Settling In

We finally got to our new house on Saturday, June 6 at about 9 pm. We were so excited to finally ALL be home together! It was definitely sort of a strange feeling to walk into the house and have my stuff already there and sort of set up!! David did a LOT of work the week before setting up furniture, unpacking boxes, getting closets straightened, etc. He DID wipe down the sinks and toilets in the bathrooms (for those of you wondering if he really would!), and the whole house had been vacuumed. The kids were SO excited to be home. Even though it was 9-10 pm that night, we let them ride their bikes & scooters around the cul-de-sac while David and I unloaded the cars. I went to bed that night feeling very overwhelmed again by all the STUFF we had just dropped in the middle of the kitchen.

Sunday was our first time FOR REAL at church - all together, as a family. It felt SO good to have us all there! The people of NBC have been so welcoming and were wonderful in making us feel welcome on our first "official" Sunday. The kids did great - they had been to their classes a few other times on different trips, so they knew the routine. We picked up some fried chicken and a gallon of milk on the way home to get us through and came home for lunch.

After the kids took some MUCH needed naps, we headed out to Home Depot for a VERY exciting purchase - my brand new washer & dryer! We had agreed to leave ours for the new buyers in VA, so I happily accepted the opportunity to buy new ones for me! You can tell a mom of 4 kids by how excited she gets over new laundry equipment! :) We were able to buy the Consumer Reports #2 rated machine (also a "best buy"), and got them to take $200 off - gotta love negotiations! The kids were told that if they obeyed and were patient while I got my machines ordered, we'd head home and check out our new pool. They obliged, and we had a great time having a quick swim that evening.

The next day (last Monday), Callie wasn't too thrilled about David returning to work (she asked ALL day long - "where Daddy go?") I think she was worried that he was GONE again. It felt good for us to get into a normal routine though. The kids and I found our Walmart - only 10 minutes away or so, and is BEAUTIFUL. That was a good feeling - getting some regular food in the house again, knowing that if I could find my way to Walmart, we could survive anything! :) We were able to get the rooms situated and all of the boxes in the house unpacked the first few days. I had to rearrange a few things in the kitchen (and there's still a few things I'm working out...), but David did a good job on that too. I guess after 11 years of marriage, he knows where I like things to go! :)

We spent one morning last week at the Lake Murray park. There is a huge dam there, and they have a little "fake beachfront" at the lake that the kids can go swim and play at. We had a good time, but it made me miss my soft, sandy beach in VA! Since this was a lake, it was VERY rocky - I made the kids keep their crocs on - but we had a great time anyways!

Josiah and Jacob enjoying the lake.
Josiah and Jacob are sort of in the bottom left corner of the picture. You can sort of see the bridge that crosses over the lake & dam in the background.

Can you see Callie? She's got the blue sandbucket over her shoulder (like a purse) just walking on out to her brothers. She made lots of people nervous watching her (not me) - she'd just walk on out to her shoulders, and then turn back around and come back. I was never far away, and got a kick out of watching people's reactions actually.

And here's Callie sitting next to some boy that was peacefully making sandcastles by the water. She decided he looked like a nice friend for her I guess!