Settling in

So we are officially "Mobilians" or "people who live in Mobile" and that privilege has come with the added bonus of another title: homeowners!!!

The home search was not quite long, or arduous, considering we had a whopping 3 days to do it, but we were still quite relieved when it was over and after all the negotiations we had a house! It's a 3br/2ba with a fenced in backyard that has a neat little playground with a swing that Amelia already loves (now if we could just do something about the mosquitoes...). It's still a mess due to our couch and cable arriving within days of each other (what--everyone deserves a little break, right?). Every wall in the house with the exception of the bedrooms and kitchen was yellow, so last Sunday I took advantage of Grandma coming to visit to get her to help me paint the living room. It's now a kind of light taupe and I like it much better. I will post pictures when we get everything put away and hung. We also had new carpet installed and are getting the hang of our fancy hardwood floors (i.e. my heart has ceased skipping a beat when Amelia drops a toy on the floor).

The road to the house was kind of a (semi) interesting one...we moved out of our Valdosta house on 8/31, but couldn't move in HERE until 9/15, so we spent the next two weeks shuttling between Waynesboro and Columbus, then down here for a night, then to Orange Beach (which was awesome), then camping out at Ben's boss's house, then a hotel, and then BACK to Ben's boss's house. I don't think we could have gotten through all this if not for Ben's boss, John, and his wonderful family. They have been beyond generous and wonderful to us.

The church is really great so far. It's huge, with 2500 people on the rolls, and they've got all kinds of stuff going on. Everyone has been very kind and welcoming to us (case in point: the day we moved in women from the church dropped off a basket and 2 coolers full of food, wine, beer and things like paper towels and sponges and cleanser--it was AMAZING), and man, are they in love with Amelia. She toddles around--she's pretty much always going full tilt--almost running--and people just watch her and comment on how great she is. We, of course, agree.

I've put her name on the list for 2 Mother's Day Out programs in town. Now, I'm not even fully comfortable still leaving her in the nursery at church, but we both agreed it was time she got more interaction with other children. Plus, there's no denying that it'll be nice for me to have some time to myself for several hours a week. Both programs have a waiting list, so we'll just see what happens. I've thought about getting a job, and have submitted some resumes, but I'm content to stay at home for now. Or, I should say, I plan to take advantage of our situation and actually go back to school. I miss working like it's nobody's business--I mean, I actually get physical pangs of envy when Ben starts describing his day at the office--but I think this is a good opportunity for me to figure what I want to do.

I think that's about it. All is good. I have a lot to say about the political situation in this country and that kind of thing, but anyone checking my facebook can see how I feel about that. Plus, this is Amelia's blog, so I won't bore with my stuff.

Oh! There is one more thing. Dawgs play Bama tomorrow in a blackout at Sanford Stadium (you know, in case you were living under a rock and didn't know). Of course, we are knee deep in Bama country here (and not Auburn, surprisingly), and are looking for ways to, you know, alienate our friends and neighbors. We have a flag to fly and Amelia is wearing her special gameday outfit to church on Sunday, win or lose. Should be a great game! Here's a special sneak peek: