Friday Five...posted LATE!!

My top five favorite things about Christmas:

1. Without a doubt it's our Christmas Eve candle light service at church. It is always the most beautiful service of the year. It is a very special evening that sets the tone for Christmas to come and is a precious reminder of the TRUE meaning of Christmas. I could cry just thinking about it. But I won't...I'll save it for the candle light service!

2. Waking up Christmas morning and giving my precious girls and hubby big squeezes and wispering in their ears "Merry Christmas, baby." Then snuggling with them all morning in PJ's while sipping my coffee.

3. Stockings! I LOVE the treasures that stockings hold. A new stick of deoderant, a smelly candle, chocolates, chapstick....

4. Christmas evening. The presents have all been opened. Dinner is sitting comfortably in my belly. And now it is time to sit by the fire, eat dessert and Christmas cookies, and break out the games!

5. The Christmas sounds on the radio and Christmas decorations! I wish I could keep up my Christmas decorations all year long. But then, they wouldn't be as special, so back in their boxes they go for 11 months out of the year!

What are your VERY favorite things about Christmas?

I'm a criminal!

This past Wednesday, I needed to go over to our Walnut Street house in preperation for our up coming closing the following Friday. I just wanted to sweep up and maybe wipe things down to make the house a little more move-in ready for the new owners.

I didn't have my key with me so before Chris left for work that morning he said "Just climb through the back window" I had seen him do this a million times and it was a very low window so no biggie, right? So I get there and climb through the window, just as instructed and get to work sweeping up. Well, about 5 minutes later, I was greeted to THREE cop cars in front of the house! Oh crap! I went outside to greet my cop visitors.

The cop says "Do you live here? Did you by chance just climb through a window?"

Very sheepishly I reply "It's my house. I forgot my key! I'm sorry!" (Don't take me to jail!)

I can't believe a neighbor called the cops on me! Don't they still recognize me? I mean, I lived there for over three years and have only been gone for a few months! Not only that, but my MINIVAN was parked in the driveway, I was wearing my BRIGHT PINK L.L. Bean jacket, AND I also pulled Allison through the window too! When she saw me going through the window she just HAD to come in that way too! Does that sound like a profile of a dangerous criminal to you?? Any WHY do I look more like a criminal than my husband? HA!

And hold on, let's say I WAS breaking into the house, didn't it occur to Mr. Noisy Neighbor that maybe I was a homeless single mother of a young child seeking shelter from the frigid air?? Have a heart people!

Hilarious joke you played on me, honey!

Merry Chirstmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Friday Five

I think I'll try something a little new. I'm hoping it helps me be better about posting, since I tend to be so sporadic about it. So I'll try to do a "Friday Five", with topics varying.

Five reasons I think it would be cool to be one of Santa's elves:

5. Being a tall person, I always wished I was shorter. (women! Never happy with what we have!)

4. Get to make toys all day? Sweet!

3. I love their cool little elf voices.

2. I'd totally get to hang out with Santa! He's fascinating and a little frightening all at the same time..

And the number 1 reason I think it would be cool to be an elf: They require little to no sleep (at least according to the movie "Elf" with Will Ferrell) Imagine the possibilities!

Race for the Cure

(Click on the picture if its too small to read)

Okay this is really, really funny.

Juliet came home with this in-school assignment that she did sometime last month around the elections. I read through it once. Then I read through it twice to make sure I had read it correctly. Then I laughed so hard I cried. I showed it to Chris and said "who does this sound like?" It sounds exactly like something Michael Scott (from the show The Office)would say! And then I realized that we let Juliet watch the episode of The Office (we have every season on DVD- yeah, we're a little obsessed) where Michael holds a "Race for the cure: Rabies Awareness Fun Run" Oh...my...goodness - we were ROLLING on the floor laughing!

For those of you who don't watch The Office (please tell me this is not the case!) or for those of you who missed the Race for the cure episode, here is a short little recap on the episode that is totally worth checking out!

Just to clear it up - we couldn't resist - we asked Juliet about it once we composed ourselves and she confirmed our suspicions!

