It's official. We are now Palo Alto residents.
The last week or two before we moved was filled with many goodbyes...and lots of packing! Sometimes we mixed the two.
We of course had to say goodbye to our favorite doctor and nurse team: Dr. Bullen and Nurse Sheri. My how we love them! I could not have asked for a better team. I think what I love about them most is that they listen to me and my cocnerns. They understand that I know my kids best and if something seems off to me, they take it seriously. It just so happened that Ava needed her 5-year well check anyway, so we headed in to get that taken care of and say goodbye.
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| Drew and Ava with Dr. Bullen (doesn't he look like the perfect pediatrician?) |
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| Drew and Ava with Sheri-she always spoils them with stickers! |
I also had to say goodbye to my fabulous and fun Bunco ladies! I am really going to miss hanging out with all of you once a month and just being silly! You should call me on the first Monday of the month and shout "Traveler!!" into the phone. :)
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| Jen made me this cute Bunco cake :) |
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| All 12 crazy Bunco Ladies! |
We also got to say goodbye to some of Drew's school friends at a swim party. It was bittersweet. It was hard to see the kids have to say goodbye to each other.
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| Some of Drew's school buddies and their siblings |
Of course we couldn't leave Sacramento without saying goodbye to our amazing pediatric cardiologist! Dr. Parrish has been with us from the very beginning and has seen Drew through all of his surgeries. He is never too busy to answer my questions and sincerely has Drew's best interests at heart. He also has been a supporter of Mended Little Hearts. He will be truly missed! There may have been some tears as we walked out of his office...
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| Drew and Dr. Parrish |
I also got the chance to have one more night with my ladies dinner club--we got out once a month for some yummy food and great conversation! This time Britni, Darcy, Lindsay, Jen and I went out to Ernesto's and then had dessert at TresB Cakes. Mmm!
One of the saddest goodbyes was to our dog, Bibby. Grandma Kathy just had her backyard landscaped and Bibby is a bit of an anxious (digging) dog. She is so sweet though and just loves people. We knew it wouldn't be a good idea to bring her with us to Palo Alto, but we love her so much, it was hard to come up with a good solution for her. We ended up finding her a new home on 2 acres with two other dogs and she now has chickens to chase and lots of space to run around. We know she will be happy there. As an illustration of how different my kids are, Drew was teary when it was time to say goodbye to Bibby and Ava just asked if we could get a goldfish now. :)
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| Drew and Ava say goodbye to Bibby |
On our last Sunday at church the congregation brought us up to the front and prayed for us. It was so sweet and touching to have our church family pray for us as we begin this new journey. They also gave us some very sweet gifts--moving snacks and entertainment for the kids, a Haiti book signed by the Haiti Team and some heart balloons just like the ones we bring to the hospital for heart kids. After that, there was an open mike so people could wish us well. That was a bit overwhelming and there were lots of tears. But it was so nice to hear people expressing their love and appreciation of our family. We will really miss our Sanctuary Church Family!
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| Hearing from Pastor David and the rest of the congregation |
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| Our church family praying over us |
Finally, it was moving day and we had to say goodbye to many of our wonderful friends who came over to help load up the U-Haul. Pastor David and his wife Susan, as well as the Scott Family, stayed late to load the very last items and then we got to hang out in our empty garage with just our camping chairs. The kids had a great time running around the empty house and eventually all ended up in David's lap. It was a fun way to end the evening.
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| Drew, Ava, Ella, and Eben sit with Pastor David |
Finally, on Monday morning, we loaded up all of our last minute items and drove the U-Haul out of Sacramento and into the Bay Area. Goodbye house! We loved living here for the past six years and all the memories (both good and bad) that we've had here.
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| Saying goodbye to our house |
