Hello again!

Today's a very big day - we had our cable & internet service hooked up. Hooray! We're once again connected to the outside world. It's been a while since we've been in touch with everyone very much. So, here's a general update on everything...

The move went about as well as could be expected (with the small exception of a 3 hour stand-still traffic jam followed by a 250-mile detour to get around a chemical spill in Tennessee). It was a long trip, but we were able to spend 2 nights with family, so that gave us some bright spots to look forward to along the way. There were some hiccups with getting into the house (last minute touch-ups weren't done), so we had to spend 1 extra night in a hotel, which was a bummer, but in the end, it all worked out fine. The first weekend we were here, we went to a BBQ the sales guy for the development hosted for a couple of our neighbors. It was great to get to know a few of them right away. It was actually a going-away thing for one couple, but the other 2 couples at the party will be around. One of the ladies actually volunteered to watch Connor & Pooka while we were in Texas, so that worked out beautifully.We were here for about 10 days with a very, very empty house before the movers came with our stuff. Now we just have a very empty house. :) The cats have been enjoying it because they can run and slide across the hardwood floors without anything to block their path (except for walls, if you're a big Connor Cat).

We spent most of last week in Texas with Ian's family. They hosted a baby shower for us on Saturday, which was fantastic. We really had a great time at the shower and just visiting with the family in general. It's amazing how generous people are... We're very thankful to have such a wonderful family - and friends!

Now we're looking forward to visiting with my family when they come to Wichita for our 2nd shower in September.

Other than that, our lives have mostly been focused on unpacking our meager belongings. Ian started work on Friday, but it'll take a while for that to be very busy, so he's been able to help a lot with the unpacking. I discovered that unpacking is WAY easier when A) Ian is around to help (which hasn't often been the case in our many previous moves), B) I can't really lift anything. Darn. :), and C) Your stuff doesn't take up all the space in your house. One of our poor neighbors was downsizing when she moved and 6 months later still has a garage full of boxes. Their cars had to spend the winter outside last year because there was no room for them in the garage. We actually managed to get just about all of our boxes unpacked in about 3 days. It also has helped that we don't have much furniture (including tables & bookcases), so we can't put away too much just yet. It doesn't help in terms of feeling settled, but it's great for emptying boxes! So, that's where we stand now. We've purchased a sweet fridge and a washer & dryer, so we feel like grown-ups. Now we're just waiting for the paychecks to start coming and we'll be ready to move on to furniture. Yea!