I realise that Scott briefly updated recently that we are back, but I think I am now ready to get this blog up and running again. I apologise for the month-long break, but life has been nonstop since we returned. As Scott mentioned, we pulled off the return to the States smoothly but have not had a moment's rest since then. Here's a rundown of the last month (I'll be short and sweet now and try to fill in some of the bigger details in a different post): - Move to the States and have one week to buy a car, move into our apartment, and generally get settled back in the US.
- Scott starts work. Caleb and I work on unpacking and figuring out life in the States.
- My parents and brother visit for a week. (Unpacking put on hold)
- I start work (running a counselling group on Monday nights).
- Caleb gets an ear infection. (Unpacking put on hold)
- The Chapmans start the plague - Caleb, myself, and Scott get a stomach virus simultaneously. (Unpacking put on hold)
- Scott's parents and sister/brother in law visit for a few days (Unpacking put on hold)
- Caleb turns one year old - birthday party thrown together at last minute due to aforementioned illnesses
- Sign up to teach 6th graders at church with the Chapmans (YIKES!)

So you may have noticed the underlying theme of the unpacking put on hold. Yes, we have been here for a month but life has been so hectic that we have not yet completely settled into our apartment and it's DRIVING ME CRAZY! Thankfully we do have decorations on the walls (courtesy of my dad's assistance), but there are still piles and boxes in our room and Caleb's room has not yet been decorated. *sigh* I have a dream that this will all happen one day.
On the odd days (when things are a bit calmer), Caleb and I have established a few regular routines, such as storytime at the library (weekly), playing with the Chapman kids (pretty much daily), and fulfilling our Friday night "duty" of hanging out with David and Kristen for the rest of our lives to make up for the fact that we moved overseas for two years. We have also spent quite a lot of time with my sisters and their kiddos. Caleb absolutely LOVES having so many friends and cousins to play with! Scott and I have even managed to squeeze in seeing two movies: Hairspray (Don't ask. We were supposed to be seeing The Bourne Ultimatum) and Transformers (AWESOME!).
Life will continue to be a bit crazy, as we have every weekend between now and mid-October booked up, lots of baby sitting of the nephews coming up, and a ridiculous number of birthday parties to attend. But hey, it's been great. I love seeing everybody again and being surrounded by family and friends. I miss England and everybody there but it's good to be home.

**Yes, I realise that these pictures have nothing to do with the actual post, but I figured the fans might start electronically spitting at me if I did not provide pictures of Caleb so I threw some in randomly. We've taken lots of pictures to coincide with the events, but I don't know where the camera cord is to upload them to the computer. These pictures were taken by Scott's dad and are all from his first birthday party.

Labels: Caleb, Moving

"I'm going home to the place where I belong
Where your love has always been enough for me
I'm running from you know I think you got me all wrong
I don't regret this life I chose for me
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I'm going home"
-Daughtry

Yes, my friends, we are officially returning to the States (Texas, to be more specific) this summer. I am oh so excited about returning to our life in Texas and being able to see my sisters and their families, the Chapmans (and meet Li'l David!), and all our other friends on a regular basis. And I'm excited that all these people will finally be able to meet Caleb and become key players in his life.

There are so many things in the States that I miss and I cannot wait to return to. I miss the friendships. I miss my family. I miss the food. I miss driving a car. I miss being able to shop for everything in the same place. I miss being able to go to a friend's house and it only take 10 minutes to get there. I miss having a church family that we're integrated into. I miss being in the same time zone as people. I miss my furniture and pictures that I left behind. I miss not having to carry my groceries for a mile after buying them. I miss air conditioning and central heating. I miss having a clothes dryer. I miss most of my kitchen gadgets. I just miss...

On the other hand, we have established a nice little life for ourselves here in England and I am sad to say goodbye because I know that we will never get this time in our life back. It's a bit overwhelming to recognise that our time here in England is almost over and I will miss so many things here as well. The reality, however, is that I will miss all these things no matter when we leave (whether it be next week or next year) and I will be sad whenever we go. And now is the time to go.

Scott and I have both officially given notice at our jobs and we are now in the throes of planning. As it turns out, moving back home from overseas is much more difficult than the move out here was. There are simply so many things to figure out and plan. We have to: sell furniture (as much as possible); figure out how to get rid of anything that is not sold; figure out time frames in which things can be sold; pack to return; figure out what to take back and what to leave behind; find plane tickets; make arrangments with our landlord; give notice to all companies that we pay bills to; close our our bank account; find an apartment to live in; figure out how and when to move all our stuff into our new place; figure out where to stay when we get back; figure out how to get everything we'll need for Caleb immediately; save money; figure out what all we still want to do in England before moving; figure out when and how and what car to buy when we return; make arrangements to sort out my car (which has been stored at the Chapman's home this whole time) upon return... it's simply an exhausting process.

The good news is that some of the major decisions have already been sorted. Scott is officially returning to AmeriCredit upon our return (which he is totally geeked about) and I am officially staying at home with Caleb again. I may look into some part-time work but nothing that would cause Caleb to have to go back to nursery right now. Plus, it will be that much more exciting to be a stay at home mom in Texas because I know so many other people who are also stay at home moms (my sister, Kristen, Driggers - old habits die hard, etc...) that I can get together with.

And so we're less than three months away from our return and we're already mentally exhausted in our attempts to make this transition as smooth as possible. And we are sad to say goodbye. But we are also SO HAPPY to return to the lives that we know so well and to the people that we love so much.

Labels: Moving