Reaching for the Finish Line

Hello again--I'm sad to say it's been nearly 2 weeks since we've posted. I'd give a thoughtful reason why, but truthfully, there isn't one. The days have just been rolling by rather quickly here. After the frenzy of getting the house ready to put on the market, we now have the rather annoying task of waiting (sometimes for several days) for showings on the house, then being bombarded with several in a short span. Of course, for each of these, this means packing the kids up and finding some creative errand to run while strangers walk around our house and open our closet doors. This also involves the inane rituals of getting the house "show-ready"--lights on; clean drip pans in all the stove burners; dog bowls picked up and out of sight; all toys put away; all bibs, kiddy placemats, napkins, etc. folded up and stashed away; laundry rack folded and stashed away with all laundry folded and hidden as well; pleasant aroma in the air from strategically placed candles and plug-ins.....you get the idea. It's especially fun on days like today when we have one showing after lunch, followed by another 5 hours later. The house is all picked up...but we need to LIVE in it again for those 5 hours!! Dogs' water bowl comes back out, toys reappear, etc., etc. It seems to never end. We are hoping it will pay off soon with an offer that will give us peace of mind in proceeding with our move to Lincoln.
As for the "Finish Line" in the title, I guess I'm referring to both the end of our time here in Sioux City and the end of the school year for Cliff. As I write this, he is plugging away at one of the 2 big papers he has due for his graduate classes this Monday/Tuesday. He also has juries for his conducting lessons that he needs to prepare for, as well as this pesky thing he has to do called his job.......:-) Both Morningside and UNL have their last week of classes this week, so there is a glimmer of light ahead for him, but I know that in this particular moment, it probably feels very far away for him. I am doing my best to keep things running so that he can focus on the work at hand. I think we are both looking forward to getting the heck out of Iowa for a couple of weeks this summer to see our families.
The kids are still just great. Nathan is cruising around the furniture more and more. He now claps when he hears Laura play the piano (or when someone just says the word piano!), and today he started giving Mommy kisses, which are really just fish lips pressed against my cheek, but I love it anyway. Laura is a whirlwind of speech. The questions never, ever stop, and we are amazed at what she picks up on. I am hoping Lincoln Public Schools will find a place for her in their preschool this fall-this girl is ready to go!!!
Well, I hope it won't be 2 weeks until we post again. If we're lucky, we can post news of our house selling soon.......here's hoping!

Gina