We Moved

"We moved." That is such a simple phrase to describe a very complex endeavor. Wednesday night we loaded the truck and finished cleaning our house with the help of some very generous neighbors. I actually didn't do very much work because so many of our neighbors came over to say goodbye. My friends ended up doing all my chores while I chatted with each guest. After our work was through, a group of about 20 men in our ward took Neil to Native New Yorker for his "last supper." They even took turns saying things that they all love about Neil.  All along, I just had to think forward about what was yet to come for us in Utah, because as soon as I started thinking about the people and events we were leaving behind in Arizona, I got a lump in my throat and my heart started to break. Our departure was tear-free until my sister-in-law came over with her kids to say goodbye. As they were pulling away, Grace cried, "I want Abby!" We both had a moment of tears as we realized how much we were going to miss our Arizona family.

 Thursday morning, Neil and his brother, James, drove the moving truck while I followed in the car. It took us a while to get off as there were still more neighbors catching us as we were pulling out of the driveway.

 Overall, it was a pretty smooth trip. I ended up driving ahead of Neil after we stopped for lunch outside of Las Vegas. The kids did really well until it started to get dark. I don't drive well in the dark and the kids were fussy, so it took some prayers and the hands of Angels to guide the car to our final destination. We stopped at James and Shawnne's place long enough for Neil to catch up to us before driving up to North Salt Lake where we stayed the night with our good friends, the Maxfields.

 Friday morning, as we pulled into our new house, one of our neighbors was shoveling the snow out of our driveway for us. After he finished, he brought us a box of ice melt. A few minutes later, three sisters from our new ward Relief Society came over to help me clean. Then the Relief Society president came over and brought us lunch, and the Bishop followed later to welcome us to the neighborhood. Matt Maxfield helped us unload boxes for about an hour before about 15 men and boys arrived to help us unload the moving truck. Everyone has been so kind and helpful to us. We are blown away by how accommodating these perfect strangers have been to us.

 This was our living room at about 8:00 PM just after we took a second to eat take-out for dinner.

 By midnight, we had the kitchen un-packed, beds made up, and our living room cleared of boxes.

Grace and Kade were so excited to play in the snow that we went to Wal-Mart first thing Saturday morning to buy them some snow boots. I forgot how exciting the snow can be for a child. Neil and I pretty much avoid it at all costs, but our children run barefooted and roll around in it like it is a swimming pool. They are totally un-phased by the cold.

In the last three days, we have met at least ten different neighbors and three of them have come to the door with cookies. We are certain we are going to like it here!