CH-CH-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chaaaanges

Not long ago, Christianne (my dear SIL) asked me when I was going to start blogging. My immediate thought was "what in the world would I have to say that anyone would be interested in reading?" With all the changes going on in our lives, though, it seems to me that there are a few people who might like to be kept up to date on the lives of our children, our new home, and John's job search.

So here it is, a picture of our new home, which we love even more than we thought we would. I would guess that a lot of people would say that this house is not quite as nice as our last home in Roanoke. Certainly this one is older, but it is charming. It was redone from top to bottom just a few years ago, but much of the older molding and the staircase were salvaged and maintained. I also like the layout of this house. It seems to fit well with our family.

There are a few downsides for me. We are much closer to nature here...and by nature, I mean all of the critters that make me cringe. The abundance of spiders alone makes me worry that there is enough food around (i.e. other insects) to attract so many of them. And there are also a few pretty lizards on the porch that I suspect are well fed by the creepy crawlies.

And guess what. There is no curbside trash pickup out here in the country. That means learning to separate the compost from the paper trash and sending it out to be thrown in the cornfield that meets our backyard on all sides.

Living in a home that has been in John's family for so long appeals to me. There is a history here. John's grandmother, brother and SIL and two of our nieces are our neighbors across the street. Anne and Ty, John's parents, and his cousin Nancy are just a few minutes away. Not to mention being much, much closer to my mom and dad, brother, SIL, and niece and niece-to-be-born-soon.

So we spend our days driving down to the river and letting the boys swim and taking John Jr. down to the farm to spend time with his great-grandmother, uncle, and other family. Today, he will ride on the combine when Uncle Robert harvests the wheat in the field near out house. It is a great life for a 3 year old.