Have you missed me

I bet you missed me

Progress!

Back on line! Radio Shack had the needed powerchord and bam! I'm back! I feel really grateful that's all I lost on the cross country escapade. Our good friend, Melissa in Tucson sent an email asking some great questions to help my tired brains translate where we are and what's going on. Thanks Melissa for the help!

The house has become a drama. It isn't finished as the Amazing Realtor Mark warned me could happen. He's been a FANTASTIC guide and doing his best to keep the guys on track, but it's not coming together. Everything else is in place, the paperwork, the mortgage, we just need the house finished. So, we'll see. The mortgage window closes the 15 and then everything would have to start over…Everyone who's reading this please make sure that you are visualizing the closing, the girls in their rooms, us moving in. In other words, pray like crazy.

Abbigail started school on Tuesday. She was amazing! It's been a big change to go from a class of 6 to a class of 23. And, she is having an awesome welcome and adjustment. I'm so proud of her! She already has a best friend which is thrilling. One of her friends, Emma, brought her some bluejeans with glitter in them. She was over the moon. She wore them to school today and they were a big hit. Thanks Emma!

I'm still not sure what is going to happen with Gabrielle. I am going to go and check out the Boys and Girls club tomorrow and their program. I've heard great things and hope it will be a match. It seems like the preschool program at the school isn't going to work out right now. So, again, I'm practicing the path of least resistance and trying another option. In the meantime she's loving all the kids at Leslie's house and the high action here. It's been raining so hard she can't play outside and she doesn't understand why dancing in the rain isn't an option. She did see Leslie and Si's cat Pitchy go down to her catbox in the cellar and came in to Leslie with hands on each cheek, her brow worried, frightened, "Leslie, come on, save the cat, it went into the forever darkness! The forever darkness!" Totally awesome!

The weather has been an adjustment. I think we're all doing quite well, but it feels really cold to us. The natives are all in shorts and hoodie sweatshirts and we're in winter coats, sweatshirts, two shirts, long pants, and today I bought lined boots for Abbigail. It's going to take us a year to get in the swing of this. However, we still are enjoying the trees, the rain, the grass. They were so excited to notice, "Mama, there is grass in every yard and it touches!! Look, all the grass!" Wonderful!

I have to say that Dalton has been incredibly welcoming. Abbigail said after school her first day, "I feel like a rockstar and it's really freaky!" We've never been so cared for, wrapped in kindness and compassion. It's incredible. They've brought clothes for the girls as our "winter" clothes are already not heavy enough. They've brought wonderful promises to help in any way needed. It's been marvelous. I can't wait to have a home, with the welcome mat out, so everyone can visit and meet these incredible people. It's an amazing community. Not to mention, absolutely stunning!

Today, I got all of the new clothes, the summer clothes, the winter clothes, the suitcases sorted out and put into our rooms here at Leslie's. I found all of my things and "moved in". I am hoping tomorrow that my brain will start to reconstitute and I can feel more like myself. We all know I have a lot of energy, but right now I am feeling like I only have 2 bars. Not good. I think as I learn my way around, more things get checked off the list should all help too. Siward is home tonight after being gone for 3 weeks for work. He is taking us to the dump this weekend! We are all VERY excited! The journey continues…

Halleluia We Made It!

We're here!! We're here!! We're here!! Sorry, it took so long to post, it's been a whirlwind. We left Corning on Monday morning, in 45 degree weather with rain and fog. Abbigail had on leggings, two shirts, two coats, a hat and a blanket. It only took 4 hours for her to warm up. But she did! By golly she absolutely did! We made the drive with a lot of energy, we just wanted to get there. And, at about 2:15 we pulled into Abbigail's new elementary school. We got to meet her teacher, the kids had made a welcome banner, DUDE! I'm out of battery and I can't find the plug…You are bound to not get the story! Soon, I'll find it…We're doing well, keep praying!

Sunday, Driving Sunday

Greetings from Corning, New York! We finally got here! It was a long day of driving, lots of rain but gorgeous fall colors. It was about 55 degrees along the whole route. Crazy! I talked to Karen today and she said it was 95 in Tucson. So glad we're not there, however, 55 is a long way from 100! Wow! We are bundled up and so excited to finally arrive, a day late in Dalton tomorrow. We're about 5 hours away, so hope to get there in time to drive around town, stop by the school, unload at Leslie's so we're ready for school the next day. So much to do! One mishap today, Gabrielle was trying to be brave enough to go potty in a stall by herself…Except somebody flushed and she thought she was being left, even though Abbigail and I were on either side of her… She jumped off, pants around her legs, fell through the door and hit her head on the cement wall before landing on the floor. Tonight we're putting cold compresses on it, but it's a goose egg alright. Poor baby. We were talking today a lot about next Sunday. The girls will have new schools, new classmates, a new home, and we'll be worshipping together with our new community of faith! Yes! It's going to be an amazing week! And we are ready! I hope all of you are ready for us! Big hugs!

