Hope, Indiana

We arrived her around noon on Thursday morning.  As we pulled in to town, we were about to make our final right turn before heading onto our street and then we were stopped.  That road was being repaved and would be blocked for at least another half hour or so.  So close and yet so far!  Fortunately, a girl from the area pulled up behind us and led us around to another entrance into town.

When we pulled into the driveway of the new house, the movers were already there and almost completely done moving our stuff in.  They asked me where I wanted various pieces of furniture and I had absolutely no idea!   

This is our view from the front porch.  So peaceful and quite.  I am really enjoying that. 


And the kids are taking full advantage of all of the space to run around. 


I think their favorite thing so far is riding their bikes on the driveway whenever they feel like it.  In New Jersey, I had to head out to the garage across the parking lot and unlock it for them, which wasn't always convenient for me if I was in the middle of something.  And I always felt the need to sit out there with them due to the heavy traffic near the house and the random people who would walk through the parking lot.  Here, the garage is attached and they have a little bit more freedom and independence, which we can all appreciate. 

New church friends have been very generous with meals and vegetables!  (You are looking at the back entrance of the house that leads right into the dining room).  More house pics to come eventually.   


Bella had her whole room unpacked by the end of the first night!  But she still has no curtains or anything up on her walls.  One thing at a time.


Here in Indiana, we must be about as far west as you can get while still being in the Eastern Time Zone.  For that reason, this is what the sky still looks like at 9pm!  I'm sure I will appreciate this much more come winter.   


Venturing out in to the town of Columbus (which is where we'll be doing most of our shopping, doctor visits, etc.) for some fun.  Through the opening to the left lies a huge indoor playground for the kid.  Definitely a neat place! 


Our carefree days didn't last too long, for just four days after we arrived, it was time for the kids to start school!

Saying Goodbye to New Jersey

I'll start this post out with a few garden randoms that I just found in my photo stream. . . 

We accidentally planted some pumpkins after putting last year's pumpkins in our compost pile. 


And then somehow a few seeds must have blown into our garden.  This particular plant then started to vine up the trellis.  Not sure how that is all going to work when those pumpkins start to get really big.  Unfortunately, we won't get to see that. 
A couple of weeks earlier, we had our carrot harvest.  This is what you get when you don't thin out your carrots very well.  




. . . 

Our final days in New Jersey were hard.  The packing was tedious.  The cleaning was endless.  (It's amazing how much dust, dirt, and crumbs you can live with without knowing it!)  And the goodbyes were sad.  Emotions that I had stuffed down back in April (after it had been decided that we were moving) were now coming to the surface again.  I did a lot of crying.  Saying goodbye is pretty difficult.

Our moving truck arrived at 7:30am on Monday morning.  We were literally still packing up our final boxes as they began to load up the truck.


Here are the boys hanging out in their mostly-emptied room in order to keep out of the movers' way.  Incidentally, these boys didn't get dressed until about 5pm that evening.  Curtis was in his underwear throughout the entire move! 


Bella spent some time coloring in her room, using a box as a desk.  She snapped this photo herself. 


We all camped out that night in the empty living room. 


These were a few of the kids' crafts from our VBS the week prior. 


On our final night in New Jersey, Andy and I turned our focus to deep cleaning of the house.  While he was out sweeping the front porch, he was stung by a bee on his ankle.  Andy is allergic to bees.  He hasn't been bitten since he was a child, so we didn't know how severe; but within minutes, he began to develop hives all over and then his face swelled up.  We were pretty quickly on our way to Urgent Care.  They used an epi-pen on him and gave him a steroid shot as well.  This created a very memorable final evening.   

Thankfully, the itchiness and swelling started to go down after a while; but the whole experience kind of wiped Andy out. 

We moved a little slower the next morning and didn't end up getting the van and car loaded up until about 10:30am.  At some point in the morning, Andy brought all of our keys to his now-old office. 
I got some photos of the kids in the empty house. 


The boys in their room. 


Curtis knows the trick to get a real smile out of Graydon.  Tickling!


And Bella's room.




Shortly after, the kids and I got in the van.  Andy walked through the house one final time and then he came out, locking the door behind him.  And just like that, this house was no longer ours.

The drive itself was a good one.  Other than some rain and hail in West Virginia, it was smooth and the kids were awesome.  Bella snapped this photo of Curtis while he slept. 


I think my favorite portion of the drive was through some easy roads in Ohio.  I played some old CDs that brought me back to a different time and place.  The kids were entertaining themselves and Andy was in the car ahead of me.  I got some alone time with my thoughts and it was amazingly peaceful.  The best way I can think to describe this drive was as the blank space on the page at the end of a chapter in a book, before starting the next chapter.  I felt light and care-free.  I am thankful for those unexpected moments of complete peace.

We stopped for the night in Ohio and then arrived in Hope, Indiana around noon the next day.  More on that to come!

Shore time at "Miss Jane's"

We made it to Indiana safely and are now in the process of getting settled in our new home and community.  It sure takes time!  There's a lot that I plan to share about this new place, but first I have some New Jersey memories to add.

In mid-July, went out to the shore one last time before our big move.  This time, we stayed over night.  Two nights!  We stayed with "Miss Jane" and loved all of the extra quality time that we got to spend with her and a few other families from our church.

This trip was probably our most relaxed time at the beach.  It was the first time that we could sit in a beach chair and watch the kids play in the water.  They didn't go out far - just enjoyed the waves crashing up against them.  

And of course, there was some digging in the sand.








This was the view from one of the guest room at Jane's house.  They overlook the bay and it is so peaceful. 


The next day, we spent a good chunk of time at the Conyers' home.  One big highlight for the kids was going for a ride in "Mr. Charlie's" boat. 



It even has a little kitchen and bathroom. 




Andy tried a paddle board for the first time. 








And there was some fishing.


Graydon was feeling a little upset.  He really wanted to catch a fish that he could take home for a pet.


They did manage to find a little hermit crab.  But we didn't keep him.   






The next morning, Andy and Bella went to the beach to watch the sunrise. 









Later in the day, we all went back to search for some seashells. 


Here are the kids with 'Miss Jane'.  They sure do love her. 






And one of all of us together.



We had such a wonderful time at the shore and with Jane, we were all feeling a little sad when the trip came to an end.  But, we are already looking forward to another visit next summer!