Day 3,482

The Last 816 Farewell

I feel it too, Molly. 

It’s so hard saying goodbye. 

We had a few things to finish up before officially closing on Wednesday. The whole experience was surreal—even when we moved into our house five years ago, it was not this empty, as the original owner had left us much of her furniture. Seeing it so bare made it both easier and harder at the same time. We’ll sure miss our first home. 

816, we love you! What a sweet five years it’s been living under your roof and in the comfort of your walls. The Lord was so kind to have given us such fond and full memories in the house we truly made our home. With two births there, an adoption, countless firsts, multiple birthdays, parties, meetings, Bible studies, constant fellowship, homeschool, and baseball games, we’ve so enjoyed all the Lord has brought into our lives through the front door of our home. What a treasure. We are unendingly thankful. 

But already, we’re on to something new! With all the unknowns surrounding our trip to Japan, we’ve found ourselves in a position we didn’t necessarily see coming: we’re still here and just sold our home. I think that makes us currently homeless. 



But through the kindness of our church body, we have a roof over our head and a cozy place to live in our in between!! And we are so thankful and crazy excited for all the new memories before us. God is so good and we’re trusting Him with all the unknowns ahead. It’s just so much easier that way anyways. 

Goodbye Big Home!

Day 3,481

The Sprint to the End

Tuesday was the finish line. But before we could complete our big move, we needed some (more) supplies. I think maybe we’ve bought in total something like 40 of those black storage bins. 

Yeah, I agree. A painful expense—maybe just as terrible as getting your head stuck in a fence with no way out—but moving don’t come cheap anyways and if they save sanity, then maybe the cost is exactly worth it. 

So, we got our supplies, sat the kids in front of the tv for some of it, and packed this up as fast as we could. 

Our pile for Japan kept on growing...so finally, we decided that since we’re not yet leaving for the country, we’d finish our Japan packing while we wait—saving this exhausted Mama and Dada a whole lot more time. 



It wasn’t until 11:30PM that we finally left our first home, so we took a goodbye picture together at bedtime, put the kids on the two remaining mattresses, and woke them up when it was finally all done. They’re little champs, these babes. And I’m so grateful they’ve been able to call this home for as many years as they have. It’s blessed us in countless ways and owns a huge part of my heart. The Lord is so kind!

We love you Big Home!

Day 3,480

The Last Night’s Sleep in the First Conley Home

Around 9AM, we dropped the 4 rugrats off with their sweetest friends, dropped by to fellowship and watch big machines move dirt (so fun!), and prepared for the finish line. With closing Wednesday, Monday was set to be one of two enormous work days for the Mama and Dada. 

It started off a little rough. With only two of us, it was up to tired brains not only to move the stuff, but to figure out how to Tetris it AND what to even pack in the first place. With so much up in the air at the moment, we gave our best guess...and effort. 

I finally decided just to move everything remaining out into the living room—where no couch existed and where countless bags sat in its place—in order to give us an idea of the extent of our project. 

Unfortunately for us, it just kept on growing. 

Thankfully, the children were SO tired from their outrageously fun time with Mrs. Karen that they went nearly straight to bed, no likely realizing that this night was the last they’d ever spend in their First Ever Home. 

My heart. 

What a sweet home it’s been. 

Day 3,471

The Tetris Masters Bid Farewell

The boys finished the last of the super heavy lifting—the safe itself is 800 pounds—without either breaking themselves or our things. 

They managed to fill the first of our PODS so well that instead of having to rent two 16 foot PODS, we’ll use one 16” and one 7”. Bravo!! Tetris masters in the flesh! 



And after two weeks with our Grandma and Papa (they nicknamed him Papi this trip), we had to say farewell until next time. It was heartbreaking watching the tears roll down their little faces, but the ice cream made it maybe just a little more manageable. They sure love their grandparents and miss them already. Thank you so much for coming, Grandma and Papa!!! We’re so grateful for all the help and snuggles. 

Day 3,466

The Day They Were Away

That is my almost-four-year-old doing a handstand on high beam!! Like her sister, she loves gymnastics and it seems every time we go, she’s doing something new. Way to go Ella Mae!

After gymnastics, I took the kids to a friend’s house and she watched all four babes plus her own for nearly eight hours!