Saturday’s Success

Greetings from Ohio! Another GREAT day on the road for the Nicholson family. We started out watching 4-year-old Dexter play soccer. His team the Dragon's won by a landslide. Totally amazing experience! Gabrielle wanted to know, "When I grow up can I play this too?" Hello, Dalton, here we come! She's ready. The best part was it started to rain from these low, grey, thick, puffballs, it was FREEZING! We opened our "winter" suitcase today and had our first real fight. I told the girls it was time for pants and long sleeves, socks and shoes. The fight ensued. I finally got the pants on Gabrielle and she said sniffling, "My legs are going to melt! I'm going to roll these up!" Fine. Fine. Abbigail put on the long clothes but no shoes, no socks. She went to take her things to the car and was crying by the time she got back. "Mom, I need shoes, it's really cold, it hurt my feet!" Right! Right! I think we covered this in the bedroom? By the time we got to the soccer field, Gabrielle had rolled her pants down, both girls had shoes on and were more than happy to put their fleeces on. By the time Kevin showed up with a blanket, everybody was ready for cover! What a belly laugh. After big hugs good-bye we turned the heat on in the car. The heat! Awesome! As we drove down the highway, with the low lying clouds like a blanket, rain coming down, trees starting to change color, the highway out front, it made me smile from ear to ear. Great feeling to be back in seasonal weather, in the fall, letting go of all that came before, getting ready to snuggle into a new home, a new community, a new culture, it felt AMAZING! We've now made it to Dayton, Ohio. Only two more days and we'll finally be home. I can't wait! I cannot wait. Mark is a bit worried, but I'm trusting the house will get done. Jaimie is working hard on getting his part done for the mortgage. The school is ready, the church eager, we just need to get there. God bless us all!

Thursday and Friday Play days

Missouri has been a blast! Michael, Catherine, Cayden and Lauren were awesome hosts. The girls fell in love with their dogs Hopscotch (or hops as Gabrielle called her) and Magic. We spent the biggest part of the day at the Kansas City Zoo. It's a gem! We did only half the zoo and saw incredible sights. They have a new polar bear, Nikito who was doing the backstroke off of the glass. Amazing! We also saw a baby orangutan. She was precious! We collected acorns for Ms Leslie's class, the Wild things and the Bears. Super awesome, the girls are amazed at how different it is than the desert. The biggest hit was the trampoline in the back yard. Catherine can still do a front flip! How is that possible! I'm way jealous. Abbigail had two big milestones, I slammed her hand in the minivan door. Then she was stung on the same hand by a bee. Total crying, 6 minutes. She's a trooper that girl. The greatest adventure was being back in the land of QT and we all went to get slurpies, the girls were thrilled. Dale, Deb and Tim Parson came over last night and we had margaritas and ice cream. Delicious combo if I do say so myself. So great to get caught up with old friends.

Today we arrived in St. Louis. We met the Bum Cams on their front lawn. Dexter was riding his scooter, Carmen getting the mail and Tavis came from the back yard where their new trampoline is mostly set up. Awesome! We got right out of the car and went to jump. The girls were thrilled. Maya just arrived with a friend from apple picking and Tavis and Nicolas went to the library for game night. Soon we're off to pick up Iris. It's great to be with friends but I'jm really looking forward to getting back on the road and closer to "home".

Wednesday

Sorry for the late post! Yesterday was extreme driving through Kansas. We loved the scenery. We learned about hay bales round and rectangular. We got the horse and cow thing figured out. We even saw some incredible, big horned, bulls. Then there were the oil rigs pumping oil out of the ground. We stayed mostly on two lane highways and passing farm equipment and semis filled with alfalfa become a roller coaster ride. I have nothing bad to say about Kansas. At one of our potty stops the girls hands flew up to their noses and they exclaimed, "Eeew! What is that smell?" My city girls weren't sure about the smell of alfalfa and manure. I instantly remembered my dad saying, "That's the smell of money girls!"

Once we finally arrived, it was the longest day of driving, a total of 12 hours. The girls still were happy, they napped on cue, they enjoyed one another, and the scenery. We sang songs. And, a few times we rolled all the windows down until stuff started flying around like crazy. Finally, we got here. The Stephens house was buzzing with activity. The twins were taking a guitar lesson with a few other kids from church and Mac the church musician was their teacher. They sounded great! There were warm hugs, big smiles and overflowing joy with the reception and kindness. It's so good to be with longtime friends. They made tacos in our honor and we were off to Southwood UCC.

Michael arranged for people who wanted to come by the church for an hour to say hi! The pillars were there, with more warm hugs, lots of excitement for the new call. It was really wonderful. I love these people who invited me in during seminary and then found a way to help me be ordained. My girls were so excited to see my picture on the wall with one of the confirmation classes and for ordination. Awesome! They have done so many wonderful things. They painted their concrete and created a labyrinth in their fellowship hall. It had Shalom written in Hebrew, Allah written in Islam, and the lotus flower to symbolize Buddism, and the globe as the center piece. This is their kind of ministry. Where the world is invited in and celebrated for all of God's beautiful creation. They'd also redone their entire kitchen themselves and it is glorious. They put many of their counters on wheels so that they can have a completely open concept. This architecture reflects their theology, open, welcoming, warm, diverse. Really awesome! They lay leadership is deep and wide, and after Michael's 8 years at Southwood, it is thriving. What a blessing and covenant they have with him and he has with them. Beautiful. I feel so lucky that they have touched my life and I had the privilege of being a part of theirs.

Today we are going to the Kansas City Zoo, playing with dogs and jumping on the trampoline. But the thing the girls are most excited about is running in the grass. Hopefully, I'll post again tonight to let you know how it all goes. I throw down to both Melissa and Karen, you're going to have to send the baked goods. It's true we're only half way, but I'm going to make it. We're having a blast. Of course, you both motivated me with home baked goods. The only thing that works faster than that is diet coke or whipped cream…no chance! We all send our love from the half way point of Missouri!