A Long Time in Coming

We have arrived and settled into our Ohio home! We are so thrilled for this new chapter of our lives in so many ways.

Highlights of our LONG drive east:

We began in the evening with the intention of driving through the night. TIP: if you decide to do this, do it with either very small children or with older children. Ours we all up at 3 a.m. So we stopped for breakfast at Perkins restaurant in Cheyenne, WY. The good news was that nobody else was there so we could let the kids be as rowdy as they wanted. The bad news is that nobody was really hungry and we hardly ate any of our food.

This was coming over Jackson Pass.  We didn't expect to run into snow on the road in May, but we did.  More impressively, the snow piled up on the side of the road is not on a hill - that's all snow.  And it's still there!  We were very grateful that this was the only snow we ran into.  That pass is scary with snow.

Our hotel in Lincoln, NE was our first stop and it was FABULOUS! Mostly because it had enough room for a tired family, a full kitchen and a TV to occupy children long enough for a parental afternoon nap.

I've decided that I never want to live in Nebraska. I only drove through, but that's about all I ever want to do in that state.

Second leg of the journey was to St. Louis, MO and was a great drive. We got a good start because we had slept well from being so previously deprived. Therefore, we arrived with enough time for the kids to swim and get out a lot of energy! Andrew was pretty unsure of what to think of the pool so the two of us didn't really experience wetness. But that's okay. We've played in pools a lot since then and he gets it now.

Day 3 was harder. We weren't good about getting an early start so we pulled in later and because it was day 3, the kids were not as patient. But the country was beautiful! We drove over the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and they were awe inspiring. We've never done that before. I still have to see the Ohio River just south of me. It's on our 'date' list. :)

We stopped for lunch at IHOP and ended up being the entertainment for 5 minutes as the kids drank their chocolate milk.

I really wish I'd been more focused on taking pictures, but I really wasn't. I didn't take one... I certainly did not earn my gold star for documentation.

We got here on May 1st and weren't able to get into our rental home until the 18th. So we did the hotel thing for a week, stayed with my SIL Alisha for a week (while Mikey played bachelor with a co-worker) and then another week in a hotel. It turned out better than I thought. I especially loved the week with Alisha even though Mikey wasn't there. It was great for the kids to have someone to play with and to have somewhere to go to play/something to play with. Alisha's kids are generally a little older so my kids picked up some of their good habits -- like helping in the kitchen and clearing the table. It's been eye opening and helpful for all of us. They've grown so much with this transition. But I have a feeling I'm only seeing the surface of what they've learned and become because of it.

Now we are moved in with pictures up and all! I feel like this is home. And that's a good feeling. Our ward has been very welcoming and I've been very peaceful about the whole thing. It's allowed us to make some good changes in our daily habits and feel like we're getting a "do-over" to the beginning of our lives together. I've been grateful to see the Lord's hand in so many things.

This country is beautiful! Several people have told me that I left "God's country" for this and that they are so sorry. But I've decided it's all about perspective. The change is what makes it special. This is God's country too!! :)

I obviously failed at documenting with pictures.  The four here are the only ones I took.  Lame sauce.