First days...

Whew! It's been a whirlwind. I don't want to move again for a long, long time. Putting the stuff into boxes is so stressful that it does me in emotionally, and taking it all out because I can't stand to have the boxes sitting around does me in physically. But I think we're largely settled at this point...

We left on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. from Arlington, after spending the night in our empty apartment on a borrowed air mattress. We went to church in the morning!, largely so that we could go with a friend who wanted to visit, and then we rushed outta town as quickly as we could. It wasn't that quick. It's amazing how much stuff we had to get out of the apartment before we could leave. But finally, we were on the road. Seth did great, for the most part.

The highlight of the adventure for him and us, though, was when he woke up and began to meltdown from too long in the car, right after I'd passed the last fast food exit for 30 miles. So, desperate, I pull off in Dinwiddie, VA, home of nothing but a sign for Good Home Cooking, 3 miles away. I pulled over, and David was game for trying it after he heard the crescendo of wailing. So I got back in the car, and here I am, winding along a country road, Seth screaming in the backseat, and I keep making turns and following old, faded signs, praying that this is place is a) coming up soon, and b) still open for business. We got there, after turning off on a country road that scared me for David in the UHaul. When we got to the parking lot, there was a sign that said, "Thanks for not giving up." =)

But it was a nice place to stop and rest. The little restaurant overlooked a lake, and there were a mother and daughter waitressing. We sat out on the porch and rocked Seth while we waited for dinner, and after dinner, the sons of the mother waitress came in from fishing on the lake to tell us all about what they'd caught. =)

We made it to Mom and Dad's about 11:00 p.m., completely bushed. Monday morning, we were up bright and early. David got my parent's neighbor, and they cleared out our storage unit, all before 9:30 a.m. Then I headed to Raleigh, straight to the rental office to pick up keys, and David took the truck to the house. We finished our fast food lunch on the stoop 5 minutes before our movers showed up.

We spent Tuesday and today unpacking boxes and getting things together. Mom and Dad came with us and were a HUGE help. Dad and David went out this morning and came back with a bunch of expensive, but necessary, yard equipment. They argued over the meaning of "necessary" in the store, and David managed to whittle down Dad's list. Dad is the King of All Yard Work, the Sultan of Lawn Maintenance, the Godfather of all Things Green. His lawnmower cost more than my first car, and he maintains 2 acres...pristinely. We, being smart people, figured out that if we got some of the stuff on Dad's list today, then he would do yard work for us all day. He did, and it looks great, but honestly, Daddy, I do like the wild, "English garden" look. I know; I must not be your daughter.

We unpacked the last box this evening! I know, I've been told we are lightning speed unpackers. I just can't stand looking at boxes and junk lying around. It's part of my OCD tendencies. My husband is also an incredibly hard worker, so that makes it all possible. We found at least temporary places for most of it. We'll rearrange more in the coming weeks, I know. And we have a lot of little projects that I'm looking forward to getting on. We haven't put up any pictures yet, and I'm thinking about curtains, and I desperately need some spice rack thingies, we have to change the dryer cord for our outlet or we can't use the dryer, and it appears that we have no bolts or screws for the crib we were given, so I'm going to contact the company about getting some of those, etc.,... so I think we're going to be pretty busy.

But I LOVE this little house. It is so perfect for us, and I feel blessed to be in it a little more each day. Our neighbors are very nice, and I've never really had "neighbors" before, in the cul-de-sac sense, so I'm looking forward to that new experience. At this point, David's home with me, and it still feels like an adventure. I'm looking forward to this month of settling in together. I love hearing the crickets outside, and I love all the green of our trees that I see out of the windows. We have eaten every night on a card table on our screened-in back porch while Albert has had the run of the back yard. Mom and Dad went home tonight after dinner, and we'll miss their help, but I think it's under control at the moment, anyway. Thanks for all your prayers for a smooth move. It's gone really well so far.