Hi from Massachusetts

We made it!

Let me tell you about the last few days of our life.

Friday a week ago: big packing day. I had been packing stuff up for months, even before Cecily was born. Friday was the day that the rest of the house got packed up. Some of our friends helped us out and we couldn't have done it without them.

Saturday: I went to work all morning and Alex got the moving truck. That afternoon we cleaned and packed the truck with help from tons of people. Thank you so much to those that helped - there is no way in the world we could have done it without all the help we received.

Sunday: A week ago today I went to work in the morning for a little bit, went to church for sacrament meeting, cleaned the house from top to bottom, finished packing, said goodbye to our sweet neighbor Gisela and drove to Cincinnati. Looking at my wonderful house for the last time might qualify as one of the saddest times of my life.

Monday: This was the day I dreaded the most. I was alone with the baby and the dogs and I was most afraid of Cecily screaming her head off and not being able to do a single thing about it. That did happen and I pulled off when I could but once I made sure she was dry and not hungry there was nothing I could do but hold her for a few minutes, put her back in the (dreaded) car seat, and carry on. It was hard. I cried along with her. But we can do hard things.

Cecily on my lap on Aunt Candy's porch after a very long day of driving. She looks like I felt.

We pulled into Philadelphia totally exhausted and were grateful for...

Tuesday: a day to sleep in, tie up a few odds and ends for the new house, and relax with family.

Wednesday: we left Philly very early to try to make it to our new home for a walk through before the closing. Guess what. We didn't make it. Stopping multiple times to feed a baby and a GPS that doesn't anticipate a moving truck not being able to make clearance under certain bridges are what doomed us. I arrived just in time for closing and Alex was a half hour late. The closing went as expected and we are proud homeowners in Medford, MA. The drive to the new home from the bank was frustrating (traffic, crazy roundabouts) and left me wondering to myself about what I have gotten into. Old friends now living nearby took the time to bring us dinner and help unload the truck and I was never more grateful to see friendly faces. I was (am) feeling transplant shock as a country girl coming from a relatively small town in the Midwest to a humongous city at the end of weeks of not a lot of sleep because of a brand new baby, working part time, trying to sell and purchase a home, and all the stress and work of moving and I about melted into a puddle of tears when we finally made it. Thank you Quinn and Tiffany for being there at just the right moment. There were also a couple people from our new congregation that helped us unpack the truck.

Thursday: The piano movers moved the piano in and we started to unpack. Candy and Tony came to spend a couple days with us and help watch the baby and unpack.

Friday/Saturday: unpacking, trying to make our home our home, and lots of craigslisting. We need a kitchen table still. We got a beautiful fridge but just found out it won't fit. I won't say which one of us didn't measure correctly.

Today: happy anniversary to my wonderful husband!

From now into the future: make friends, work on a few small home projects we will take a bit at a time, and enjoying the short amount of time before Alex starts as much as we possibly can.

The recurring theme of this post is that a bajillion people helped us to get here and we couldn't have done it without them. I am so grateful for all of their help and kindness. I will miss Urbana incredibly but look forward to this new adventure and chapter in our lives.