The move

Sadly, I don't have many pictures of our last few weeks in Indiana.  When we were taking some goodbye photos I noticed my screen was cracked.  Let's just say it is hard to take pictures when you can only see a quarter of the screen.

Luckily, the people and places made such an impact on us that we are sure to never forget them.

We spent the weekend boxing up and cleaning our house.  Early Monday morning John got the U-haul and we started to load the truck.  Kara was kind enough to watch my kids so we could get it done quicker.  It definitely took longer for the two of us than expected!  Later that night I took the kids to Christ's for dinner and FHE while John continued to load and clean.  After putting the kids to bed on the floor we finished cleaning and went to sleep for a few hours.  We woke up at 4 to start our journey.  The kids were excited as they tiredly took one last look at our home and we drove away.  They were all mostly asleep, but no tears as they looked forward to the future.  I think we have been talking about it and making it happen for so long that we were all just ready to be done!  Zak drove with John for the whole trip and had a great time.  Makelle was my helper in the car for Lantz and Karlee and they all did awesome for the ride.  Thanks to Grandma and Christie for snacks and entertainment.  It was a great trip and we arrived in Florida by afternoon.  The realtor met me at our house and showed me around.  John showed up shortly after.  As soon as John pulled into the driveway our next door neighbors came over to introduce themselves.  They are retired AF and were very kind.  They offered to help and headed home.  Fifteen minutes later the husband was changed and back over to help.  He could tell we could use the help but were going to do it alone.  It was a super humid day and he was kind enough to empty the truck with John.  It was such a relief and blessing for him to show up.  I was able to unpack while they did the unloading.  We finished unpacking the next day and my our second evening John was hanging my pictures on the wall.  Yesterday we finished all of the hanging and cleaned out the garage, spray painted some things and finished up loose ends.  It feels like home!  It started raining shortly after we got her Tuesday night and didn't stop until Sunday morning.  Luckily the kids still played outside in the rain and we had plenty to keep us busy here in the house.  The kids love the 2 big swings on the tree in the front yard, as well as the rope ladder and play set they call their tree house.  We live on a quiet street which is a circle so we only get resident traffic for our circle.  Just outside  our circle we can walk a ways and see the bay thru people's yards...so pretty.  Our back yard is fenced and surrounded by trees so we can feel very secluded yet just around the corner is every store we could ever need.  Lots different than our last location.  Our backyard can open to a little trail that goes along the highway or up on to the sidewalk for our kids to ride bikes.  Not too shabby!

Today we went to church for the first time.  It definitely wasn't Charlestown.  We didn't have everyone coming up to us the minute they saw us.  But, the people were very nice and welcoming.  We already got an offer for a YW to babysit for us anytime and met several other people our age.  The ward was big and all of the families had at least 4 kids!!!  We felt small!  The kids where actually really excited to go to church today to start meeting people.  They all went to class good and we had a contest to see who talked to or met the most people.  It was a good day for all of them and they look forward to going back next week.  As for John and I it was weird to not have a lesson to prepare this week.  Even more weird for us that we got to sit by each other in Sunday School.

Life is so good.  We feel so blessed.  The Lord is mindful of us and he is guiding our life.  There are things to learn, people to meet, and lives to be blessed here so we best get to work.  I have been praying for my children for months to do well with this move and to adjust.  It has only been a few days but the Lord has answered my prayers.  They are so excited about everything and willing to go with the flow!  I have an amazing husband who works so hard.  He helps so much and is so unselfish.  I will miss having his help at home when he starts work.  What a treat it has been.

Indiana....what can I say.  I love that place.  It was where our family truly became a family.  Our testimonies and relationships grew so much.  I learned more about how much Heavenly Father cares for me and is in the details.  He wants me to grow, stretch, and serve, and that is where I will find happiness.  I found friends that will never be replaced or forgotten.  They were truly tender mercies in my life.  I could see Christ daily thru them and their examples.  They continue to amaze and inspire me.  I find it no coincidence that our paths crossed.  I needed them in so many ways.  They were my family.

We tried so hard to fit so many of our favorite things into our last few weeks.  One thing the kids wanted to do was to go on a hike.  We usually to to Clifty Falls which is one of our favorites.  We decided to stay closer to home and try a new trail and Charlestown park.  It was awesome. It led us to an old island that used to be an amusement park and took us along the river.  We had a lot of fun being together and enjoying the scenery.  We will miss the beauty of Indiana.

Some of our greatest friends who adopted us like family, invited us to go on a river cruise.  They own a  pontoon and wanted to take us out.  We had some of our closest friends, the Bensfields and Fieldings go with us.  Stephanie and Suzannah kindly babysat one last time so we could go with their parents out on the river.  The night was incredible.  I sat next to John and these 3 couples thinking how great life was and how blessed I am.  These people are some of the best around and I get to call them my friends. Of course we had lots of fun and laughter.  The river was beautiful.  It was so different that just crossing it downtown.  We had a great dinner on the boat and then headed up to Louisville to watch the city lights from the boat.  The evening couldn't have been better as we shared a night with our friends one last time overlooking the river and city....it was incredible.

We got to go on dinner dates, have families over for dinner, go to others for FHE or just have playdates with our closest friends.  I felt happiness and regret at the same time.  Regret for lost time and not making the most of everyday with such great people.  Happiness at simply knowing them and doing things with them during the time I did.

Sister McCullough was kind enough to babysit for us on the Friday before we moved.  It happened to be John's birthday so we got up early and went to the temple.  We decided to do sealings since we don't anticipate being in the temple at the same time for a while.  Because of the distance of our temple we will have to go separately.  We did lots of sealings and the spirit was very strong.  it was a great day.  Then we met up with some dental school friends to say goodbye.  We got home to our house being decorated with hearts and notes telling John happy birthday.  My kids sure love Sister McCullough and get spoiled by her.  What an AMAZING woman.

 Here are a few pictures from our new place.