I’m not sure they’ve ever been gone from me that long, but they had so much fun that not a single one of them could fall asleep at nap time. They played and played all day long—with bunnies, on the trampoline, with treasure, going on a walk, breaking apart coconuts, climbing trees, having a tea party, building a tent, competing in games, with dolls, with cash registers, with walkie talkies, train sets, books, play doh. You name it, they did it, thanks to a mom who’s been homeschooling for nearly 20 years! We are so grateful for her willingness to spend time with them—it was a huge help to us and unending fun for them!

While they were gone, this is way we did:

All the beds are on the floor, everything that could be moved into the garage was, the kids have nothing but what they’re taking to Japan in their rooms, and I caught up on all the laundry. Progress!!

Our closing date is March 24. Opening Day (The Golden Eagles first game) in Sendai is March 25. And as of Sunday, Japan’s emergency order was extended two more weeks to March 21. So, Adam has officially missed all of Spring Training and likely won’t even be in the country before his first game. We’re thinking now that we’ll be in Japan by the end of the month sometime, but not sure when. And though the plans keep changing, we are content and excited, and thankful, and trusting. 

Day 3,455

The Home Evaluation

We’re working around the clock to make this thing happen—yesterday was more organizing as well as the appraisal and the inspection simultaneously. Talk about pressure! It’s no joke the amount of time and attention to detail comes with the task of inspection. Surely, the job was named properly and I definitely overlooked many of the things they didn’t. Note to self: dust the A/C ceiling vents. Gracious. However, dirty vents or not, the inspector couldn’t give us any more information other than that everything they tested or reviewed was minimal and the appraiser likewise gave compliments and though he couldn’t tell us his evaluation, we have confidence the sale will move forward!

On that note: turn on the pool heater, we’re gonna party!



Pizza pool party!

Day 3,454

The First Load

And, yes, this is *really* happening. 

Yesterday, we rented our first storage unit as we prepare to move to Japan and out of our home all within the next couple weeks. We’re hoping to soon buy a piece of property here in town and begin building on it while we’re away this season, so that when we come back in October/November, we’ll have at least a roof up in order to relocate our belongings back home. 

But for now, we’ve moved much of the garage out as well as items in the house that can suffer the sweltering heat and humidity of at least 9 months of storage in south Florida. PODS are coming for the temperature controlled items next, but we’re not quite ready for those yet! The babes are trying every bit as hard to enjoy the process as well, though I’m wondering just how much more time and energy it takes completing this particular task with four kids under 8 in tow.  

As far as the stress level? We’re well, having confidence that in whatever timeframe we leave, we’ll be ready—especially with the help of a church body that we love so dearly. 

It’s coming fast, but not so fast that we can’t sit for a while and watch the fishies swim by, eating the breadcrumbs of tiny hands. 



And for your enjoyment: Bearett walking around with a plate of pickles and an assortment of olives as his choice for snack. 

Day 3,453

The Emptying Rooms

Packing. 



Punching. 

I think I know which is more fun for them. 

Day 3,449

The Ongoing Story of the People Who Can’t Do Anything the Easy Way

And so, the packing begins!

Dad took charge of the garage. 

The girls took the lead on the decorations. 

Bearett, of course, took reigns of the bubble wrap. 



And between the six of us, we managed to nearly completely pack up the garage and mostly everything that was used as decoration in our whole home! A feat we’re pretty pumped about! We’re hoping to really get the bulk of bin-packing done by the middle of this week, leaving us just the large pieces of decor and furniture to move, a bunch of bins, and only having our Japan items remaining. Here goes nothing!

Day 3,447

The Sale

It was a peaceful morning. 

It was a calm morning. 

It was an EXCITING morning because we just sold our house! The day the photographer was here, a neighbor saw him taking pictures and came to inquire about our home. The next morning, yesterday—before our realtor had listed it on Realtor.com or MLS, we had an offer...and we accepted!

We have some hoops to jump through before everything is finalized, but we’re under contract and we’re shocked at how fast this has gone! 

Day 3,446

The Photos for Sale

It’s really happening. Over the last four days, not only did we decide to list our home (we signed the contract with our realtor on Friday), but we purged and cleaned nearly every corner before the photographer came on Tuesday to take pictures with the hope of it being on MLS by the middle to end of this week. 



And when you have four kids plus a friend while trying to keep your home spotless for pictures, a movie and an apple are winners for sure. 

Here goes nothing!