Home sweet home

So you feel as though you were with us on our Great Road Trip of 2010, here are the highlights from each state we lumbered through.

Idaho...

...Utah...

...Wyoming...

...Nebraska....





...Iowa...






...Illinois...

...Indiana...





...and finally, Michigan...



This is the old gymnasium on our property. Apparently these willows have to go as they are messing royally with the sewer system. I love willows. But I suppose, given the choice, I would love a working sewer system more. You may revoke my tree hugging card now.




This is downtown St Louis.




This is our humble abode for the next 6 weeks or so. It's a two bedroom little house, maybe 900 square feet. How do we all squeeze in, you may ask? Are you kidding me? We've been on your couches since Christmas! This feels like a palatial McMansion!




This house sits right across the driveway and is the one we'll be moving into right around the end of July.





All in all, we clocked 2,013 on the good old Penske and I don't plan on traveling further than say, 20 miles, for about a year. But if you'd all like to visit me, I've got a fab two bedroom guest cottage in mind! Truth be told, the trip was not too bad and I don't think we'll even get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms whenever anyone shows us an ear of corn.

I haven't had a job in a bit now, so it's kind of fun heading to staff meetings and the like. We are reading each and every sentence of the Houseparent Training Manuel as part of our, wait for it, houseparent training. There's lots to learn, from parenting to paperwork to budgeting to everything else. I went to my first baseball game as a house mom to cheer on our 14 year old, who did awesome I might say. Mike started cheering and calling him "Wheels" since he's a fast runner and the name might stick. I can't talk about the kids here at the home(s) and I can't mention their names, so we may have to come up with nicknames for each of them - one down, a few more to go!

The girls are loving having room to run, and I must say, so do I. Not that I'm running, it's just a figure of speech. I only run from big, hairy spiders. I have gone on some country road bike rides though, which has been quite lovely. Anna feels as though it's Christmas as she rips through boxes we packed 7 months ago and discovers toys and clothes she forgot she had. She changes outfits about three times a day now. Cora is excited as she can now ride a grown up size bike. Moose loves the bugs and the tractor and the teenage boys who swing him up to the basketball hoop to dunk. All of them love getting most of our groceries from the food provided by churches in a big storeroom. Subsequently they have all discovered Chef Boyardee to their Italian father's dismay and chagrin.

Mike loves his sock drawer. You never want to see a grown man cry, but these were tears of joy when he finally got to unpack that suitcase and put everything in an actual dresser. It was a beautiful moment - we embraced and wept and than held a ceremonial suitcase burning in the backyard.

I love everything. It's a beautiful place and we're having a great time. I miss all of you and if EVER you felt guilted into leaving comments for lonely, friendless, me, now's the time.