Week One

Week one in Huntsville, AL. We are actually in Madison, AL. It has all been so full of emotions that I'm not sure if it was a good or bad week. We had lots of goodbyes last week and were pretty emotional by Saturday night. The drive to the airport Sunday morning was better than expected, although that lump was certainly in my throat. The first leg of our flight went smoothly....security and check in was uneventful, even with one-way tickets. The boys were great on the airplane and we arrived in Dallas ready to ride the "train" and get on the final plane.

Of course it was too much to ask for a completely uneventful flight. Our flight had been cancelled...not just delayed. The first guy Jim asked said the other flight was full and we couldn't get on. We figured we'd give my college roommate a call and see if we could hang out with her. We called and she had a free Sunday afternoon! We decided to check at the main ticket counter and see the options for a hotel. Turns out they were able to get us on the 8:00 flight. We were so thankful Ali was willing to cart us to and from the airport so we didn't have to sit around for 6 hours. The kids had a much better time and I loved seeing an old friend and meeting her kids!

We landed in Huntsville, got two rentals, borrowed a pack n play and got milk and cereal for the morning. We finally got to bed at 11:30, unsure of what we had just done to our family.

Monday was spent at the grocery store, driving around a bit and trying to rest up. We all got the start of a cold and were pretty exhausted.
Tuesday we woke to find a beautiful, but cold, dusting of snow!! It was really wet and we knew it wouldn't last. Jim went to work and the kids and I hung out in the apartment. They have done really well and the apartment is good sized...three bedrooms and a living room/kitchen. For only having a few toys and nothing to watch dvds on, they have improvised well. Luke right away found the laundry basket and colored pencils and fashioned a drum.

Jim and I were definitely feeling unsettled most of the week. Not so much questioning our decision as I think the loneliness that we were expecting hit sooner than we thought. We know this will be a good move and we will eventually be settled and make friends.

Aidan started school on Wednesday and brought home lots of papers that he worked on. He did well and had a good day.

The rest of the days have been uneventful and we were very thankful to have been invited to dinner Thursday night by some friends with kids Aidan's and Luke's age. It was just what we needed to get through the week.

We have a renter for our home in California and that has been a huge relief. Everything is squared away in CA and now we are digging in to get things squared away here...doctor's, church, gym, pharmacy, bank....there are so many things! We close on the house friday and I know this will really be the start of our getting settled.

Oh! How could I have skipped meeting Aidan's t-ball team and having our first practice! Such fun to watch and meet new people. Everyone is very nice. I'm sure friendships will be formed.

God has been so gracious and we look forward to this adventure. I just want to be real and document the struggles with the joys. I'll post more with pictures soon.