finding normal

Hi. We're alive! We have had a pretty crazy few weeks, and I'm amazed I was even able to blog the last few posts that I did. I have so many pictures to post and things to say about our summer and the funny things my kids are doing and to be honest it's stressing me out. It's much funner to blog as you go along, and not get backed up. I'm working on it. Anyway, we made it! We sold our house the day before we starting packing, which was such a relief. Funny thing, we had no offers all summer, and then in one day there were four different offers being put together! It was crazy. We took the cash offer, which is why we can say that we know legally and officially have no ties to our condo. It's all said and done already, which is also a huge relief.

We've been in Oregon for six days now. We're settling in, slowly, but more and more everyday. It's been a pretty hectic, stressful, yet totally unscheduled week. There have been several unforeseen hiccups like cat hair all over the house (getting the carpets cleaned on Thursday), a leak in the bathroom sink, our computer got a virus (sorry if you opened that email from us), no hot water- yes, we're taking cold showers. . .well, I am. Brian is totally wimpy when it comes to cold showers. I feel so much stronger than him! He has been boiling water for him and the kids to bathe in. It makes me smile when I see him bring pot after pot up to the bathtub, although really, not having hot water is nothing to smile about. That and the cat hair have been really frustrating. And then the homesickness. We're all feeling it a little. McKay is especially feeling it. He has been extremely disobedient and quick to anger. This has also been extremely frustrating. When we ask him why he's acting that way he says, "Because I want to go home. To our real home." I am really surprised that he can recognize why he's acting out. The last few days he's been better, which is good.

Ellery has been adorable, until Saturday night when she started throwing up and had a fever of 103.4. She was so sick I thought she was going to die. But I think I tend to worry that Elle is going to die a lot when she's sick. She was really, really sick though. Just laid around and slept for 24 hours. She didn't even want baby Kate. And just imagine, please, your baby throwing up all over her hair at five in the morning and having no hot water to wash it out with. Yep.

She is now back to her adorable self and for some reason Oregon has brought out the sentences in this girl. She is saying so many sentences. We're kind of in love, me and her.


I am doing okay. I have a few sad moments everyday, and it hasn't been easy, but I can see the big picture and I know it's going to be great. It will be nice when McKay is in school (Wednesday!) and we have a bit of a routine to go on. It's hard to have nothing that you have to do. We're all just waiting to see what our regular routine is going to be like. . .we're trying to find our normal. I'm expecting it to take awhile.


So as not to sound too negative, there are some things I already love about Oregon. I love our neighborhood. There is a great playground across the street and walking paths going all through the streets. I love the trees. I love our view. I love that Oregon has no sales tax. We've been taking advantage of that one as I am typing on a brand new laptop that we just got today. You don't even want to know the shape that our old one was in. I love having a bigger house with more storage. I love the huge windows we have upstairs. I love hearing the rain lying in my bed. I love having a garage and a little backyard. I love the stores here. I went to Burlington tonight (feeling slightly embarrassed that I always blog about shopping at Ross and Burlington) and the store was huge and I found a few treasures for Ellery. There's also beautiful Target that has all the clearance kids clothes that my heart desires. You knew I was cheap, didn't you? I also love the feeling of being on our own. Like really, truly all on our own. And although this is the same thing that makes me feel pangs of loneliness, I love it just the same. We're learning and growing and I can feel it happening. And that's a good thing.