It's Been a Long Time

Life in Michigan has brought some new adventures for us. We've been spending a lot of time with family as well as working on the house. My mom is here from Mesa, AZ and will be spending a week with us. She's going to be a real help with unpacking and watching Anna. We went to a lake with my mom and two sisters and their families. Matt took a turn waterskiing (which he hasn't done in a LONG time). Last night, he did another thing that he hasn't done for about 6 years--he mowed the lawn! What fun! We are getting a little more settled in. Matt starts orientation on Thursday. He's pretty excited. We're still praying that our house will sell soon.

Settling In

Sorry no pictures for now. I'm having trouble with the camera/computer connection. I'll have to post a picture of Anna's curls when I can. The humidity here is really making her a curly head. We are in the house and doing some work to make it ours. We (especially Matt) weren't too interested in doing more house projects, but here we go. We've had people help strip wallpaper and paint the last few days. We've almost got Anna's room done, so she can move in and settle into her new room with all her old stuff. She's having a little trouble sleeping, so I'm hoping this will help. We'll be busy unpacking for awhile. Matt starts orientation later next week. I think he'll really enjoy the pace of schoolwork. We're enjoying being close to family. My mom is here from Mesa right now, so we are really busy with family when we're not in the house. Anna is loving spending so much time with her cousins. I'll get pictures up when I can.

We're Here!

This is the first time I've had time and had internet access since we arrived in Grand Rapids. We arrived safely on Wednesday evening. It's been quite a whirlwind since then. We've got a house that we're leasing now and will buy when our house sells. The trucks have been unloaded and returned. Matt commented that this is the first time that since we sold our last house that all our stuff is in the same place. It's all in boxes, but it's all in one space. Now the happy job of unpacking! Anna is getting adjusted to being here and to not spending all day in the car. She's sleeping better and is very much enjoying being able to run around and play. I'll try to get some pictures of the house up soon. Thanks for all the prayers! We see God's hand in all that has happened since we left Ripon and are getting settled here. He is good! More later.

On the Road

Describing the last couple of days before the move would be epic (and right now I don't have the energy), so I'll just say the house got finished about 2 hours before we walked out the door and drove away. We left a day later than scheduled. Trucks pulled out at around 8:20 am Sunday. We drove away around 4:45 pm. It was a pretty smooth drive considering we were pretty tired (Matt pulled an all-nighter Saturday night). We made it to Lovelock, NV by around 9:30. Anna had a bit of a rough night. She really likes trains, but when they sound like they are going to come right through your room at around midnight, she gets a little uptight. We were on the road by around 8:30 am (the car needed a little rearranging before we left). We're in Rawlins, Wyoming now and its around 11:00 pm local time and believe it or not, we're all still awake. The drive has been going pretty well so far. Anna is doing remarkably well! The trucks are well ahead of us and we likely won't catch up to them. Time to put the little one to bed. Here are a few pictures.

Another Long Day

We picked up the trucks today. (Sorry, no pictures yet. I didn't realize I had misplaced the camera in Anna's room until right before supper.) They look huge when they are empty, but Matt, David, and Hannah went to our storage unit in town and nearly filled one truck already. Only what's left in the house, including furniture, lots of wood and Matt's wooodworking tools left to pack.
We had another big group over to help out today. They were hauling brush, etc out of the backyard, and doing more planting and yet more cabinet work. We had dinner out with our friend Carol. It was wonderful to catch up again and get away from the house for awhile. Anna is loving all the company! She's been really great throughout the finishing up the house and packing process, for which we are very grateful. I know we have a lot of family waiting for us, but it will be really nice when we can have some quiet family time together, too. We really need that before school starts.
Well, just a few more things to do before calling it quits for today.

A Crew CameToday

We had loads of company today. Some came to work, some came to visit. We had a really good day. Matt picked up brother-in-law David from the airport and after lunch he was hard at work (although you can't tell from the picture). Geri, Kendall, and Derrick did a lot of hard work moving rock and doing some planting. The front of the house is looking really nice. Hannah has been lacquer-ing for 2 days! I think she's done now and very thankful for that. Everyone is very tired and ready for bed. Tomorrow we pick up trucks and start loading. Anna, of course, it oblivious to it all. She likes the company and can say, "Hannah" very well now. Several friends came this evening to visit and say good-bye. Even though we'll be glad to be done with the house and to get on the road, it's becoming increasingly difficult to think about leaving very good friends. We know God has good things in store for us and are very thankful for His faithfulness.

At Least Anna's Having Fun

Today was another exhausting day for Matt. He's up at the crack of dawn (or even earlier most days) and tonight hasn't quit yet. He's about done putting lacquer on door fronts and is already planning for the next project. Anna and I ran some errands this morning, and while she was napping I was able to get some paperwork done and do a little more packing. (I started cleaning out under our bed. I didn't know we had so much stuff there!) Anna had lots of fun playing outside this evening. Tonight she insisted on not wearing her shoes outside and had no trouble walking on the gravel. I think our little girl will miss living out in the country. Maybe she'll stay cleaner, though. You can see by her T-shirt that she's ready to live in Michigan and be part of the Calvin scene.

Fireplace Mantle

Matt put the final coat of lacquer on the fireplace mantle. It looks beautiful. Maybe it will be difficult to leave this house once it gets finished.

San Francisco in June

In June we took a family day in San Francisco. It was chilly but great. Living in California definitely has some cool advantages. (Anna has such a cute giggle.)

Still Working on the House

Believe it or not, being a seminary student is going to be such a breeze for Matt after what he's going through now. He works early morning until into the evening on finishing up projects in the house. I pack boxes when I get a chance (mostly when Anna's napping). We will be so glad to be out from under this burden. Matt is very excited to go back to the world of academia. He enjoys reading and learning in very focused, even intense, situations. I think he will thrive in seminary. We pick up trucks on Thursday. After loading them, wrapping up any loose ends, and saying good-bye we'll head out on Saturday. Keep praying for us.

Fun Fondue

We had a fun evening with our Praise Team friends tonight. We got together for one of our special fondue parties. We all love that! It was fun to dip our food and be able to take a dip in the pool as well. We are really going to miss everyone! They gave us a really nice picture of the whole group. Everyone wrote a nice note around the picture, so that makes it even more special.

New to Blogging

Hi Everyone,
We just got our blog set up. We're eager to share with family and friends our family (ok, mostly Anna Grace) news. We are frantically getting the house ready for sale and packing up to move. Our plans currently are to take off next Saturday and get to Michigan around the 16th. We're praying for a quick sale of the house. In the meantime, we're heading out, finding a place to live, and then getting Matt ready to start school.
More later.