The Shelter

Recently God placed it on my heart to do a little "outreach" ministry of my own. Because of the nature of my job and the unwritten rule of off limit topics to discuss with clients - religion and politics - I don't often get the opportunity to share my faith at work. I started to wonder how I could use my love of hairdressing and incorporate that in sharing my faith....God led me to a domestic violence shelter for women in Hartford and every other week I plan on going in and giving haircuts and blow dries to whoever needs one.

Last night was my first night and it was such a great experience. As I prayed for the holy spirit to guide my actions and words that night, I felt so comfortable as I stepped into the house even though it was fairly chaotic. I made up little gift bags for the ladies filled with a little O.P.I. lotion, "test-a-mints", a track, and a card with my churches hours of services on it. The ladies there were so, so kind and incredibly grateful. I didn't press them to open up but hope as I get to know them they will feel comfortable with sharing their hardships with me. In turn I hope I can share with them the hope they can find in Jesus.

One women did share a little of her story - she had been in the shelter for two months and came in when she was 8 months pregnant. Her boyfriend was mostly emotionally and verbally abusive but had struck her a couple times even while she was pregnant. So one day while he was at work she packed up her five year old daughter and snuck out to the shelter with only the clothes on their back. She said "I didn't want my daughter growing up thinking it was okay to be treated like that." Wow. What amazing courage. And what a truly amazing women she was. Her baby is now 6 weeks old and is so sweet. She will work on rebuilding a new life for herself and her daughters but with courage like that I know she will make it.

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred,
let me sow love; when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life."

We sold our house!

Good-bye Walnut St. house! I'm actully going to miss you!



Looks like we are finally going to sell our house! We are so thrilled! Our house has been on the market since June and we've had very little activity on it because of this really tough market. But last Tuesday we got a very good offer and accepted! The home inspection was this past Tuesday and there were only a couple of very minor issues. Not bad for a house build in 1870! If all goes well we should close on December 19th. The timing is perfect because our renters (my bro and sis-in-law) close on there house December 8th. So we have a couple weeks to get the rest of our stuff out and clean up. And we don't have to think about snow removal for the winter at that house! Isn't it amazing how God even takes care of the little details? He is so good!

R.I.P. little buddy

Who knew it was possible to cry over the death of a rodent? Most people are happy when a little rodent dies. Apparently not me....little Gus has entered hamster heaven.

I was getting something from the basment where we kept Gus's cage and went to say "hello" to him like I always did and there he was - belly and paws up. I knew he didn't have much time left, afterall a hamsters life expectancy is only 2-3 years and Gus was 3 1/2. And yet, I found still found myself surprised that he was gone. And what surprised me even more was my reaction. I lost it and balled my eyes out. I went upstairs and told Allison, and braced myself for the same reaction. The reaction I did get, however was less than "moving." She just shrugged and said "Okay, now can we get a black bear hamster?" Then through tears I told her we'd have to have a funeral and she proceeded to tell me "Why don't you just throw him in the garbage?" This sent me into a bigger sobbing state. And finally an ounce of compassion appeared:

Allison: "Well, Mom you can still play wif him and stuff"

Me: BAWWWW!!! Allison how can I play with him if he's DEAD?! sob, sob, sooooobbbb!

Allison: "You could still pet him"

Me: BAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Later that day I broke the news to Juliet and we both had a good cry together. And poor Chris - the scene he came home to was not a pretty one. A couple of girls who would sob, pull themselves together, and then burst into sobs again just like that.

Gus was later laid to rest behind our shed in a graham cracker box. So it was no pharaoh burial but I think it was sufficient. Juliet read the poem she wrote for Gus, completely by herself:

"Dear Gus,

You were a good hamster and you made me happy inside. You are the best pet I ever had. Now, that you're gone forever, I'll miss you, but I know that you are in a beautiful place. I hope that you will remember me. I'll remember the way your nose wiggled."

Lots of love, your friend,

Juliet

***insert many, many more tears here***

We read from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 and closed in prayer and low and behold Allison actually joined Juliet and myself in our crying fest! She was genuinely devestated for the first time since Gus died (Gus was buried like 2 weeks after he died - gross I know!) And I have to admit it was really, really good to see the she demonstated some compassion. She is a tough little cookie and I sometimes wonder about her. I mean, when she grows up she wants to become the President of the United States so she can be the boss of EVERYONE. And you know what, I know she could pull it off!

