We’re Alive

Sorry that this post is coming several weeks after our move, but we have been non-stop since we arrived in Texas. We finally got Internet and phone service at the beginning of this week. So hopefully, you will start to have more posts from me now.

Packing
I am still in shock that we have actually moved from Maryland and that I am living in Texas. The weekend we moved seemed like a whirlwind and I am not even sure how we were able to get everything packed up and in boxes in time to move out the Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend. Our friend Nathan is probably the only reason we were able to have the truck packed and ready to head out on May 26th. Nathan and Chris moved everything from our condo onto the truck, which was parked around the corner and a good distance from our condo. We had a moving truck that we had to pack on our own, so if it had not been for Nate, not sure if we could have done it. Thanks Nate! I should also mention that my sister Lizzy, Mike, Jill, Chris’ boss Doug, our neighbors Angie and Terry, and Jayme were also a huge help in getting this move accomplished.  I should have taken a picture of the truck- 12 cubic feet packed wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-ceiling. Who would have thought that an 1100 square foot condo could hold so much stuff? During our packing and loading of the truck Cooper started to cut his third tooth (left top center tooth). He was extra fussy and a little irritable, but thanks to my sister and Jill for entertaining him, I was able to get all the packing done! Thankfully, Cooper’s tooth broke through the skin the day before we moved so we did not have a fussy baby for our long drive from Maryland to Texas.

Saying Goodbye
On Tuesday, May 26th we turned our keys over to the new owner at 9am. We woke up at 6am and started to frantically clean and throw the last few items in boxes. Chris was actually finishing up his shower when the new owner showed up… shew! So I did one last walk through of the condo. I walked through every room and memories just started to flood my mind. When I finally made it to Cooper’s bedroom, a well of emotions just erupted and I began to cry. Memories of rocking him and feeding in the middle of the night made me sad to leave the condo.

The Road Trip
We got a late start by normal standards, but we were right on Foley time. We did not leave Columbia until 2pm and we drove to Atlanta and arrived at 2:30 in the morning. Cooper did surprisingly well! Jayme went along on the road trip and without her I don’t think we could have make it to Atlanta in that short amount of time. She was great playing with Cooper, handing him toys, and getting the portable DVD player set-up with different Baby Einstein Videos. Oh my Gosh, what would we have done without Baby Einstein? Truly they were our saving grace. Cooper looked like he was hypnotized when we would put them on and we did not hear a peep out of him. I will never leave home without the portable DVD player and Baby Einstein again if going on a road trip longer than an hour or so. Cooper had fallen asleep in the car, but woke up around 12:30am right outside Atlanta. He was crying and I think he was kind of scared. So we popped in a Baby Einstein DVD and problem solved. Yes, so my 8 month-old was awake from 12:30 until 1:30am watching TV…crazy yes….but it saved our sanity! The second day we met for breakfast with Chris’s youth pastor from high school and then left around 11am and did not arrive until 12:30am. Cooper did pretty well but needed a little more attention on the second day. I think the drive was starting to get to him and the lack of “true” sleep was starting to wear on him. But surprisingly enough, he did well and we made it to Houston, Texas in two days and 27 hours later. WOW!

In Transition
We stayed with Chris’ parents for almost 2 weeks. Jayme stayed for a few more days after we arrived in Houston. We were so busy! We painted Cooper’s bedroom and bathroom and our bedroom and bathroom before we moved in. We did this so the paint fumes would be gone before we were actually living in the house. So this delayed our actually move into our home for a while. Thankfully, Chris’ parents were so great to us and had us stay with them until we could move in. My in-laws have been nothing but generous to us by opening their home to us, giving us their time and labor by helping moving, painting, taking care of Cooper, and cooking for us. They have also helped us out by giving us a few big furniture items like a kitchen table, piano, and shelves, and other things that I will not list. During these two weeks we celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday downtown with dinner and a comedy theater and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law came into town to celebrate. We also went into the city on two other occasions to show Jayme the town. Then the following weekend we headed off to Dallas for my brother-in-law’s surprise birthday party. So needless to say, the first two weeks we were here were non-stop!

Finally, We’re Home!
We moved into our home on June 8. We slept in our living room the first night because we had not set our bed up and Cooper slept in his pack ‘n play until just a few days ago. But I am happy to report, that both of our bedrooms are finally functional and we have our bed and crib assembled! Cooper has been sleeping rather well in his new room. We painted it the same color so it really does not look much different than his room in Maryland. Cooper cut his fourth tooth last week, which made his naps a little off and his mood a little less than desirable, but he seems to be doing much better now. We still have a ton of boxes everywhere, but I try and tackle a little bit at time. We still have a ton to paint, but I am in no rush to paint the rest of the house. I want to make sure that whatever colors I decide to paint, that I will like them because I am not going to repaint!

Thoughts
I miss Maryland and all my friends! I am not much of a phone person and I enjoyed spending time with my friends. I definitely think that my love language is quality time. I miss my bible study girls and all the babies! I looked forward to getting together with all the girls every week. I also miss the rest of my friends and just hanging out. I miss having a great next-door neighbor (Angie) to run over and talk to or go for a stroller walk! Hopefully in time I will meet some good friends here. Our street has a ton of young children all under the age of five. I am hoping that when the weather cools off a little (it has been blasted hot here – high 90’s every day and humid) that they will come back outside and play in the court again! The parents are usually outside with their kids pushing them around on their little cars and just socializing with the other adults on our street. Our neighbors seems nice and are very friendly, so I am hoping that in time I can form some good relationships with some of the other mom’s living on our street! Still no church home either, Chris and I just started our church search and I am hoping that God will lead us to a good church where our family can worship, learn, grow, and fellowship!

Working from home
Chris is still working for APL remotely. Now that we have Internet at home he is working from home. I enjoy the company even if we are not interacting much while he is home. Chris has enjoyed working from home too. He does not have to waste time in the car and he gets to see more of Cooper this way. Temporarily, Chris is set up on a card table in our office amongst all the moving boxes and clutter until we get a desk. We have our doorway Johnny Jumper set up right in the office. I took a picture of Cooper playing while Chris was working. Hope you enjoy the picture!