Life in the Country

Our barn-shaped house with an already fenced-in yard for the dog.

Well, a new phase has begun in the life of our family.  We have made the move out to the country - a new house, a new school for the kids, a new and longer commute for the hubby, and all the new differences from living in the middle of a city to living further out in an unincorporarted part of the county.  And, as you can see, I am finally reconnected to the internet - albeit via wireless internet because that is the only type of service available to us in our location (who would have thought?).  


I've missed blogging for the past couple of weeks, but to be honest, daily life just took over anyway and I'm sure I wouldn't have had time to blog even if I had wanted to.  The first couple of days of the move were very stressful for me.  I do pretty well managing day-to-day stress with 5 kids and staying calm through most situations, but when it comes to big transitions and major upheaval, I am quite the opposite.  I feel very tense, stressed out, and almost immobilized for a day or two wondering where I should begin to tackle the monumental new task.  For me, this was compounded by my stove not having arrived (and it still hasn't) and having to rely on 1 electric burner, a toaster, and foods I can keep in the fridge that don't need to be cooked.  Thankfully, I have my parents close by and they are very involved in our family's life; they sensed that I needed not just the physical help to get my house to look more like a home, but also the emotional help that this would bring.  So, God bless them, they came over two days in a row and helped whip all my major rooms into shape by cleaning, helping me re-arrange furniture, unpack boxes, and generally make it more livable while I continue to unpack.  Then, the day after, they came back with me to the old house to clean that out some more as it needs to get ready to be rented.  So, this week I have come full circle from wondering, "What in the world did we move for?", to "I'm so glad we made this move; this is such a blessing!".  Now as before, home is where a new page of our story will begin to be written.   

View from my kitchen window.

View from the front of the house.

Dog playing behind the house.

Looking down the driveway to the bridge and creek.

View from the bridge up to the road.