our travels begin

The move to Louisville went incredibly smoothly, by the grace of God. We had almost more help than we could use, both in packing and unpacking. Thank you, church members! Nathan drove the Penske all by himself, and Mom rode with Silas and me in the car. By the time we arrived, Nathan had already unpacked everything with the help of lots of friends! We stayed until Tuesday, unpacking as much as possible. Mom was a HUGE help, putting together the whole kitchen, hanging out with Silas, and pitching in wherever needed. We were able to leave for Ohio feeling like we had a functional home to come back to.

Louisville is really turning out to be a great place to live so far. The people are VERY friendly. Nathan and I often look at each other with grins of disbelief after pleasant interactions with complete strangers. It is certainly a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of DC! Things are also much more convenient here. We can run all possible errands by traveling 10 minutes or less. Our neighbors consist of elderly people and seminary families, a very safe and friendly combination. We are excited to get to know them better; I hope to have a few over for dinner sometime soon!

After our first few days in Louisville, we packed up a few suitcases and headed to Ohio to spend time with Nathan's family. Nathan's dad (Gjyshji) had not even met Silas yet, since he has been doing missions work in Albania. It was a wonderful and special thing to watch them meet for the first time! Silas is so blessed to have so many wonderful grandparents!

If you remember, Silas had to sleep in a Pack 'n Play in the living room in our tiny one-bedroom apartment when we lived in DC. Upon moving, it was so fun to finally put together Silas' nursery using all the fun things I had been accumulating since before he was born (stuffing things behind the couch, under the bed, behind the chair, anywhere we had a few extra inches in our old place)! I guess I had to put off the "nesting instinct" until now, but I found that it was still very effective. :)

Dottophobia: fear of an overabundance of dots.

Overkill? Hmm...maybe! :)

Silas meets Gjyshji for the very first time!

Man, can't a guy have some privacy?!?

4-Generation picture.

Silas is ready to enjoy Sauder Village!

Family train ride. Personally, I liked the old train better...

Christin, the Lugbills' German exchange student from 15 years ago, brought her family to visit for the weekend. The kids didn't speak a lick of English, but Nathan had his own special bonding time with the boys...And yes, Noah is actually sleeping soundly while sitting up.

Happy Birthday, Christin!

We spent Sunday afternoon by the pool, which I was rather excited about. Charlie really liked Grandpa. Just before this he was all curled up on Grandpa's belly for a little snooze. We tried to convince him to take Charlie home, but to no avail.