Virginia Living

Now for the process that has taken up most of our time since we got here.

We arrived Monday evening and I was anxious to see the house. We grabbed some food, dropped off our Penske at the lodging, unloaded the car to drive that around, and headed over to the house. When we got there there was a security box on the door. The house was vacant. We were told the family was not going to vacate until the 18th so that was surprise number one.

Numero Dos...(fitting since I might as well learn to speak Spanish out here.)

The housing office was closed that evening so we went back on Tuesday to check out how everything was going. Within 5 minutes of sitting down with the representative she had offered us the house that day. The family had to vacate sooner because their orders were bumped up. The house was available. Woohoo!

We decided to pace ourselves and move in on Thursday when we knew we could get some help to start the process. Daniel is strong and strapping but there is no way he should unload that truck alone. So we waited. Wednesday we prepared a few more things for us to move in the next day and did some bike shopping for Daniel. He had a few more military related things we needed to get finished as well.

Thursday came along and we signed the lease, grabbed the keys and headed over to our new home.

Here is how Daniel parked the truck. It made for easy unloading. Smart man.

Jeremy, a friend from Hawaii, came over around 1100 and those two unpacked the entire truck in about 3 1/2 hours. It was insane. Well, they are Marines... :)

Our house was instantly full and crowded. This is before they even got to the boxes.

This is how it looked yesterday before they finished. We went back today and made some really good progress. Daniel works so hard and he knows how to make his wife very happy.

We arranged the bedroom first and then moved onto the living areas. I knew I needed to tackle the kitchen when he was working on another project. We got both of those rooms together and furniture in place. I am really happy with the set-up. We have a few things to get rid of but overall everything is fitting so far. We had a few scratches and bumps on some favorite pieces of furniture, but it is a good reminder of how I need not trust in earthly things that moth and rust can destroy. I also know a little bit of Old English and some paint can do wonders. I plan on taking some pictures of the house once we are settled. I want to unpack first.

Tomorrow will be our first night sleeping there. That means I get to make a run to the grocery store to buy the basics, like milk! I really won't miss paying an arm and a leg for a small glass of milk at a restaurant. I am excited about making food again and really feeling at home. This is the fun part, especially since we are not in a hurry.

Daniel starts class on July 6th. We have plenty of time to get settled, get him used to riding his new bike ( I will post pictures of that too) and get to explore the coastline. I am eager to start a new life here. It is about time.

We are thinking of everyone in New Bern often. We miss ya'll. I think about how different it is here on the West coast every time I want some sweet tea or I hear someone speak a different language other than Spanish even. I overheard Arabic and Korean the other day, and I am sure several others. It is a neat place to live and there is never a shortage of ethnic food restaurants to choose from. I just have to convince Daniel to try something new every once in a while. :-) He is not hard to convince.

We will be sure to keep ya'll posted with other news.

Love Ya'll!