All Moved In

Let's just say, it's been a long couple of days. We all know moving is a pain, but you seem to forget how horrible it really is until you go through it again. Jake and I realized this is our 8th move in our 6 1/2 years of marriage. We are hoping this was the last one for quite some time! (The picture was taken the day after we moved in, on our way to church. Whitney was so kind to take it. Emma was a little grumpy because she was cold. Josh looks warm and toasty though.)

We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. As frustrating as moving can be, it would have been much worse if we didn't have so many great people helping us out. Thanks to Whitney, who came up for her Thanksgiving Break and got much more than she bargained for (more than just turkey and stuffing!) She made the whole weekend a lot easier on us. Also, thanks to all of Jake's family who are always here when we need them, and so willing to do whatever is needed. Thank you Grammy and Grandpa, Kristen, Teresa, Shilo, Tom Christopherson, and James Harris. If we were rich I would buy you all something real nice, but since we're not, a nice little "thank you" will have to do. ;)

As for the house, we LOVE it! If I would have known owning a home felt this good, we would have tried to buy sooner. Jake and I feel very blessed to be in such a beautiful house. We went to our new ward on Sunday and they were all very welcoming. In fact, the Bishop took us to each of our classes (even the kids' to their classes) and everyone seemed to flock to us, wanting to meet us. It felt wonderful. We learned there are two families just a block away with boys around Ben's age. There are two girls who are almost exactly Emma's age too. I'm excited to start planning some playdates.

The last three pictures are of the kids "helping" me pack last week. I had to throw those in there because it was too funny. They loved playing with all the boxes and Emma actually grew quite attached to one box and was sad to see it go when we finally had to use it. Why do we even buy them expensive toys?? I say 5 cardboard boxes for each kid this Christmas and they will be set!

By the way, I'm working on getting some pics up of the house. Jake's mom is helping me paint the kids' rooms tomorrow, so I will make sure to post pics after we are finished. Keep checking back for more fun at the Schipaanboord's!