Adjusting

Things I love about where I live:

• Large, Beautiful house
• A great backyard for our family to enjoy
• Close enough (as in, right across the street) to Jon's office that Caleb and I can go over any time we miss him
• Jon comes home for lunch every day
• Our truck has left our driveway only a handful of times
• We got our drivers licenses and our license plates the day we applied for them
• The license plates numbers are still stamped on, instead of just printed
• Trees, and lots of them!
• A nice park within biking distance
• Friendly people
• The fire station is just as close (two blocks away) as in Texas, yet I never hear sirens
• The only gunfire I hear is during hunting season
• The neighbor's huge oak tree gives us morning shade
• The neighbor's little dog, Chip, gives Caleb constant delight
• A carport that fits our van
• People stopping by to chit chat when we're outside

Things I'm still adjusting to:

• Wood floors that don't hide all the dirt we accumulate in a day
• No Wedgwood Sunday School class
• 10 hours away from my brother
• 5 hours away from grandparents
• Limited shopping choices
• No cell reception in the house
• Limited childbirth options
• An hour from a major road
• Hot water heater that doesn't keep water quite hot enough
• Refrigerator that doesn't keep food quite cold enough
• A postal system and area code that's got me confused about my own address
• TONS of junk in people's yards
  

Gardening Fun

This is the first year I've lived in a house with a yard that I really wanted to garden in! Until now I've stuck mainly to potted plants. The only plants I put in the ground were irises, and only because I knew I could easily dig them up and bring them with me when we moved. So now, my Texas irises are comfortably in the front flower bed, and I have several other goodies in the back! There are no formal flower beds, yet, so I haven't bought bulbs or anything like that. Here's what I've planted so far:

• the 2 crepe myrtles that have been in pots in Texas...though I think one may not have made it.
• 3 rose bushes
• a forsythia bush (makes a big bush of yellow flowers in spring; they're everywhere around here)
• a small azalea bush...it's fun buying small and knowing I'll be here to see it grow!
• a plum tree!

I'm really excited about the plum tree. There was a plum tree here before we got here, but the trunk was rotting out, so it was cut down right before we moved in. I heard, though, that it produced plums and people came and took them on their way home from church. The tree I have is fairly tall--maybe 6 or 7 feet--so I'm hoping it's old enough to make some fruit this year! I think it would be fun to be able to "share of our bounty" to the passerby who likes homemade plum jam. Not that I would make the jam, but I would be happy to share my plums.

Here's a picture of our little plum tree's very first bud. I'm so proud!

Birthday gift

For my birthday, Jon surprised me with a beautiful necklace and earring set. They are made out of black freshwater pearls. Each pearl is different and unique, and the set is just perfect. The necklace is the perfect length, and the earrings are the perfect blend of beauty and simplicity. I love it! And best of all, the money Jon spent went for a good cause! The jewelry was handmade by Wonderfully Made, a company that rescues people from human trafficking and teaches them a trade. There are limited amounts of each piece of jewelry--the earrings I have are no longer available online, though the necklace is still there--so no one else will be walking around with your jewelry on! It was the perfect gift, and what a lucky girl I am to have a guy who can do that!