Settling in.....

We are settling in this nice big house, here in South Dakota. The snow comes about once a week. But it never melts from the week before. Snow boots are a must every day.

Going out to the van we all track snow in our car. And the next day we get in to go somewhere and the snow is still in the floor, never melted. It seems so strange, so different from Georgia. We had snow there in the past but it always melted the next day.

Its beautiful here. I never get tired of looking out the window. Everything is blanketed in white. Pure clean and quiet. A stray cat goes by once in a while, but not much activity outside. The boys want to play in the snow so they get all bundled up and go out but can only stand the cold for 20 minutes or so.

It's not icy like in Georgia. It's light, fluffy snow like baby powder. So light it wipes right off the windshield, 6 inches thick, with one swipe of the wipers. They are so good about cleaning off the streets here. Salting and sanding every day and scraping with snow plows all day long.

Jacob rides his bike to get the mail every day at the post office. The ground is too frozen to put in a mailbox. So we are using a PO box for now. He enjoys his bike ride but is always glad to get back inside and get warm.

No more trips to the store every day or two. Chris takes our only vehicle to work so we just stay home and do school. We have been going to get groceries on Saturday's.

I have never really liked coffee but I am drinking more and more hot tea now trying to stay warm. Bedroom slippers and robes are a must for all of us now.

The people at the church here have been so good to us. Going above and beyond to make us feel welcome. God has provided all our needs. Our church family in Georgia has gone above and beyond to take care of us also. We are so unworthy of all of this but we are thankful God is using us for His Glory!

The Potter knows the clay...

When God has another plan...

 I started packing things in our house 2 weeks ago. Just 4-5 boxes a day then we decided to take apart Jonah & Justus' bed to use their room for storage until we moved.

 We picked up the Uhaul Jan 4th so we could begin loading it.

 It was HUGE and barely fit down our driveway. We loaded as much as we could until more help came that night. We gave away our washer and dryer and sold our refrigerator.

 Our last night at home we slept in the floor. Not the best idea but we survived.

 So the road trip began Wed. Morning Jan 6th. Two boys road with Chris in the truck and I followed behind in the van with the other 2 boys.

 Stopping for gas meant someone wanted to switch vehicles and stretching our legs once in a while.

 We drove 6 hours to Dublin, KY to visit with some friends and stayed overnight in a hotel. We got up Thursday morning and finished the trip. What we thought was going to be 13 hours turned into 20 hours.

 The snow on I-29 north in Iowa was so thick I couldn't see and felt like I was smothering. After 45 minutes of HEAVY snow (going VERY slow), a lot of praying and some crying....the snow stopped.

Then we got on I-90 west and the roads quickly turned to a sheet of black ice. So we proceeded to drive 20-30 mph. the rest of the way here. We arrived at 2:30am Friday. After getting some sleep (in the floor) men from the church came over and helped us unload the U haul. We were able to return in that same day. Praise the Lord for a good church willing to help.

 The snow is beautiful here. Everything is covered in white.

 Every room was full of boxes and I wanted to unpack SO bad. But after day 1 up and down the stairs 100 times my calves were KILLING me. So I had to take it easy on Saturday.

 I am just not used to stairs so its going to be an adjustment. We are not comfortable living in such clutter so we got the dining room and kitchen cleaned up and organized first. The bathrooms are done and the laundry room is completed.

 Our van (Pearl) is not used to all this cold weather or being so dirty. But if we wash her now when the temperatures are below freezing she will come out of the wash frozen shut. So a bath for Pearl will have to wait until it warms up a little.

 Our back yard is beautiful.

 The temperatures Sunday were below zero and barely got above zero the entire day. But it was not unbearable. We all bundled up good and took the hour drive to the closest Walmart for a few household items.

 Our first service was a blessing we had 25 in attendance. God has been so good to our family and we just want to give Him all the glory for getting us here safely and providing all our needs.

 The people in the church all pitched in and bought us groceries so our pantry is full!

 I put together my desk and bookshelf yesterday. Slowly getting organized.

 

The living room is arranged on the beautiful white carpet. Our bedrooms need some more work so I'll post pictures of them later. One day at a time, I am trying not to over do it.