At any rate, Gus sure led a good, long life and we (this might exclude Chris) are so glad we had him for the time he did. If you ever wondered if a rodent good bring pleasant, fond memories and even make you ball like a baby when he goes, I'm here to tell you that it can!

Celebrating five years as husband and wife

Chris and I just celebrated our fifth anniversary! Since we just moved into our new home a couple of months ago (and still own of old home unfortunately) I knew that this year would be a very small celebration and I was completely okay with that! But alas, my amazing hubby decided to plan an amazing trip for me anyway! He literally wisked me away to an undisclosed location and low and behold that brought me to my favorite city, Boston! We stayed at an incredible Bed & Breakfast called The Samuel Sewall Inn. We caught a comedy show on Friday night and brought sushi (YUM!!!) back to our room next to the crackling fire.

The next day we just strolled in the North end and Quincy market. We absolutely just basked in every moment we spent with each other like two honeymooners. Friday night Chris also presented me with my gift - Victoria Secret pj's! They are so cute and comfy! But my "real" gift was still coming! On Saturday, our actual anniversry, he got me a beautiful diamond and sapphire, white gold ring! My jaw dropped as I tried to push away the guilty feeling of all that he did for me that weekend. And what's more amazing is that my man researched what the traditional five year anniversary gift is...wood. BUT, the modern day traditional gift is "silver" hence the white gold "silver" colored ring! How cool is that? And, he even covered the "wood" gift by getting our amazing room which was filled with it!

After we checked out on Sunday we decided to not to end our weekend away just yet, so we headed a few minutes away to Salem to the Salem Witch Museum where they had the Salem witch trials. Appropriately so because Samuel Sewall was a judge in the witch trials. It was fun and something different than we would normally do and such an interesting time in history.

All in all I could not believe all that Chris did for me to make our five year so so special. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a guy like him! What gets me is that I don't deserve ANY of it, and yet God continues to just shower me with amazing blessings! He has blessed me with such a great life and even though this past year has been a very difficult one in some aspects, I have never felt more blessed for what I DO have and such a sense of PEACE in spite of everything. And I know that all that can only come from God!

Allison the painter

There are some phrases you never want to hear coming out of your little ones mouths. The other day my ears heard one of them. I have a big painting project going on right now - I'm painting my entire first floor. I was in a different room and heard Allison yell "Mom, I'm helping you paint." AHHH! Thankfully I was going to paint the hallway anyway, just not as soon as I'm going to have to now that Allie decided to "help." But thankfully, no real harm was done. And it was very sweet that she wanted to pitch in!

Computer issues

It has been awhile since I posted because my computer likes to crash every time I post a picture that is too big and I have not yet figured out the ins and outs of my wonderful (insert sarcasm here) new Internet service provider since moving to Coventry. Ugh. At any rate, I miss my blogging world, and have had several things I've wanted to blog about but now seem like old news. What can you do? Hopefully I will be back up and running soon....

I survived the Hartford Half Marathon

Pre race: At this point I'm having major second thoughts

"What I have gotten myself into?!"

The sea of people we ran with

Lisa and I at mile 6 - FEELING GOOD!

Two of the cutest fans ever!


My most dedicated fans!

Working hard, feeling good

Post race snaggle. I came in place #1808 but I'm still a winner because my medal tells me so!

This past Saturday I completed (please note the word "completed") a half marathon. It was the first time I have ever ran that far in my life - 13.1 miles or in Canadian terms that's about 21 kilometers. I've been training since July for this race in Hartford and my two longest distance runs were 9.5 miles and 12 miles so I wasn't positive how I would fare at the race. But I finished, and I felt pretty darn good the majority of the time. There were about 12,000 runners and about 5,000 alone running the half marathon with us!

I ran with my eldest sister, Lisa and we hung together for about the first 9.5 miles, but at this point my legs decided that they really didn't want to go any further. I wanted nothing more than to stop and stretch, but I refused and pushed on. My sister was feeling great so I told her to go on and that I'd see her at the finish line. Then at mile 11 I was told by two enthusiastic volunteers "One more mile, one more mile!" Sweet, this was just the incentive I needed to finish strong so I kicked it into high gear. But low and behold, 1 mile further I was told by another set of volunteers "One more mile, one more mile!" And so I had two choices - to go back to that first set of orange jacket volunteers and kick them in the knee caps for being VERY misinformed, or to press on and keep up the faster pace that my legs were taking me. Deciding that option one was probably counter-productive, I kept on and finished with a time of 2:06, a minute behind Lisa. My last two miles were my fastest miles of the race so maybe the confusion worked to my advantage in the end anyway. And I finished way under my goal of 2:20!

