We've arrived...

So many of you have e-mailed or called to check in and see how things are going with us since we arrived in Phillipsburg this weekend. For those of you who may be wondering, yes, we did survive! I decided it would be easier to start a blog that everyone can read, rather than try to keep all of you updated individually.

Where do I start? Well, first of all let's talk about the move. We started packing 3 weeks ago. That might seem excessive, but when you've got an almost 3 year old and a 2 month old, packing takes a LONG time! Last week we picked up our U-Haul truck on Friday morning. Ken and our friends Jesse and DJ put in a full day of heavy lifting. They were able to load almost every thing we had into the truck. (Thanks again guys, for your help!) That night we spent the night at my parents' house, since our apartment was an empty mess!

Saturday morning we started loading the last of our stuff and cleaning the apartment around 8:30. By 11 that morning all 5 vehicles and 9 passengers (the Beach Crew, The Scott Crew, and our nephew Ty) were loaded and ready to roll out. I thought I would be really sad to pull away, but no tears were shed.

We caravaned across Highway 36, stopping only twice. By a little after 4 we made it to our new place. Now, for those of you who may not know, this was our first time seeing where we would call home. Until Saturday, we had only seen pictures of our apartment because we hadn't had a chance to make it out here before then.

Our first impressions of the apartment were a bit discouraging. We started making a list of things that needed repaired for our landlord to take care of. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we moved on the hottest day of the summer. Until now the weather had been awesome, but the day we had to move it was near 100 degrees! We immediately turned our AC on when we arrived, but it didn't cool down until sometime after midnight because of the cathedral ceilings that are in the living room.

The boys got to work unloading the truck while I started unpacking boxes. This place is only 10 square feet smaller than our old apartment, but it felt a lot smaller than that. Hopefully once I get everything unpacked and all the boxes put away it won't seem so tiny.

By midnight our entire crew was exhausted, so we hit the sack.

One nice thing about our location is that we are literally across the street from the elementary school, so there is a nice playground for Kennedy to enjoy. I think she thinks it's our own little park. Speaking of parks, there is an AWESOME park in town. It's 4 years old, but looks brand new. The town keeps it in really good condition.

Sunday morning my dad and brothers had to leave. It was really hard saying goodbye to Dad, but I kept telling myself "this is only temporary". We are SOOOO blessed because my mom was able to take some time off of work and stay with us. I seriously think I would have been lost without her here. She just left this morning (Wednesday) and she helped us more than you can imagine.

Ken had an unexpected surprise when he arrived at the school on Monday. They were in the process of moving his classroom! So, he has spent the last 3 days trying to get his entire classroom organized. He's barely had any time to work on lesson plans.

Kennedy is adjusting quite well. I'm really happy. I think it helped that my mom was here to keep her busy! We found her a really nice babysitter who has a few girls her age. Today was her second day at Monica's House and she hasn't had any problems with that transition.

Judah has been really fussy since we arrived. His schedule is so messed up. The poor guy is having a really hard time getting a long nap in. Hopefully once we settle down and get back into our routine our good little sleeper will return.

So far the people we've met have been really nice. Our neighbor is our friend Joseph Thomas' cousin....small world, huh?! When we pulled up to the apartment we saw 3 sheriff's cars in front of the place. I wasn't sure if I should be scared that we lived in a rough neighborhood or glad because they lived there. Well, it was the latter! Joseph's cousin, Clint, works for the Phillips County Sheriff's Dept., so we can feel safe here!

There is only 1 grocery store in town and the prices are SKY HIGH! I have a feeling we'll be making weekly trips to Wal-Mart (an hour away) to stock up on supplies. We do have a Dollar General Store and an Alco for our basic necessities. There is also a Subway and a Pizza Hut, along with a few local restaurants, if we get sick of making dinner at home.

For those of you who have asked how I'm taking the move...I'm doing OK. I've had my moments, but I haven't been depressed yet, so that's a good thing. I did have a small panic attack on Sunday, which resulted in an ugly stress blister on my lower lip, but other than that I've been OK. Like I said, it really helped to have my mom here. Plus, I've been so busy unpacking that I haven't had much downtime to think about the situation!

I hope to update this blog at least once a week, so make sure you bookmark this page to stay updated on the happenings!