Our New Life

(Above: some pictures of our new house!)

We have now spent 2 weeks in our new home and we feel pretty much settled. Almost every box is unpacked and put away. The pictures are hung on the wall....and it feels like home. I am so in love with this house. It's close to the same square footage of our old one but laid out MUCH differently. We now have a huge master bedroom with walk-in closet!! We have a separate formal dining room and a breakfast nook off the kitchen, a huge back deck, and a truly finished basement ( no ugly paneling)! Also, the backyard is FLAT!! YAY

We have received the warmest of welcomes from all of our neighbors. Trendon has a classmate about 2 doors down and his Mom and I hit it off right from the beginning. We have already attended PTO together and they are planning us a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" party in March! The little neighborhood we live in is very close-knit. It seems as though everyone gets together for cook-outs, to pass the football, play basketball, etc! Just the perfect neighborhood for us and our family:-) I've always told Zack, why don't people just stop by anymore. Guess what? Our neighbors just stop by to say hi and have tea!!! I LOVE THAT!!!!

The kids are loving their new school. Each loves their teachers and have made bookoos of friends already. In fact, at Skyler's birthday party which was a week after we arrived, 7 classmates came! She was so proud and happy! Abbie's best new friend is Elizabeth and I have found their "notes" in her backpack. So precious. Drawings of hearts and flowers.....and letters of you are my best friend, etc. Trendon is doing well even though his new class is pretty far ahead academically from his previous class. He is reading really well which makes us so proud!

Zack has been working his new job for a week and a half and though he has put in a lot more hours than he did in his previous position at 3M, he seems so much happier. This job is more challenging for him.....which anyone who knows Zack, knows he won't stay interested long if he isn't challenged. It seems to me that he will always be working on something different - which sounds thrilling! He will also be travelling some with this new job. Next month to Wisconsin and a possible trip to Florida this Spring. FUN

I start my new position tomorrow. I have my first day of work outfit all laid out and I am ready to go! I am beyond excited to get started. A job I know I will love and be successful at. I feel completely confident and blessed.

We have hired a nanny after much turmoil and stress. I honestly started to worry that I wouldn't be able to start my job because we couldn't find a suitable child care provider. But, a few nights ago we found Heather and she has a 14 month old baby girl who Mia has already befriended and loved on. Heather has several years of nanny experience....with a family of 4 children and she comes with astounding references who just beamed about how well she cared for their children. I feel completely confident in her and know the kids will enjoy their time with both Heather and her daughter.

We have started to attempt the church hunt. We tried a church last week which was not a good fit and planned to try another this morning but Zack had to go in to work. So, next Sunday we'll hop back on the wagon. It amazes me how difficult this has been for us. But, with 5 children nothing is really simple.

So, all in all we have had a great moving experience. I hope to never ever ever move again! It's so stressful and sooo much work! But, we feel we did make the very best decision by making this happen.

We miss lots about Kentucky, especially our family of course, but carving this life for ourselves also feels so right. We love all of you and thank you for being such wonderful parts of our lives!