Getting there

So we made it home and hit the ground running.  I ran my old routes on the ATT both Saturday and Sunday.  We made our rounds with a few friends in the neighborhood, and then surprised the staff at Westminster Church.  It was great to be in such a familiar and comforting place amongst people who had really supported us and prayed for us while we were away.  I had so much fun with our friends and  enjoyed our time in Durham, but y'all- I gotta tell ya- I was READY to get to my new house.  I had seen it only once in person for a very quick visit.  I asked my friend if she would drop me off there asap.  She asked if we were sure we didn't want to stay with her at least until my car arrived.  I told her we'd be fine but she insisted that we at least go to Target and get a few things on our way.  THANK GOODNESS she did.  I told her, "Nah- we'll be fine" and she was like, "C'mon, Becca, think about it…what about TP, paper towels, what are you going to eat, how are you gonna sleep….lets just go".  So we did and she was right, everything she made me buy was totally and completely necessary to daily life.  Thank goodness for friends.  

This is it! 

When we walked into the house I was immediately excited but I have to be honest, I was overwhelmed with how much work needed to be done.  The only time I had ever been inside, the house was full of art and furniture.  Now it was bare and very obvious that every baseboard needs paint, every wall needs a touch up at the very least, the banisters need to be polished….

I made myself stop and just enjoy how I felt inside my own home.  After Christina left, my father in law called and asked about our dinner plans.  I told him peanut butter and crackers were on the menu and he insisted he take us to Whole Foods.  We were okay with that!  It was so nice to see him and catch up and watch my little man and his G-daddy connect after a long time away.  He brought us flowers and a bottle of wine.  Once he left, I gave George a bath in his real bathtub.  Back in Cali, he had been used to bathing in about three inches of water for lack of a tub.  I filled his new tub almost to the top and he said he had a "pool bath".  He loves his bathtub, even though the walls are PINK.  That night dear friends Eric and Julie came over to bring me a few things I desperately needed; a thick blanket (I hadn't figured out the thermostat yet), a hand towel, and a pitcher.  They also made me a very sweet care package with lots of beer and wine leftover from their wedding, a little bit of cake, TP, paper towels, and wine and water glasses.  Such a precious gift.  They stayed until my car arrived (10:00pm!!) and Eric played with George (yes, he was still awake) while Julie drove me to the main road to collect my car.  Logistics stink but wonderful friends make everything work.  Once they left, I had to unload the entire car because I knew I had sheets somewhere within and of course they were in the last box.  Oh- the sheets were for the air mattress Christina forced me to borrow along with two pillows, a coffee maker and filters, and a wine opener.  That girl is a thinker.  Did I say, "thank goodness for friends" yet?  So- between Julie, Eric, G-Daddy and Christina, I had everything I needed.

As I look back in my journal, I'm reminded that the weather really took me by surprise.  It was cool (for July), very wet and of course, humid.  I think it rained every day for the first week I was home. That was such a change from dry, sun-soaked and drought-ridden California.  The noises were also noteworthy, here's a selection from my journal: "I have so much to accomplish….but right now, I am gonna sit and enjoy the birds that fill the air with music, sweet NC music. The bugs, I can hear them too.  And CHICKENS!  Our neighbors have chickens!" Here are a few picture of our first week in our new home:

We checked the mail

We ate on the counter

We climbed the wall in our Pjs and cowboy boots

We yawned on the front porch over breakfast

We bathed in a TUB 

We enjoyed beautiful NC mornings

 That week I had many visitors.  Here are a couple of shots from Susan and little Will's visit:

Kelli and Chase also visited as did Mom and Dad, Tom (our realtor), and at the end of the week, Lauren and Michael!  I retrieved another load from my in-laws house and my parents brought a truck load of things we had stored at their house in Wilmington. My daddy and I made a trip to the hardware store and I have to mention that it made my week.  He probably has no idea how special it was to be in that place with him.  To him, it was just another hardware store trip, one in a million because of the handyman that he is.  I have vivid memories of hardware store trips with my daddy from when I was little.  The smell of a hardware store always reminds me of my dad.  So this was special.  To be in the hardware store with him meant I was the cool kid instead of the fish-out-of-water I normally am without him.