The race was so much fun; the weather was PERFECT and the course was really cool. We ran on the highway, under tunnels, through the city, through the ghetto, along the river - the race seemed more like a few minutes than a couple of hours. Not long after the race, Lisa and I were already using phrases like "next time" and "next year".

We had an awesome organic lunch after the race provided for us along with full body massages if we wanted. But one thing I did learn - jumping in a car immediately after running a half marathon to drive to Canada for 9 hours is a bad, BAD idea! OUCH! I could barely walk for two days!

Chris, Juliet, and Allison also came out to support us. It was so awesome to see their smiling faces in the crowd shouting "Way to go, Mom!" They moved around on the course and got to see us three times throughout the race! Can't wait for next year! Anyone else want to join? :)

Morbid Monday Morning

"Still smiling"


This past Monday morning started off a little rough. First I saw this giant frog (well I think it was actually a toad - how can one tell?) and figured one of the dogs maybe "played" with it a little too roughly. Juliet saw it and instantly said "Warty!" She is pretty certain that this was the same toad we'd see from time to time, hopping around our front yard or even sneaking into our garage. So after a couple of run-ins she affectionately named him this. I do have a picture of it, tongue hanging out and all, but decided to spare you all and NOT post a picture. You're missing out though!

About 20 minutes later J and I were walking to the end of our driveway to wait for the bus and spotted this second dead little guy. The dead snake actually bothered her more than Warty and we speculated for a few minutes how he may have met his death. We can to the conclusion that Dad probably ran him over with the car. So she asked me, "Well if Dad ran him over with the car, how come he's not flat?" Good question, no good answer. She proceeded to say, "Mom he was still smiling. Poor little guy didn't even see it coming."

She is so sweet. Leave it to Juliet to feel bad for a dead snake of all creatures. She is such an animal lover. And the funny thing is, I went back later to check closer for myself and sure enough, the little snake WAS smiling. He really didn't even see it coming.....

Random thought

Okay, so I've been running now for about three months now, putting in around 25 miles a week to prepare for my half-marathon. But what I would like to know is why when I have the body type of "Olive Oil" from Pop-eye do I still have a jiggly butt? Seriously, I hardly have any junk in the trunk and yet my butt is still flabby! And I am not just being hard on myself either because Allison even comes up behind me after I get out of the shower and has a great time smacking my bum to watch it jiggle! "Mom your bummy is so wiggly! Cool!"

One of lifes many mysteries I suppose....

My baby is four now! WAAA!

I'm THIS many!

So I cannot believe that my little Al Pal is now a four year old! She made the transition on Sunday, September 21st (and ironically shares the same birthday with my brother's daughter who turned two) She had a "princess party" and cupcakes instead of cake (works for me!). Had I given Allison the choice she probably would have wanted all her friends over to but I just invited family because that still put us around twenty people! But what a GORGEOUS day it was! September can be hit or miss but man was it dead on! So we spend the afternoon outside, hanging out, eating, playing, and watching Al open her gifts.

Before her birthday I did try to convince Allie to stay a three year old and NOT have a birthday but to no avail. She always claims that if she can only get big like me, THEN she will be bigger than her sister! Well good luck to her but I'm pretty sure she won't ever catch up to her sister (who by the way, is almost four years older!) But alas, there is nothing like a good ole' sister rivalry!

I will say this a hundred more times, but I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY IS FOUR NOW!!! Oh, why do they have to grow up?

STALLING.....................still stalling

This 1/2 marathon thing is now pretty much staring me in the face. And it has been quite some time now since I've gone out for a longer run than 5 miles. So tonight I am going to lace up my shoes and attempt to go for a 6 -7 mile run. I am losing my drive for training for this race which is NOT a good thing. Now is NOT the time.

