- Moving is hard. It was much harder coming back that I anticipated. As per usual coming back to the states, I got overwhelmed and frustrated going to the store because there are TOO MANY STINKIN OPTIONS in this country! I don't need 15 choices for toothpaste. 3 tops. And don't even get me started on the cereal aisle. There were days when I would be in a store and would almost break down crying because I missed home (yes, Cyprus was still home at this point) so much. Of course there are things I don't miss about it-the driving for one. But there are so many more things that I do miss (still), mainly our friends, church, and my horse. I think my heart is still mending from that one.
- Life is a lot more fast paced here. Sure things get done in a timely manner but everyone looks so angry a lot of the time. At least here we know why everyone looks angry-they are stressed and crazy. In Cyprus we weren't really sure why they were angry, they just were.
- Winter is not my friend. OF COURSE we come back to the worst winter in years. OF COURSE the dreaded polar vortex has to arrive when we come back. Sure we can handle frigid temps and snow for the first 4 months we're back. We left in jeans and t-shirts and arrived in winter gear. Sure, that's what I wanted.
- Joey is getting old. I think the cold winter had something to do with it but he is starting to show some more signs of arthritis and he gets sore easier than before. It's hard to watch him turn into an old man but he will be 11 this year.
- We bought a house. Scratch that. We bought a farm. Kind of. One condition of coming back was that we buy horse property and that's just what we did. We have 15 glorious acres, most is wooded but we can work with that. There is pasture for my ponies (that have yet to be bought/arrive) and we're working on building a barn this spring.
- Our house is way too big for just the 2 of us. Seriously. We wanted something we could grow into easily and we accomplished that.
- I will admit, much to my chagrin, that living near family has actually been rather nice at times. Especially in the project realm. All Matt has to do it call up a brother (usually Steve) and things get done! Never mind the fact that we will be doing projects until the rapture.
- I miss our church. It's always tough getting connected into a community; you have to put yourself out there and hope that they like you. We have been going to a nice church near by but we haven't determined if it's home yet. God has been meeting us here which has been a huge blessing.
- And the biggest change of all......I'm no longer a trophy wife!! I know! Shock! Dismay! Outrage! Well, maybe not outrage. I think working part time has really helped to ground me here and make it easier. And the fact that I really like my job helps. In future there will be funny work stories, I can guarantee it!
That's all for now. Sorry there are no pictures, I'm having trouble uploading some. Next time.
