We've arrived

in more ways then one. We have been in Dubuque, IA for one month now and as of yesterday we have a phone and Internet at the house. Talk about luxury. A few funny stories along the way....

Patsy and Peter were kind enough to join us on our big plane trip out to the middle. Getting to our initial gate was quite the trial and comical now that I look back on it. It's a good thing Patsy was there to help me! She watched the kids many times those first few days so I could make a thousand trips to Target for soap, tp, ziplocs and all those other little things that you just don't move with you.

After Schumachers left, we had a visit from a friend of ours who lives in Indiana. She stayed for a few days and helped with the craziness of settling in. And now a month later we are more settled, but the kids are still crazy. Poor things, they've had only me to play with for a straight month!

Thankfully, Matthew starts school on Monday. Hooray! He is so eager to learn. Just this morning, he asked me what a sign said b/c he wanted to understand. He amazes me. Some more funny things about him lately are as follows....

While playing in the basement which now includes boxes in the form of a boat, he mentioned that he was taking a trip to Charlie Brown Methodist in which he preceded to be the pastor and sing and dance for me. What great entertainment! This morning at breakfast he was very serious and wanted to know how we were going to recognize the baby when the baby went to Kindergarten. With a class of 20+ kids he was concerned that we weren't going to be able to knowwhich one was our baby. I love the way his mind works.

Ella Jane is obsessed with everything baby. Baby clothes, baby toys, baby's room. She's wanting to wear random baby clothes lying around and gets very upset if they don't fit. Somehow explaining that they are for the baby is just not enough.

Anyway, things are looking better for us and I am so grateful for that!