Ugh. I will be fine once I'm going but right now I just want to find an excuse NOT to go....BUT if I don't then I will be dogging it the entire race....Oh but I'd really rather sit on the couch and eat some of the yummy candy I got for my birthday.... But, if I don't go out then my much older sister Lisa (haha, j/k) will completely kick my butt in this race...But shoot, I really should spend the time here cleaning up the kitchen I destroyed while making soup a.k.a. dinner for the next 3 weeks or so....No, no, no if I don't go then I will regret it and I don't when my next opportunity to run will be....

Okay, okay I'll end this lame post and go for a stinkin run! Crap!

I will go with what I know

When facing a difficult situation, often it is hard to see how there could ever be a positive outcome. It is during these times when I need to stand on God’s many promises and “go with what I know, not with what I feel” The situation may look impossible but I know my God is bigger than any obstacle out there and he has a perfect plan!

The enemy is so good with trying to fill our minds with thoughts of hopelessness and feelings of defeat but I am equipped with a weapon far more powerful and I know that by speaking God’s word, I can reaveal wrong thinking and it will quickly lose its power. The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword! God’s word is just full of His awesome promises. And so, even on days where I am tempted to give up on my hopes because the situation seems hopeless and things are not happening in "my" time, I will I just keep praying for a miracle, but I will leave the outcome in God’s hands and in His time….

*Lord, help me to always be "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, and continuing steadfastly in prayer" Romans 12:12*

Garbage Disposal Withdrawls

So I forgot again that since moving to our new house we no longer have a garbage disposal! And scooping soggy Cinnamon Toast Crunch out of the sink with my bare hand first thing in the morning is not my favorite way to start the day. I hope I can get used to not having one. What do people do with left over cereal in the morning (not to mention dinner scrapes) if you don't have a garbage disposal to feed? And don't say "uh, the garbage" because that doesn't work! Then the milk will leave the garbage smelling even less than peachy and god forbid the bag springs a leak! I've tried holding the cereal back with spoon and letting the milk drain into the sink but without fail there are always some mushy boogers that sneak out. HOWEVER, if a garbage disposal-or lack thereof-is the biggest of my woes then I should be dancing a jig, not complaining on my blog. Moving on....

Note to self: **Repeat three times** "I no longer have a garbage disposal, I no longer have a garbage disposal, I no longer have a garbage disposal."

Pet Peeve

Juliet brought this home from her first day of school. Click on the picture and check out #3. Allison's whining is not her pet peeve, nor her hitting, or swiping her belongings - just Allison-as a whole-is Juliet's pet peeve. Said just like a true sister. Some days I can relate.

#11 is also note worthy. Though if I had $100 and could actually purchase a house with that amount of money then I too would "by a house". I'm no dummy either.

Blueberry picking

Ready to start picking!

I figured a good ole' country blueberry picking with good friends and beautiful weather is blog worthy! Jen, Karell, and I went to a place in Glastonbury to pick before the season was over and there was still really good picking! The kids did great and were great "helpers"! I ended up picking over 10 pounds! So far I have made blueberry muffins, pancakes, and two pies with the berries. The rest I froze on cookie sheets and then threw them in a ziplock bag so I can use them as needed. Hmm, what should I make next?

School Update

Well Juliet is doing GREAT with school. The first day she came home just BOUNDING off the bus and the first thing she said was "I LOVE riding the bus!" She also told me she made three friends and likes this school better than Washington because "they explain things better". I am just thrilled and this is truly an answer to prayer!

Fast forward to this morning and this was the reaction I got upon telling Juliet it was time to get ready for school. "I don't want to go to school. Do I have to ride the bus? Can't you just drive me?" Oh for goodness sake! Already?! In her defense though, she did snap out of it pretty quickly and got off to school without a hitch!

Does this look painful to you?

Here is Allison's attemp to put on her underwear by herself. She was so proud of herself that I didn't have the heart to fix them. So they looked super uncomfortable - she didn't seem to mind! I am just happy that she's finally interested in dressing herself. I am realizing that I do FAR too much for my girls. Come on, a seven year old can't get a drink by herself?? It's time to make some changes around here. They are old enough now to start doing some simple chores and tasks on their own, even if it does mean they have to walk around with a nasty frontal wedgie all day!

