Settling In

 We are slowly settling in to our new home. 

It takes a while to build a new life and we are in the very beginning stages of doing so. It will most likely take 6+ months before we have anything resembling a little life, but we will get there eventually. 

 Sarah is looking up places to volunteer and ride horses. I have been reaching out to different soccer clubs for Elizabeth to begin playing again in the fall. Andy is working on getting a job and getting set for college again this upcoming semester. I am in the process of trying to find a very part time job working 10-15 hours a week to earn our family some extra spending money. On top of all of that I am working on getting Sarah the services she needs to transition into adulthood and on to college in about two years time. 

The house is coming along. We ended up finding a used back patio set and it looks great on the deck. We are now on the hunt for a couple of Adirondack chairs for the front porch. Once we have those items we will work on getting a small sectional and area rug for the fireplace room. 

Bob and Andy went camping this past weekend and had a great time. The girls and I stayed home with the dog and tried to make the most of being home. We have been waiting on our pool passes and were hoping that they would arrive last weekend, but they did not. (Apparently our HOA is notoriously slow. They put New Mexico's 'manana' attitude to shame as it has been three weeks and we still have no pool passes.) Instead the girls and I did some housework, baked, played games and watched a couple of movies. 

Sarah and I are itching to get to the beach. Hopefully, we can do so in the next couple of weeks. There is so much to do here that it is hard to choose what to spend our time on first. It is really nice to live in an area where this is the case. 

We have met our neighbors on both sides of us. On one side is an 80+ man who was born in Ukraine. He speaks little English, but is the sweetest old man. He putzes around in his backyard and in his workshop most days and I love seeing what he is working on. He was a carpenter before he retired. He lived in New York and Texas (El Paso) prior to moving to North Carolina 25 years ago. He watches out for us and we watch out for him. I really enjoy having him for a neighbor.

On the other side of our home are two young guys who are just fresh out of college. They are actually from Indiana which is crazy to me. They lived on the northern side of Indianapolis while we lived on the southern side. I love their youth and energy. They will keep me on my toes for sure, but they seem really nice and I enjoy their presence. 

Josh is in Ohio this summer staying with his best friend's family. He is visiting his cousins a bunch too. He is working two jobs to try and save up money for college and seems to be super busy. I miss him a ton, but am happy he seems to be having such a good time. Andy and the girls are hanging out a bit more now that Josh is gone which is nice. The three of them have a D&D campaign going which they play for hours on end. I love that they are having fun together. 

Playing D&D