We made it! And how we got here...

We have safely made it to our new home in the DC area!

That is the short version. Here is the slightly longer version.

After James finished up his last days as a FOCUS missionary, we headed up to WI for some much-needed family time. We enjoyed a Stanley bonfire, time with all the family, and a brief hello to some Madison friends.

A nice caveat: In Madison, there is a little restaurant called the Mediterranean Cafe (aka Med Caf). I went there often in college to get their Lentil soup over rice which was $2 and a whole lot of tasty food. Whenever we go back to Madison, I can't help but go there and get it again. The place is always packed, and yet the Mediterranean man who runs it still remembers me every time. He calls me a nice lady, dotes on my baby and sends me on my way with Lentil soup. I love it.

Here is Lucy enjoying a morning on The Terrace, the best place to be in downtown Madison on a nice day.

After returning from WI, we had one week to be packed up and moved out of our house. It was a very busy week. Our friends who we had been renting from sold their house (wahoo!), which meant lots of inspectors, handymen, etc coming and going. I think I have effectively blocked out most of this week because it was so chaotic. Here are some pictures of Lucy "helping" me pack.

Another part of the chaos which was bittersweet, was that my dear friend Sr. Nina who is currently a novice in Miami, FL came home to St. Louis because her grandmother passed away. Though the circumstances were sad, it was so very good to get to spend time with her. We took a break from moving to visit with her, and it was so nice to catch up on each other's lives (our communication is limited until she takes her final vows). She seems very happy, happier than I've ever seen her in fact. And that makes me very happy too.

Lucy was very obsessed with Sr. Nina's rosaries (she had 3 with her), and insisted on carrying them around/putting them in her mouth.

Back to the just-plain craziness: What I am not able to block out is the last two days of our move. Monday May 24. Our two year wedding anniversary. The moving pods arrived. The plan was to work really hard all day packing the pods and then enjoy a nice evening out to eat. I'd had a cold all week but no big deal. Or so I thought. By 10am, it was a horrible stomach flu. I'd lay on the floor looking into an empty box, wondering if I should pack it or throw up into it, while poor James loaded most of the pod himself. Oh yeah, did I mention it was just James, Lucy and I loading?? Whatever hope of a nice evening remained was ruined by the fact that at 6:30pm I could literally no longer keep my eyes open. James got a pizza by himself at 9pm, and brought me home some apple juice. What a guy : )

The next morning, we loaded the last of our things, and as simply as that we drove away from the house on Marillac... but not before I got a little sentimental, teared up, and took a picture of the home where we spent our first two years of our marriage...

We spent a week at my mom's house recovering (just me! no one else got sick!), tying up loose ends, waiting for our pods to be transported across the country, and saying goodbye. We woke up early on a Monday morning, said our last goodbyes, and drove off on a new adventure. Now, I'm sure you all can imagine what a 15 hour/2 day car trip is like with a 15-month-old, so I will skip that part and just say I will remember it as "the day Lucy ate 10 oz of grapes" -- grapes being her go-to favorite food.

We arrived in Silver Spring, MD to a very warm welcome. For those of you who don't know, we found a great living situation here. A friend put us in contact with a wonderful family who just bought a house and were looking to rent the basement out. They had just re-done everything, it's in a friendly and beautiful neighborhood and the people we are renting from are a joy to live with so far. They have a 20-month old son named Joe who loves "Loo-dis" (Lucy, for those of you who don't speak toddler), and a daughter named Ava who was just born today--two weeks after her due date.

Anyway, we quickly unpacked (speed is kind of a necessity with a 15-month-old), and have been really enjoying it here. I will do another post on our new surroundings because this one is getting lengthy! In honor of Father's Day, here's one of my favorite pictures of James and Lucy.

Happy Summer!