So This is What It Feels Like To Fall Off The Face Of The Earth....

I am a horrible blogger.....seriously horrible. We just went through the what could probably be the biggest set of changes for our family in forever and I didn't write about any of it....I suck! I did Twitter a few times....but that's hardly enough to absolve me. So here's the run down on this last month:

1) We packed the POD: What an adventure that was! First off, let me say that I have discovered a superhuman talent I never knew my husband ( who I already find amazing) possessed. He's a super- packer. To this day I still do not know quite how we got everything we own into that POD ; and I've even seen it unloaded again (we moved everything into a storage unit). It took about 3 days.....but Robby and I managed to box, load and/or sell/donate every single thing in that apartment. We have quite a bit of furniture to buy once we move into a house, but you won't hear me complain about that. You should have seen our car as we were driving away.....we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies...there was barely room for the kids! We stayed the night in a Best Western in Escondido (oddly enough it was the same hotel that we booked for all our family to stay in for the wedding and the place where I spent my last night as a single gal...sorta cyclical huh?). Then we headed east for Phoenix for the Thanksgiving holiday. The girls were great on the drive out and we an a really great time with my mom and step dad.

2) We drove to Texas: Here's another thing that I can hardly believe we did....even after we've already done it. All I can say is "thank God for portable DVD players...and my friend Michelle S. for giving me the idea"! The girls did great. It took us 2 days....the total driving time was 15-16 hours......but we made it. We stopped the first night in Van Horn, Texas.....yikes! I thought Yuma was bad...but this one beats all. (If any readers are by chance from Van Horn, Texas....I'll just say sorry for trashing your town and I really hope you've gotten yourselves out!) Both girls decided that sleep wasn't really that necessary that night so we got a very early 6:30am start on the road the next day. We stopped in Midland at Cracker Barrel (California is seriously missing out there....that place has the best freakin breakfast I've ever had). As we sat down at the table it suddenly hit me that the people here really look quite different, not to mention sound different...and I wondered if we blended in or stuck out. We arrived about 3:00pm that afternoon and the girls were so excited to see my parents and my sister.

3) I live in a town with a "Main Street": What a trip huh? There's quite literally a Main Street and it goes straight through town and all the major businesses are on it. I find it quaint. My first trip to the grocery store was fun....when I was done checking out the nice guy who bagged my groceries started to walk us out. I told him that wasn't necessary, but he insisted saying that they walked each customer out and then returned the cart back to the store. I was floored! He helped me unload my bags into the car, said "Have a nice day ma'am" and then away he went with my shopping cart. Sure enough there are none of those metal corals in a parking space to return carts anywhere in the parking lot. Amazing! I opened a bank account at the local bank. I've become a frequent visitor to the Super Wal-Mart (which is way way nicer than any Wal-Mart back in CA). I am blown away at how much lower the cost of living is here. The price difference in groceries is unbelievable!

5) It Snowed!: It was so awesome......about a week or so after we got here we woke up to a thin layer of white on everything....and then it began snowing throughout the day. We ended up with a few inches. I have pics that I'll post soon. This was the first time that the girls had seen snow and Emma was thrilled. A few days ago however it was close to 80. Emma was playing outside in shorts and a T-shirt. 2 days later it was 32 and EVERYTHING was covered in ice....crazy weather!

4) Christmas was great: Robby flew in on the 20th....the reunion was almost overwhelming. I don't think any of us realized how much we had missed each other until we saw each other again. The girls were over the moon to have their Daddy back with them. We had a wonderful holiday and then he flew home on the 28th. That was way way harder than having him leave the first time. The first time I knew I just had to make it 19 days until I saw him again. I could tell the girls exactly when Daddy was coming home. Now I don't have that...and it's so much harder than I would have thought possible. Those of you who know Robby and I know that we're two halves of one whole....we don't do well being separated for long.....but yet somehow we are. I have a new and unbelievable respect for single parents and military families.

5) I'm looking for a job: I've been job hunting for the last few weeks but to no avail. So I'm putting out a formal prayer request. The sooner I have a job the sooner Robby can be out here with us. I know the Lord will provide for us. We prayed long and hard before making this decision and we both feel that this is where the Lord has lead our family. But your prayers are appreciated to speed up the process! :-)

6) My car is no longer a California resident: today I registered my car. They give you the plates immediately...I put them on today. Now I look like a local....at least in my car. I haven't done my driver's license yet....so I'm a foreigner driving a local car. For some reason I'm a little sad to let go of this last piece of California. It's like changing some vital piece of me. For some reason they make you surrender your license when you apply for one here...so I won't even get to keep it for nostalgia purposes. On top of that I love my DL pic.....I don't see how I'll be able to take another one that's as good....I think there's a limit on that kind of thing.

7) Finally..........I have fallen off the face of the earth: I feel like such a loser. I had 12 voice mails today......12. That's how many people have called me and not been able to reach me over the last few days. I feel like I'm ignoring my best friend ( who I am missing to the point of it being painful at this moment), my mom calls -I can't answer, my other sister probably thinks I'm purposefully ignoring her....I'm in a sad state right now. I will answer texts because that's about all the time I have is to write a few sentences and I'm off again (thank God for my Blackberry). I decided today that I am going to make a list of all the people I need to call and actually set the dates in my calender of what day I am going to call them. How sad am I? It also has occurred to me over the last few days that I have no friends out here....and that the idea of finding any that I like even remotely as much as my California friends just seems like such a daunting task. I know it will all come in time....it's just my latest revelation.

By and large I am very very happy with our decision to move. Being able to spend so much time with my family has been amazing. I was able to go to my Grandma's birthday dinner the other night....something I miss out on every year. I got to meet my brother's darling girlfriend last weekend...and see him take Emma to the park to play....that was very cool. The girls have already formed strong bonds with their grandparents and great grandparents out here....and that has made everything worth it. To see the look on Katy's face when my Dad or Michelle comes home from work and how she reaches her arms out to them - or the way Emma calls out "MeMe - Grandpa" and goes running to them when my grandparents come over is just awesome!

So, now that I've caught everyone up on the last 6 weeks....I have found my place back on the planet and can hopefully keep it that way.