We're here!

Ohhhh gracious me!
We're alive!

 
A friend back in Windsor told me that she read a study once that said that moving is akin in stress levels to death and divorce. I believe it. It's not so much that I was fretting and worrying so much as just the endless work involved. But thanks to my WONDERFUL parents and in-laws and all their help in various ways, not to mention the help of everyone who watched kids, brought cupcakes, cleaned our house, or came over for a visit and ended up packing up endless boxes, we made it all here in once piece. And here is our house!
 

Backyard

Guest bathroom (awaiting a towel rack presently...)

Backyard again- we are right on the edge of town and the mountains and desert and mountains are a block away from us, sunsets are gorgeous at night...)

Garage is a room with a partition- we'll probably change it eventually but for now it's staying how it is)

Back living room

Master Bath (shower around the corner)

Girls' room

Linus' room- with a blanket tacked to the wall until I can make curtains as he's an early riser...

Front living room (yay we got the piano here!!)

Laundry

Dining area

Kitchen

Girls' nook

 

 

 

Master Bedroom

The kids have taken everything amazingly well. Not perfect, but much better than I thought it would be. There is not as much outside space as there was in Colorado, they don't have neighborhood friends as of yet, and it's much hotter outside here than there, so the first week I had a hard time keeping them occupied. All of a sudden, however, they seemed to have remembered that they are indeed actually friends with each other and have sort of forgotten that I exist and go off in their own spaces making messes, saving the world, fighting bad guys, playing games, coloring for hours, and being kids. It's been wonderful. I'm so glad they had friends in Colorado, but honestly I worried a lot about them being all over the two open yards in Windsor- I worried that they would be somewhere and get picked up by someone and I wouldn't even know, I worried about Linus getting along with the neighbor kids who he'd have problems with frequently (as they were girls and generally had a hard time including him in things when playing with Chloe), I only let Odell outside when I was able to watch her out there myself, I worried when they came in the house and certain of the kids in our neighborhood had told them things they were insisting to me on a daily basis were fact and I worried what other habbits rubbed off on them. There was only one little girl of them that I really was encouraging a friendship with- the other kids were nice enough, but they came from hard homes and I always let them play in our yard, but did not let my kids go over to theirs. They didn't understand that. Anyway- Odell is playing happily in our enclosed yard by herself and I can see her perfectly through my window as I type. Chloe and Linus are rolling on the floor laughing playing a card game together in the next room. I feel reeled in and comfortable. I feel happy.
In the meantime we are making friends in our ward at church. Last weekend Craig got pulled out of Sunday School, offered and accepted a calling, and was sustained in Elders Quorum before I even knew he had a calling (Elder's Quorum Secretary). I am occupied continuing to upack a few boxes here and there, working on my photography, pinning a bunch of projects on pinterest I will hopefully get to around the house, making meals, cleaning, reading books with the kids, cleaning some more, and so on.
In the meantime, making a trip to see some family very near and dear to my heart next week and getting ready to celebrate a certain almost 3 year olds' birthday in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned...