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I fully intended to post regularly while we took a short hiatus from the monthly updates, but the move has been full on. We’re exhausted emotionally, physically, and psychologically, BUT in good ways. We feel so content here. I drive the girls here and there watching dozens of cockatoos flying all around, and we wake up to kookaburras laughing near our window. Our new house is up in the mountains making me very happy (I’m a mountain girl who’s been stuck at the beach for far too long). Our house is perfect for us and for what we hope to do hosting here, but beyond that God has provided community. Just two doors down lives a family from our church with two kiddos the same ages as Ray and Willa, and they all already get along famously. Several church Bible studies we’re getting involved in are all within 5-10 minutes from the house.  Our street as a whole is tight-knit. The neighbors celebrate together, look out for each other, and generally act exactly as I hoped our new neighborhood would act! When Brian is overseas for his numerous upcoming work trips, the girls and I will not be isolated. We’ll have a whole street full of people willing and ready to come help. It’s also full of little dogs that romp around together. They’ve already come to us for visits (with their owners hot on their trails) and the girls could not be happier with that arrangement.

My parents have been here this last week helping us with several major projects around the house to prep for moving in. We will be done at our rental on July 15, so we still have just over a week to get our ducks in order. Pray for more sweet memories with my parents while they’re here, and for strength for all of us (but especially them). They’ve been working so hard to help us turn an empty house into an inviting home, and that’s tiring work. Their involvement has been crucial to speeding along the nesting process and now their mark is forever in our home!