Making a House, A Home

Well, it's now been more than 6 months since we left the excitement of D.C. for the calm of the mid-west, and nearly 4 months since we moved into our house.  We have a fence, a back yard-with a basketball court, a garden, pictures hanging on the walls, and we're still looking for furniture.  We're making friends and adapting to the local culture; we are finding fun things to do near by and settling into a routine.  It's been pretty good.

A month or two ago, Spencer and I were contentedly remarking how we never could have imagined six months ago that we would be where we are now.  Life can change so fast and we feel abundantly blessed by the way circumstances came together for us to be here.  

Moving is always hard for me: it is so hard for me to say good-bye to close friends and familiarity.  It's hard to go someplace strange where people don't know you.  Every move we have made has brought new blessings and new challenges.  I am changed a little bit by every place that we live and the people I know, and I'd like to think that it's for the better.  I look forward to finding out all the things I will learn while we are here.

And now for a few pictures of our new house:

  Even though we are fully unpacked, our house is far from being "done".  We finally hung a few pictures up (somehow it's really hard to put holes in the walls, even though we own the place).  We are working on buying furniture, but the shopping around here is sort of lacking and it's hard to drive an hour and shop with little kids.  Liam and Amelie don't seem to mind the emptiness though: all the open space is great for exploring/playing soccer games/hide and seek/dancing.  We plan on being here for a long time so it's nice to take our time and get it just right.  I am a very clueless decorator so I need to really plan things out to make sure it's right.  We love being homeowners and all that comes with it!