Our First Week Here

Our journey began as we left Grant and Jane's home and headed to St. Louis last Saturday. We stayed there for one night, which was plenty long enough, and then headed out to Dayton, Ohio! Driving through the plains of the Mid-West is a pretty boring drive, but, we managed! While in Dayton, David and I played a pretty intense game of Yahtzee (yes, I won! 2 out of 3 games--the last game I scored over 600 points--4 yahtzees!).. while we watched 3 painful hours of Celebrity Apprentice! Joan Rivers won--she seemed happy, but we really couldn't tell by her (lack of) facial expressions! :) After our one night stay in Dayton, we headed onto Maryland for the last leg of the trip.

Driving through the mountains was BEAUTIFUL!! The weather was agreeable the entire drive, and has continued to be great since we've arrived. God is so good! We took some pictures when we first got into Maryland overlooking the mountains. I will upload those photos, and many more, once I figure this blog stuff out!

We arrived in our "new" home Monday day and immediately heard rapid knocks on the door. David and I looked at each other, both thinking, "Who in the world could this be?!" Well, it was our landlord, Bob, who came to drop the keys to the house off for us. He then proceeded to show David around the new place--the hot water heater, etc. After about 45 minutes of showing us the ropes, he left, only to return about 5 minutes later, to talk to David about more "do's" and "dont's".

He is such a sweet guy. He and his wife lived here only a few years before she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had to be moved to a memory care unit at a local nursing home. Bob is also living there in the independent living area. David and I were going to sleep in our sleeping bags Monday night, but Bob offered to let us borrow his air mattress. We are VERY gracious for this! Now, you can imagine David, Charlie and myself all fitting on this air mattress, sliding around like crazy! But, it did it's job, and we did catch some Z's.

On Tuesday, the movers arrived with all of our belongings. It was so nice to have them pack everything up for us! And, since Tuesday, we have still been unpacking....UGH! The kitchen is done. The MBR is done, but we're getting a new bed in there, so we're waiting for that. The living room is mostly done, along with the guest bedroom and all of the bathrooms. We still need to unpack the office and get all of our books put away--we literally have TONS of books! This same day, Bob dropped off flowers to the house to welcome us into the new place and his note also wished us much happiness here. Again, how sweet!

Charlie and I spent most of the day outside on Tuesday, while the movers were unpacking everything. We enjoyed watching the birds. There are cardinals in a pine tree right behind our house, and they have a little baby chick. I got some great pictures of the baby bird. Pics are coming! I did put a hummingbird feeder up and have orange slices out too--haven't seen a single Oriole or Hummingbird since we've been here! Any suggestions on how to attract them??

Sidenote: I started a low carb diet the day before we left for Maryland--BAD idea! The first day was fine, but after several salads, a bag of fried pork skin, and at least 6 giant slim jims later, I was DONE! :)

The last few days, we have spent unpacking the place. We are really loving it. Charlie, on the other hand, is having a hard time adapting, and he absolutely hates the hardwood floors. We are getting a giant area rug for the living room. And, I am quite happy to have all of the "old fashioned" curtains down. BLAH! David is now telling me that the house looks bare, but I would rather have that than UGLY curtains any day! :)

On Thursday, I received a gorgeous Peace Plant from my Grandma for my b-day, and today, I received lovely flowers from Grant and Jane to celebrate 28 years!!! WOOHOO! :) I've gotten more flowers this week than I ever have!! Thank you all for the cards that you have sent, for the phone calls, prayers and words of encouragement. We so appreciate and love each one of you.

So, today is my birthday--YAY! David has to go into the office, which is only .3 miles away, to meet with his new boss, John. He starts work on Monday. I believe we're going to Baltimore tomorrow to celebrate my b-day, and the sun is shining today--it's been PERFECT! I am starting P90X today also--it's an awesome workout program that lasts for 90 days, and then you continue with it afterward. I have heard from several people now that it truly is an amazing regimen and that it really works! I'm looking forward to this. Charlie and I have been going for walks every day and we see people out and about all the time--walking their dogs, running, biking, etc. It's great to be in a community that embraces being outdoors. We have tennis courts, swimming pools, and a country club in our subdivision, which will be nice to take advantage of this summer! And, yes, we can see the mountains from where we are! It's so nice because we're close to stores--wal-mart and starbucks, to name a few, but we're also still far enough away to not hear the hustle and bustle of the city. :)

We are excited that there is a Restoration Branch close by and we plan on visiting them soon! We are so thrilled with what God has already done in our lives and are anxiously awaiting to see how He is going to use us here! I still don't have a job (please keep me in your prayers for that) so I will have a lot of time to spend with God and serving others. I have been enjoying going out on the deck in the morning and reading and praying--so nice! Also, there are several nursing homes close by, which I am hoping to volunteer at.

One more thing, there is a ping pong table downstairs, and we have been playing every day! It's been so fun! We love it! David is getting to be really good and has been giving me a run for my money!!! So, when you all come visit, we can play some doubles!

Our address is:
2635 Bear Den Road
Frederick, Maryland 21701 (cards and letters are welcome any time!)

We are keeping our same phone numbers also. Let us know if you need/want them.

Even though we all can't be together, this is a great way to keep in touch. We hope you enjoy reading about our journeys in Maryland, and we can't wait to hear about life in your "neck of the woods." There's more to come, but this is all for today. Love to all and we miss you!

David and Libby