Moving Day for Sarah

     I don't know how the time arrived so quickly for Sarah to head to college, yet the time had come. It seems like at times your little one will never grow up, stop throwing tantrums, go to school. Yet, once all of those things finally happen, I can tell you from experience, the time flies by! On one hand I can clearly see Sarah is ready for this new chapter in her life and on the other hand, I can't believe it is time for my "baby" to leave. All part of God's perfect plan for her life and ours I know, still such a bittersweet time.

     Sarah had been packing for quite a long time, tackling small chunks at a time. She had a bit more work to do as Courtney gets the privilege to live in her room now that she is away at college. We packed carefully and loaded up the van to the max as we headed out to Campbellsville University.

 Sarah and some of her stuff!

 Totes, storage crates, and of course a mattress topper to make dorm life comfortable.

 A kind neighbor saw us taking some pictures while loading and offered to take a family shot. It turned out perfect!

     Our sweet friends Erin and Michael were so kind and let JT spend the day at their house while we took Sarah.I don't think JT would have had much fun unloading and setting up Sarah's room. It probably would have made for grumpy parents too trying to wrangle him down. JT had a blast with his best friend, Finn! You can read about his day here- http://erinmichaelandfinn.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-friend-weekend.html

 Sarah giving her little brother a hug goodbye.

 Lots of kisses too!

Then there were three.... kids that is :)

 We arrived and checked in Sarah to her dorm. There were several pages of paperwork to sign. After Sarah did that, she had to head over and have a mandatory physical exam since she is on the bowling team. So we all worked at getting her items unpacked and a bit settled until she returned about an hour later.

     The following pictures are of Sarah's first dorm room, where we thought she would be staying for the year.  Not wanting to rehash what happened nor publicly bad mouth anyone, I'll leave the story for me to share with you personally if you are interested. However, the next several photos are of Sarah's orginal dorm room as we set it up. Sarah moved again the following day(after we were back at home) and once she is all settled in her new room and takes photos, I'll make another blog post so you can see the full setup.

 Sarah's bed- lofted up a bit. Dresser, mini fridge and a few other things stored underneath. She loves her yellow, black and white flower comforter.

 Harry Potter on the front of her side of the closet. 

 The closet space is really great for dorm living! Plenty of space for all of her things! Though all of her winter clothes are still here-LOL!

Courtney made a going away sign for her big sis.

 Last few photos together before we left.....

Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters....

 Proud Daddy

 Sarah and I goofing around with hip and head tilting...

 This is when I started feeling emotional... I knew the time was coming....

 Awww so sweet!!!

     Before we left we all circled and held hands for a family prayer for Sarah. I knew I wouldn't be able to speak without getting emotional so I declared John the official speaker for our family. It was a precious moment praying for Sarah, her college years, the transition, for new friendships, protection,etc. Then I just looked up at John and started crying. I couldn't help it. Thankfully it lasted only a few minutes and I composed myself with the help of Courtney and Lindsay saying, "I knew you were going to cry Mom!" (Gee thanks!)

Lindsay giving a final baby cradle to her little, Big Sis.

     More college updates to come later this week hopefully. So far, Sarah is having a wonderful time and has made several friends already.