Odds & Ends

Well, the time has finally arrived! Karl and I are moving back to our beloved Bloomington, Indiana this weekend! Karl has to work the rest of the week, while I'll be home packing and guiding the movers around. It's so nice to know we actually have movers this time around...no more U-Hauling it across the country for us! They're taking our car and all of our belongings, and we get to fly home. What a luxury. We're actually flying to Chicago for my friend Emily's wedding on Saturday, catching a Cubs game on Sunday, and then closing on our house in Bloomington on Monday. Whew, it's going to be a whirlwind of activity and I haven't felt this busy in quite a while. On top of that, Karl starts working at his assistantship the TUESDAY that we get back!!!

While I'm sad to leave Saint Mary's (and especially my students here), I'm so excited that we will be back in Bloomington, which feels more like "home" to me than any other place in the world. I remember Karl and I writing a list of things we were going to miss about it when we made the cross-country drive from IN to CA last year around this time, and I'm so glad we will now be able to partake in all of those great things/places we love once again...they don't seem that special at first glance (things like Cresent Donut, $5 Club at the movie theater, Nick's, Anatolia, cheesy car commercials, etc.) but to us they really mean "home".

Moving back is also making me realize just how incredibly wonderful my family is...Karl and I haven't asked them for anything, yet they are coming forward in droves to help us out since they know how expensive it is to buy a new house and all of the other costs associated with moving, as well as all of the hustle and bustle and stress involved in moving, starting new jobs, etc....and probably because they're just all around good people too! Just the other day I received an early-morning phone call from my Aunt Joan asking if we needed an extra bed? A set of coffee tables? A kitchen table? We didn't need any of it but my gosh, how nice of her to offer....and on top of all that she had already offered to give us a range (which we DO need)! For my birthday this year my parents decided to get me a new refrigerator since we need one for the new house...wow, what a birthday present!! It's set to arrive two days after we close on the house. To top it all off, my grandma decided she wanted to give us her hutch and matching kitchen table/chairs. How generous and thoughtful...and definitely something we will keep and value forever. Even though Karl and I have been getting along with just one car this past year, my dad thought we needed another one, so first he was going to give us an old truck and now it's turned into a Honda that he bought from my uncle. Again, how generous and unexpected. I could never imagine asking for any of these things, but they just came forward and offered all of it. To all of my family members reading this, THANK YOU!!!!!!! You cannot possibly know how much Karl and I appreciate the generosity and thoughtfulness you've shown us in these past few months. I have always known that I have an amazing family but these recent random acts of kindness have just touched my heart. They were truly unexpected offers and couldn't have come at a better time. I feel like it really shows the true character of my family that they have been so eager to help us out in any way possible. I can't wait to live soooo much closer to all of them (except for my mom...I'll be about the same distance from her! Boo.) One thing I'm really looking forward to is visiting my grandma and playing cards with her. That's one of our favorite things to do. I also want to hear her sing her "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" song. I have some videos of her doing that but she would want to kill me if I posted them on here! ;)

As you know, I've been doing quite a bit of packing lately. This has involved finding and going through several old photo albums. To end this post, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite "old photos" that I have come across. Enjoy!

Apparently Nanny decided to dress me in a wig and parade me around her front yard! haha I am going to have to ask her about this the next time I see her!

My first birthday with my gorgeous mother. If I ever become a mother I hope I look half as good as her!

Uncle Grant, cousin Eva, me, and my dad on Easter. I like our bonnets. :)

Me with my very stylish cousins circa 1985...Brandon, Marvin, Josh, and me.

We have to turn in our Comcast equipment today, which means no assurance of internet access for about the next week and a half. Stay tuned, as I'm sure both Karl and myself will update our blogs as soon as we have internet access in Indiana!