FAMILIAR TRANSITIONS AND NEW BEGINNINGS

Only a mere five days after carrying the first moving box into the house, school began. Not much of a breather, but it brought some normalcy to a chaotic season.

To celebrate this fresh beginning, the girls were outfitted with new backpacks, new lunch boxes, new clothes, and a pair of cute new shoes. Back in California, the girls attended a charter school just one town over. This meant, many of their classmates never lived close by. Now they ride the bus home with, not simply their classmates, but their neighborhood friends as well. Seeing them build new friendships within our community has brought so much joy to our hearts. It's difficult to describe the peace and happiness we have as their parents that they have made friends so quickly.

MORNINGS

Every morning the sky seemed to cheer at our arrival. Kevyn and I would sip our coffee in peace while the sun's rays slowly crept over the back deck. We would briefly break the silence with comments of the morning's beauty as the sunrise, and steam from our mugs, warmed our faces.

Despite the welcoming tones of Autumn, we knew Winter was right around the corner. After our daily moments of appreciation, we got to work. We had much to do in the yard to prep for winter. Kevyn tackled the garden and I made way too many trips to Home Depot for tools and supplies.

AFTERNOONS

The lawn was finally wrangled back into shape after almost two months of neglect. Daily, Kevyn harvests from the four raised garden beds. We were eating what we could and giving away everything else to our neighbors and friends.

For a brief weekend, Kevyn's parents visited and helped us knock out a huge chunk of our to-do list. Being Master Gardeners, they gave Kevyn tips for the garden and pruned one of the backyard trees that was encroaching on the roof and rotting out. We were so grateful to have the extra sets of hands around to help, that the girls had some quality time with their Papa and Nana, and to explore our new town a bit more that weekend.

It was no small task, but Kevyn eventually got the entire vegetable garden cleared of all weeds. She covered everything in cardboard (to prevent future weed growth) and laid down a generous amount of bark an top of it. I, after a fair amount of time researching and watching tutorials on YouTube, winterized the sprinkler system. I cleared the pipes, turned off the system, and shut off the outside water line. I'm still crossing my fingers hoping that I did it correctly. No leaks or burst pipes so far.

The first frost was on its way quickly and hit the week of Halloween, so it was great that we were able to complete these tasks in time.

EVENINGS

Settling in has been quite the experience and a lot of hard work, but through it all there has been so much peace beyond words. So much appreciation for what God has given us. At the end of each day, we were tired, but satisfied with everything we were able to accomplish. That amazing feeling of crawling into bed when you're exhausted never gets old.

Every evening the sky lit up with a different shade of pink or orange, like a wide hug welcoming us home.