Home Sweet Home

In a little over a week, so much has happened. Where to start!? I'll try to briefly summarize. Well, after 5.5 years of serving in the bishopric, Ryan has been released. Bittersweet feelings have come with this, as they have with leaving our old ward. So many good people that we will miss very much.

On to moving...we couldn't have done it without our friends and family!! My mom and sisters came and packed up my stuff (and cleaned!) while I did my computer work and it was such a blessing. As it turns out, we have more stuff than I thought and after almost filling one very large moving truck, we realized we needed to go rent another one in addition. We took three days to get here to VA, arriving in the wee hours of the morning Friday, trying really hard not to wake the neighbors. We survived the long days of driving, but found beauty everywhere we went--even in Kansas! Corn fields as far as the eye can see. Beautiful. We had a tire blow out in Illinois on our little trailer and had a minor detour to go find tires for that, but it could have been worse. And West Virginia and Kentucky are two of the most beautiful states to drive through! I was pleasantly surprised. Lush and green. Rolling hills with horses grazing. When we finally reached our house, we were very thankful to have Diane, Terry, and Dennis to help with everything. It was hotter than blazes when we arrived, and as we quickly found out from neighbors, Virginia Beach hasn't had a summer this hot in 13 years. All I can say is I have never sweated this much in my entire life! That first day here unloading the trucks was unreal. We were all dripping from head to toe...the men especially. We're talking entire backsides wet from head to toe and we'll leave it at that! Luckily, it has cooled off a lot. I am quite enjoying the subtle humidity and warm weather. We had our first thunder storm two nights ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it as I layed in bed and watched the lightening show (no curtains yet in bedroom).

The kids have quickly adjusted, if you can even call it that. It's as if nothing has even happened. They are as happy as clams here which does my heart good. We have been blessed with a wonderful ward--so welcoming and friendly and happy to have us which makes us feel good. We look forward to serving in any way we can. We also have super nice neighbors who have come over to introduce themselves. Very helpful and willing to assist in any way they can, which is how most people seem to be here in VA. We have a squirrel-eating neighbor named Bill who's a hoot. He dropped us off a bag of tomatoes from his garden, confirming to us that people in VB do grow vegetable gardens!! We have lots of squirrels here--apparently Bill shot 47 of them last year and ate every single one. We also have lots of spiders, dragonflies, birds in the trees, and geese and ducks wherever there is water nearby which is just about everywhere.

We have major demolition going on right now as Ryan is redoing the kitchen cupboards. I still don't have a kitchen sink, but I really can't complain because it could be a lot worse. Next up is wood flooring and redoing bathroom cupboards, all of which Ryan made in Utah and we brought with us. Luckily his measurements were pretty darn good and things have fit nicely. I still have oodles of boxes to unpack and things yet to find in them, and I am just itching to do some gardening in the front yard as it needs a little TLC. I couldn't help but pull a few weeds the day we got here. It felt so good to know that this is OUR dirt and that we can do whatever in the world we want with it. Our three gardenia bushes are just about as tall as I am. We bought some food for them this morning on our daily Home Depot run, and I can't wait for more blooms to come on. The smell will forever remind me of my mom (hi mom!).

Thank goodness for our GPS to help us get around this place. VB is huge. We went to a swim party at the home of a really nice family in our ward last night and the kids had a blast. Everyone has made us feel so at home and we feel like we've known them for much longer than just a couple of days. We haven't been to the beach yet...that's going to have to be put off a little while longer until we can get a grip on things here in the house. Gwen gets to go to the DC temple this Friday/Saturday to do baptisms with the youth. She's so excited and has made some cute friends in the ward who came right up to her after sacrament meeting introducing and taking her to class. So nice. Such a relief for me.

So that's really all for now...I should be getting busy on some boxes, oh, and painting the garage door. Ryan's going to put in our new front door and I can hardly wait as the one we have now gets stuck and you have to give it some hip to open it. So much to do! Ryan starts school in three weeks. He's so excited. I'm excited for him. Things have really fallen into place since we've been here. We know with even more surety now that this is where we are meant to be for the time being. Our prayers have been answered in so many ways and our hearts are full to the rim with gratitude. What we have dreamed of for so long has finally become a reality.


relaxation at hotel

pool time helped get wiggles out

our caravan, somewhere in Kansas


this one's for you Anita! Dennis kept us laughing

our goldfish Belle survived the trip in the pickle jar! 9+ years old and still going strong

sweaty boy

unloading the new cupboards

guess who?

how many Adams men does it take to find a wall stud?

that's my man!

Little Quichey likes getting in on the action

putting up the new


Christian's already been digging up a spot for his garden--he's apparently going to dig for a well since that's what you do around here to water your yard (water is expensive)

Pierce put up the hammock yesterday--he's been quite the little handyman since we've been here. It's nice to have the boys old enough to help with the things that Ryan usually does.

Pierce on the diving board