This past month has been one long process of settling into a new home.  It has been easy, hard, fun, exhausting, and at times very lonely.  At times, I truly admit that I feel quite lost here in North Carolina, wishing I had Marilyn, or Dawn, or Victoria, Kristi, Valorie, or September, etc, etc, etc.  I was blessed to have such a wonderful network of friends in Savannah, but I have to remember that when I started there, I was just as alone as now – more so, in fact.

And so yes, even though the kids and I have felt a little lost, we have all been busy doing things to remedy the situation.  First off . . .

Making our house a home:  We finished unpacking after two weeks, and then it was time to hang pictures, arrange bedrooms just so, and start working on the yard.  Lily and Derek have their own rooms for the first time, and so we hung Kevin's old Star Wars posters on the wall in Derek's room, and he is in heaven.  (Now I need to think of some great quotes from the movies to get made out of vinyl lettering to put up along with them.)

We had to get some new furniture, including a computer armoire, many bookcases, a hutch for the kitchen (to help with the storage issues in the kitchen), and a new sleeper sofa for guests.  Oh, and Kevin finally got his flat screen TV, which he has patiently waited years for.  The sofa came yesterday, and now the house is complete.  (The kids think it is the coolest thing ever!  A bed in the couch, what could be better?)

Oh, and I finally made it to a nursery to get some flowers for the flower boxes around the house.  They were full of dead geraniums, and so we fixed that.  It is too late in the season to really plant like I would have loved to, but my little flowers are perfect.

Busy Work:  I have spent countless hours on the computer and telephone trying to find us a new dentist, a new eye doctor, chiropractor, piano teacher, etc.  I got Lily registered for school in the fall, we turned in medical records and got us set up at the clinic on post, etc.  I am so glad to have this part finished!

Making Friends:Although I was blessed to have Jeren and Sherrie here already, it has been lonely.  I had met a few people at church who seemed great, but I never remembered to get their numbers, and so last week I brought a notepad and wrote a few people down.  Then this week, I called and invited them over.  It was so fun to get to know some great ladies, and the kids were in heaven playing with new friends while we chatted.  I also got to attend the temple in Raleigh with some ladies from our ward, which was wonderful as well.  It is definitely a great start.

Enjoying having a Neighborhood: The best part about our move for the kids is the yard, and that we live on a cul-de-sac.  There are a few kids right here that they have taken too and love playing with already.  Jacob, who lives next door, is their favorite – maybe it is because he is older.

And then there are the kids across the street, who are not only the perfect ages for the kids, but have really fun toys that they let them play with them on, like Power Wheels.  Lily even took one for a spin – he he!

We also were able to finally get the kids bikes!  My six year old needs to learn to ride – it is just not right that Lily hasn't had the chance until now.  It will be a fun adventure, and here she is with her new ride:

Summer Reading:  One of the first things I did when we moved in was get a library card, and get the kids signed up for the summer reading program in town.  They have already earned three prizes (We read to them a lot), and are loving it.  I am also loving the beautiful little library, just down the road, and have stocked up on great books to read.

Lily has also progressed to the point where she can read Magic Tree-house books on her own, and so one afternoon, the two of us sat out on the porch and read while Derek played on the swing-set.  It was so fun, and made pretty funny by the fact that she created a shade tent to read under.  Ahh, Lily.

Misc. Family Fun:  And probably the best thing that is helping us get settled, are all the fun family things we have been doing.  Whether it is doing silly tricks with dad, a Family Home Evening, or Lily helping me out in the yard, it is what makes everything feel right.  Lily even helped me make 3 batches of strawberry freezer jam :). 

And so yes, even though we have some settling left to do, things are going really well and we are happy.  Kevin loves his job here, which is another big plus, and eventually I will learn to navigate this city.  The kids are content, and I got to go out this morning and water my flowers.  Life is good :).

PS. Now that we have the sleeper sofa, that means we are open and ready for visitors, so please come :).