Sunday, April 1, 2012

Utah

We are in Utah. Sandy to be exact. A southern area of Salt Lake City. We have been here 6 days and are super glad we updated our GPS before we left because we use it to go everywhere. Roads are marked in  a grid system that we are yet to master.
We closed on the house March 16. We got rid of so much and to be honest threw away some good stuff but we ran out of time. It made me sad to pitch good stuff and at the same time ashamed that we had so much that we could just throw away. We still filled a large storage shed in IL. I hope that I can be more careful with accumulating things that can be so easily discarded.
We stayed at Rob's parents house for a few days (they are wintering in AZ). We were waiting for the check from the bank and tying up loose ends. Said 'see you later' to special friends. The weather was so beautiful we got to see the crocus and daffodils bloom. If my summer clothing wasn't in AZ I could have worn shorts it was so warm.
We left IL on Tuesday (20th) and drove through to Denver where we stayed with good friends, Tony and Leah Shay. We had 4 great days with them. After the craziness of packing and selling the house we were ready for some relaxing. We celebrated 11 years of marriage by going out with the Shays. Never new Italian dessert could be so fun and so expensive. The company we enjoyed it with was definitely worth it though.
After leaving the Shays we made a brief stop at Rob's Aunt and Uncle's for dinner before heading out of Denver. We chose I-80 through Wyoming to avoid too many steep mountains. We were pulling the Element behind the Land Rover so we didn't have a lot of stopping power since the Element was loaded to the roof with boxes. Within a few hours we drove through 55m/h winds, dust storm, rain, sleet, snow, sunshine, rain, 50m/h winds and sunshine. Oh.. and there isn't a whole lot in Wyoming. Once we hit the Utah boarder everything got beautiful... the mountains are amazing.
We stayed in a hotel for a few days after arriving and spent a day and a half looking at apartments and finally settled on a newish townhouse. It has a little more of a house feel with the 2 bedrooms upstairs and a garage. Only took us a day without chairs to crave somewhere to sit. Thankfully Ikea isn't to far and we now have 8 chairs and a small TV table (no TV though).
Cooper's shopping list only had one item on it, a new basketball hoop. He let us sell the 3 he had in IL and we could tell we weren't going to hear the end of it until we found a new one. So in addition to our 8 chairs and 1 TV table we have a basketball hoop. And if you are wondering we have air mattresses for sleeping. The camping thing is going over pretty well so far. I like living with less.
One of the most notable changes out here is that just about everything is closed on Sundays, thus me sitting here blogging. Walmart which is an easy 5 minute walk from our abode is open so I think after Tucker's nap we'll take a family expedition to pick some meat for our dinner.
We went to a cool church today. Rob had to work at a seminar this morning but thankfully this church had a 12:30pm service so we were able to attend. Boys enjoyed it too. Cooper seems a little nervous about making new friends but who of us isn't. God has a plan for each of us in this place. One day at a time we'll see it through. We are excited to get to know this church more over the coming weeks and months.

It snowed this morning and was so cloudy the usual vibrant mountains were hidden. They are my visual clues so it felt lonely without them. But it seems the weather can change multiple times in a day and it is still light out so they may appear yet.
So we sit here in our Ikea Poang chairs using Rob's iPhone as a hotspot while Cooper plays basketball and Tucker naps. Grateful for God's guidance and slowing settling in to a new normal. 
Thanks for your continued love and support. 

 Packing our most beloved items into the truck that will take it to the storage shed.

 The dining room was full too.

 Tucker found my make-up bag... mascara, eye-liner and foundation powder.

 In our defense the neighbors added to this pile of junk as well. 
This home always represented God's promise of faithfulness. As we packed and things were taken away I repeated the hymn lyric "Great is thy faithfulness". 

 Cooper playing hoops at Moline high school's Wharton Field house. A dream come true for him. 

 Leaving IL. 

 UTAH. Our town home is in the street below. 

 This looks like a green screen picture but it's totally real. On the ridge near the townhouse.

Our first meal.