The move.

We've had some questions over the past few weeks as to how the adjustment is going for us.   And I kept meaning to write about it earlier, so here we go.  With a smattering of very high quality photos (kidding). 

Overall, we are doing well.  This is not to say we don't miss people, that everything is absolutely wonderful all the time, etc.   Change is really hard, but it is so good, and so stretching for our lives and our faith.  So, good is my overall answer.

Eloise at the Circle. 

For those of you who don't know the whole story of our move, I'll give you the shortest version possible.  Last fall, Zach was offered a hospital medicine job in Southern Illinois (he had been working at his old engineering job the first few months after graduation from PA school).  This decision was made after much deliberation and prayer and applications were sent out just about everywhere (seriously - we were open to anywhere).  The job in Southern Illinois made the most sense and we decided to stay planted there and started searching for houses, but never seemed to find anything that fit.   Weirdly, neither of us had a settled feeling about staying, but were trusting that it was what was best.  It all makes sense now. :)  We had, in fact, been discussing moving to a city since getting married, but then we both got into PA school at SIU (which has a great problem-based learning program) and we were both thankful to be around family and friends.  I moved back from Morocco 10 years ago thinking there was no way I'd spend more than a few years there, but God had such different plans and I'm grateful for that.

Eloise's first day of school - leaving from the hotel. 

About 4 or 5 months after starting Zach's new job, the company he worked for pulled their services from the hospital, so his job was going to be non-existent in a few months, and they had many providers displaced, leaving him without a solid role.  It turns out that the schedule was not the best for our family anyway, so even though this was difficult, change overall ended up being a positive thing.  He applied everywhere all over again, and got offers here in Indianapolis.  We really liked the area since visiting some friends over the past few years, and loved that we could still live in a small city environment and be close to family.  So, Zach accepted his new job over the summer and waited to start in late July.  I was still finishing up my job, which is why the kids and I headed up a few weeks later.  {Some people have asked about me leaving my job (I worked in a private practice family medicine office for four years) - I really liked my job and I miss it already, but I have been working part-time and plan to continue only part-time for awhile, while Zach works full-time.  For this season of life, part-time seems to work best for us.  So, that's why we followed his job.  :)} My last day was on a Thursday, and we headed up on Sunday evening, stayed in a hotel a few nights, took Eloise to her first day of school from the hotel (yup.) that morning, and closed on our house that afternoon.  Thankfully our moving van arrived a few days early and the previous owner allowed us to start unpacking before closing in the afternoon and we brought Eloise home from school to her new house.    Whew!

A peek at the house - view from our kitchen. 

Since then, we've been slowly settling in.  The house and neighborhood have been wonderful for us.  We don't live right downtown, but live just a few minutes from it, so it's been fun for everything to be so accessible.  There's a park a few blocks away.  We decided pretty early on that we were going to try to embrace the city itself and live in it, not around it.  Our friends had done this, and encouraged us to do the same (I'm so thankful they did!).  The city is small enough that it's possible to do this without getting frustrated every day with the kids.  We went to a show the other day, and it took 4 or 5 minutes for us to drive there and then 5 minutes later we were at a fun restaurant.  It felt amazing and so weird.  The neat thing is, though, that no matter whether people live (in the city or the suburbs), they seem to truly enjoy where they live.  Eloise told Zach the other day, "Daddy, I like it here because we can go out and do stuff!"   Hahaha.  Our new schedule means that we're finally establishing some regular routines together as a family, something we've never had the luxury of until now.  We're enjoying finally having enough space to run and play in the house (we don't all feel like we need to get out of the house all the time) and I'm loving having a kitchen where I can actually make meals.  I honestly didn't like this house much the first time we visited - I essentially wanted a house that was perfectly redone with a new, white kitchen.  Haha.  But, the more we saw this house, the more I realized that they had taken care of the most important parts (structural issues, flooring, painting trim, fixing old doors, etc.) and that the layout and neighborhood worked better than any other houses we had seen.  So, the kitchen is something we plan on tackling once we sell our old house.  Also, the appliances and layout are still three billion times better than our old house. So, you know. :)  {I'll write more on the house later.}

Seeing LaLa Land in concert. 

I have to say that I've had the easiest transition.  I miss my family and our friends oodles.  But, for me, this is the most time I've had off in over six years other than maternity leave (which is always just a blur).  I feel a bit guilty, but it's been really refreshing, despite the fact that I'm missing medicine.  I've enjoyed the time to get settled, help the kids adjust, get to know people, and even just having the time to make dinner each day.  It's also been nice to have the option to rest during this pregnancy (which has been pretty smooth- I'm just so exhausted). :)  I'll start training in November for my new gig after my credentialing goes through - I'll be working an as needed (I suspect 6-8 days/month) for IU Health.  Emmett is back to his normal self now that he is on his regular sleep schedule (hallelujah!).  He spends most of the day playing and dumping toys out of bins, and enjoying trips to the zoo and park.  Zach continues to transition to working a new job and for Eloise, the transition to a new school has been hard, but it's improving.

Emmett destroying his room, as he does every day. 

So, that's the short of it.  Oh, and fyi - visitors welcome!