up her washer and dryer, raked leaves, put together beds and frames, hung things, built coat racks, carried heavy stuff, shopped for

needed items, changed door locks and the list went on and on.

Karen kept super busy as only she can. She was our comic relief and was a pro at throwing stuff out (even if it did go to something). She and Mardyne were great shoppers coming back with bed frames, chairs, lamps, rugs, closet rods, decor and whatever else they could find. I know between them they spent over $500.

Mardyne cleaned like a maniac and even sliced her finger open on a can lid hiding under the microwave. Somehow she managed to find one bandaid (another miracle) and kept going. She made the highchair (covered in caked on baby food) and dining room table look new. She organized all the dvd's putting them in a book. She and Karen cleaned out the shed in the back and sorted through dozens of boxes. They organized the rooms and acted as Wayne's taskmaster.

They worked like Santa's elves as if Christmas depended on them and in a way it did! We brought a Christmas tree and decorated it. We didn't even stop for lunch, working with taquitos in one hand.

Jodi was very very appreciative and made it all worth it. She was decisive as she sorted through box after box.  Anything that brought back memories of her "former life" were tossed as she would remind us that she was starting a new life.

Jack had wanted his own room so David said, "It's okay, Ryan can sleep in my room." He is the sweetest but I'm afraid cares more for what other people want than himself. (Takes after his mom that way) Jack was just hysterical. We took him shopping for new bedding. He chose a super hero theme. Everything had to be in its place. He neatly stacked his shoes and toys against the wall  and made his bed each morning. Wayne got permission to sleep on his floor as it had a rug on it. Jack consented but asked him if he could get his stuff out in the morning. Wayne asked if he could spend the next night on his floor again and Jack said, "Ok" but after giving it a little more thought said, "How about David's room?"

Rocky choose Angry Bird bedding and choose the rug that I wanted him to have which was a map of the U.S. showing all the state capitals. Diesel's crib was finally found now that he is almost ready for a real bed. He is such a funny kid. He is a baby and still has a bottle but he says everything and just seems like a little adult. The first night he cried. I put him in bed with Jodi and I and he just snuggled with me all night. Of course, I totally loved it!

Another very strange thing happened. Two chairs that looked exactly like the ones Jodi used to have were left at the house. As Mardyne was cleaning the dining room table she remarked how they used to have a table exactly like it. Then she noticed some purple permanent marker on it and was overcome as her table had also had similar marks. What are the chances? We all got kind of teary and felt like Dad was a major part of this whole story.






Wed night I went to the kids Christmas program held in a large church auditorium. Each class sang two songs. I noticed Jesus was never mentioned. It was a riot watching Jack bounce to the rythum of the song and David doing all he could to avoid the parts of the song where he was required to hold a girl's hand. I quizzed him on the way home though and he did know why we really celebrate Christmas. Yay!

Thursday morning I didn't think there was anyway we could finish the job but we went to work and somehow had accomplished our goal in time to pick the kids up from the after school program and day care. It was so fun sorting through clothes and hanging them up. Karen and Mardyne found the elusive queen bed frame for Jodi and plastic dressers for the boys. It felt so great to get them organized and be able to give about 4 garbage bags full of clothes to Good Will.


That night we celebrated as Jodi had $50 to a restaurant.
 It was really nice and the prices were good. Afterwards we went to see lights and watched Matt's hour long synchronized Christmas light show. It was really amazing!!!  at home Jack scraped his elbow so once we got him settled down and to bed the rest of us opened a bottle of sparkling cider and toasted to Jodi's new home and new life. We all got such a kick out of Diesel who seemed very practiced at this idea of raising our glasses and shouting, "Cheers." It had us all laughing.

I don't know when I've ever felt happier. We pulled off a miracle and just in time for Christmas. Karen really MADE it happen with the rest of us just pitching in whatever and however we could to see it through. We left that little family with a beautiful and organized home. It truly felt like a miracle to me and it surely was an answer to many many prayers.

It made us all feel so good that much of the ride home we schemed how we could form some sort of charitble organization like, "The Wish House" or something where people would submit their wishes and we would make it happen. What a fun life that would be!!! But for now I will just plug away at work, putting people in jail.

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for my crew who gave a week of their lives and their money to make this dream come true and to all our family and friends who contributed however they could to this cause. Jodi is so deserving of this home and she is a great example to me of faith, endurance, patience, hard work, forgiveness, courage, long suffering and love.

The last half of the trip was spent brainstorming on how to get Mom's beloved piano out of the Moulton home basement. Three moving companies have turned the job down. Wayne loves a challenge. That will be the next miracle story. Stay tuned.