New Place, New Name

We’re here.

It was one VERY long road trip to get here. The kids did really well on the trip, much better than Grant and I expected them to do. I had a full arsenal of kids’ entertainment, and I gave them something new whenever it looked like they were getting cranky. Grandma was a huge help, and it didn’t hurt that she and Grandpa gave us a DVD player for the car with 2 screens and headphones.

We’ve been here for a little over a week. Grandma helped with a bunch of the unpacking before she left on Wednesday. I actually had to look at my calendar to check if that was just this past Wednesday, or if it was over a week ago. It seems so long since she left. I think watching her go out that door was harder for me than it was for the kids. Of course, they don’t really understand it the way I do. Curtis keeps spotting her around town, and I have to tell him, “No. That’s not Grandma.”

You may have noticed I changed the name of the blog. When we moved out of our first house (the seafoam green one) to live in South Salem, people told me I would have to change the name of my blog. I didn’t think it was necessary because I had named the blog “Livin’ in the Seafoam” for two different reasons:

1. Well, duh, we lived in a VERY seafoam green house.
2. I wanted the title to reflect where we were (have something to do with Oregon). And even though we didn’t live right on the coast, I felt like we were right on the shore in comparison to my Utah family and where I grew up.

So I kept the name because I felt like it still fit.

Now I don’t think it really fits.

As far as I can tell, there’s no sea foam along the edges of Lake Michigan, and we’re very far away from any coast.

So, again, I wanted something to reflect where we are, but I also didn’t want to have to go changing up the blog name every time we get a different residence. (I’m an optimist. I don’t think we’ll be here forever.)

If you haven’t caught the vibe, moving out here has been hard for me. If it hadn’t been an undeniable answer to prayer, we wouldn’t be here right now. But for some reason, the Lord saw it best to uproot this family, drag us across the country, away from friends and family, and plop us down here in the Midwest.

I’m trying to have faith.

I know that without faith and a good attitude, I will not survive this. I am outside my comfort zone on so many levels, it’s not even funny. So I have to surround myself with reminders. Reminders to be happy. Reminders that I am not alone. Reminders that I can do this. (Notice the shirts we’re wearing in the picture? They say, “I Illinois.” I made them to help us all get in the right mind frame; I even made one for Grandma.)

I want this blog to also be a reminder to me. I’m sure I’ll whine and complain sometimes, but I also want to focus on the positive as much as I can. So I called it “This is Home,” because I know there will be times that I’ll be tempted to be “homesick.” But this is my home now. I have to make it my home and treat it like my home, not just some strange place where I don’t know anyone filled with fast, angry traffic and streets I don’t know. My family is here. If I don’t thrive, how can they? My family is my home; my home is here.

It’s a whole new chapter in our lives. I’m still really nervous about it, but I feel like we can make it work. I know that even besides having my family, I am never alone. I have felt so much support from my loving Heavenly Father. He is there when I am at my weakest. And even though the friends and family I know are far away, I feel their love and support. I have loved being able to still see what’s going on with people through facebook and phone calls. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of loving service from people as we packed and prepared to move (and even from people here when we arrived!). My heart is full thinking of all the hard work that was done to help us. I don’t know how to begin to express the gratitude I feel for all who helped us out.

I’ll try to be better about blogging. Nag me if I’m not. You’d be amazed at how it motivates me to know when someone actually reads this blog and cares whether or not I post something. (Hi Studio Grandpa )

Oh, and if the blog name happens to put that Switchfoot song into your head, well, then at least we’ll have the same song in our heads.