The "lucky" tooth has fallen out

Well, the "lucky" tooth is no more! Juliet's crooked, yellowed tooth has fallen out and she is happy, though I think I'm even more thrilled about it! She's had the crooked tooth since she was two years old and decided to do a not-so-graceful ballerina spin at my mom's house in her socks and landed straight onto the hardword floor, face first. Her tooth actually chipped the floor and she didn't have time to break her fall with her hands. The worst part was that I watched the whole thing but wasn't able to do anything about it in time. There was blood everywhere and thank goodness Chris was there because I just lost my mind and any logic that was supposed to go with it!

Anyway, she's called it her "lucky" tooth since that time. That name comes from the movie Finding Nemo because Nemo has the messed up fin that he calls his "lucky fin". Hey, whatever works! Though I'm not sure how "lucky" it really was because the tooth fairy still only left her a buck! Cheapskate!

Fenway the hot dog

My Boys!

Some of you may not have "met" the new addition to our family yet. He is a 1/2 Dachshund 1/2 Carin Terrier mix. I got him this past Mother's Day when he was 7 weeks old. Trooper and him are good buddies and are working out great. He is a pretty cool little guy and just lives to have his belly rubbed and for food in any form he can get his paws on. He is a little mischievous little booger. If something goes missing I know longer automatically blame Allison - I know Fenway probably had something to do with it!

First Day of 2nd Grade!

There she goes!

Juliet is officially a 2nd grader now! She got off to school with a no tears and a smile on her face - what more could you ask for? She's not home yet and I can't wait to hear how her day went!

Check out Allison's face in the background! Too funny!

Gus is Rescued!

Gus safely back home

After two very thorough searches throughout my entire house, I had almost decided to give up looking for Gus. This is gross, but I figured worse case scenario I would be able to sniff him out in a few days and put his little body to his final resting place (a.k.a. a shoe box buried in our backyard). I tried everything I knew how to find this little guy. I even put Trooper on a leash and thought he'd magically have the capabilities of a police dog and sniff him out. But much to our dismay, we discovered that Trooper does not have a future as a K-9 cop.

However, since the girls kept insisting that we just had to find him, I thought we'd search one last time. This time I decided to look behind our washer and dryer all the way down stairs. At first, all I saw was a giant lint ball but then it moved! There was fluffy old Gus, hanging out behind our dryer. I estimate he could have been there for up to 3 entire days, based on my investigation with the kids as to "Who done it". Juliet admitted that on Tuesday when her friends were over, perhaps she didn't quite close his cage all the way.

But what I can't believe is that little dude fell from his cage about 4 feet, went all the way down stairs, and into the farthest room possible in my house, behind the dryer no less. And yet, he didn't break any bones (um, I think), starve to death, or get eaten by a dog on his journey. All I know is this hamster must have 9 lives.

Hartford Half Marathon

Well, I'm finally going to do it! I have not run a single race since cross country in high school, when I actually swore that I would never run again. Running was always a love-hate relationship with me. But now since running is sometimes the only chance I get to get a break from working and being a mom and wife, I am now in love. It is such an awesome, constructive outlet for me. So I decided to do a half marathon (aka 13.1 miles) and my eldest sister, Lisa, will join me. And we've actually been good about training. So I may be crazy, but I'm going for it on October 11th!

The Case of the Missing Hamster

Oh crap, Gus is mia again! Unfortunately the girls know about it and they are freaking out because they adore this darn hamster. Apparently hamsters life expectancy is only about 2 1/2 - 3 years and Gus is already 3 1/2. So he is really pushing his luck by pulling this disappearing act at such an old age. He's gone missing before but I have always successfully found him and Trooper, our Rottweiler, has always successfully NOT found him. So he's been one lucky hamster thus far but this is officially the longest he has gone without being found. I am praying I don't find a Gus carcass in a couple days - or worse a couple weeks or months! Ewww, just the thought. Oh Gus, please show your fat, fluffy self really soon!!

We Moved!

We purchased a home in Coventry and have been here for about 2 weeks now. We absolutely love it! We now have an awesome neighborhood (the kind of neighborhood where people actually indroduce themselves and welcome you to the neighborhood) and a great school system. The girls have been loving riding their scooters on our (looong) driveway to pick blackberries and discovering what the "country" has to offer. They love it, we love it, the dogs even love it. What more can you ask for?