I also should mention that the water turned a deep brown color as I drew George's bath that night.  No bath for the sweaty four year old tonight!  The next morning I called a plumber (which is stressful without a husband in a new house, btw) and he recommended a new hot water heater.  Hooray! We totally planned for that in our budget…

That week was also filled with a few trips to Bed Bath and Beyond- those coupons multiply in my pocket book, I swear.  It's the only reason I go there instead of other places- those darn 20% off coupons!  Poor little George exclaimed after a few trips there, "NOT THIS STORE AGAIN, MOM!". He's been a real trooper this week as his mommy store-hops and unpacks.  At one point I thought he was unusually quiet and found him, sandwich in hand, asleep,passed out, gone, pure-T out, on the kitchen floor.  Carried him to the air mattress and thanked the Lord for some peace and quiet.  He slept for three hours during which I used my quiet time wisely.  I called Aveda, the DMV to get my car registered, the plumber, AT&T, George, my mother and my sister.  Ten packages came that night via UPS.  Please note: never send anything valuable and breakable via UPS.  Later that night Lauren and Michael arrived to stay with us a couple of nights before Michelle's wedding weekend.  I spent Friday morning with the plumber, installed that shiny, new, hot-water heater-woohoo- and then left for Rocky Mount Friday afternoon. I was struck by the fields and the GREEN on the drive there.  Man, I am from the COUNTRY, y'all.  My son slept the whole way in the car.  Kim, Pete and Ava were the best hosts.  They treated us to grilled chicken Saturday night, a comfortable bed (a step up from our air mattress), an amazing breakfast on our way out on Sunday complete with Smiths Red and White sausage, and even babysat George Saturday morning while I went to Michelle's brunch.  Its been a year or longer since I have had Smith's and this weekend I was lucky enough to get it twice!  We also had it on biscuits at Michelles wedding brunch.  Her wedding was simply amazing and I was more emotional than I expected. She is my second little sister.  She grew up beside me as my little sister's bestie, looked up to me as I went to prom with my high school boyfriend and tolerated the sometimes bordering-on-torture treatment of the two of them.  I watched her grow up and become one of the most beautiful, smart and funny adults I know.  Her portrait at the reception caught me off-guard and I couldn't help the tears that began to flow.  They did not really stop throughout the whole reception.  As I watched her dance with her daddy; as I watched her Mama watch her dance with her Daddy, I thought that these are once-in-a-life-time moments and this family is as close to family as friends get.  I adore them and to see them all so incredibly happy and fulfilled was one of the biggest blessings.

Ava has really cool toys

Diving board fun at Birchwood

George, Kim and Ava

Ava's daddy has cool toys too, George wanted nothing to do with my car after riding in Mr Pete's Wrangler

Me and Lauren at Michelle's Wedding reception

We headed back to our home in Raleigh, took naps and got back into the car for John's fourth birthday party in Durham.  This was a weekend of celebration!

Monday I waited for AT&T to show up all day and they never did.  At this point, I feel like I have been a single parent for a month…oh wait….I have been.  I packed up the car and headed to Wilmington to get a little relief.  Good decision.  Mom's birthday celebration was that Tuesday night and we had a blast.  We met Aunt Beth, Uncle Davey, Aunt Stef, Uncle Phil and Marty at the club for hamburgers.  We ate cake and laughed a lot.  Me and Marty have the same shoes.  I have to say I was pretty proud of my new fashion statement- gold Sperry's.  I quickly realized my stylish Grandmother beat me to it. She's probably had these for months.  People say we are just alike….Well!

I stayed with Mom and Dad until Thursday when we all went down to the River House to retrieve all our furniture and belongings.  Friday we started early and cleaned EVERYTHING that I own.  Every. single. thing we stored had a lovely layer of mildew/mold.  Bleach was my best friend and worst enemy that day.  Thank goodness for the saints named Mark and Dianne because they did not quit until it was complete.  We cleaned the entire day and finished the job so Saturday we got to play!

Mom, the cutest and sweetest pirate you've ever seen.  

Me and George on the waterfront in Beaufort.  

Sunday I drove from the River house to Raleigh to surprise big George. I wanted to be home when he arrived.  He was happy, surprised, and so glad to be off the road.  After four days on the road with a stinky doggy it was good that I was there.  We had a celebratory Sushi date night and slept on the air mattress for the last time.  Monday we drove back to the River (can't neglect to tell you that we ate Bojangle's on the way for breakfast), picked up the Uhaul, and watched while two young, strong men loaded our stuff on the truck in the drizzle.  Best money you can spend- although I did feel extremely guilty while we road bikes, ate lunch, and just lazed around the house while they were hard at work.  On the way home, we stopped at a veggie stand and Wilbur's BBQ.  If the phrase "Wilbur's BBQ" does not elicit an emotional response and make your mouth water at the same time, please contact me immediately and I will take care of this situation.  Its funny- before I moved to California, I could not tell you the last time I ate a BBQ sandwich from Wilbur's.  Since I have been back, I have had two and plan to have one every time I pass that BBQ gold mine.  And I can tell you another thing- I'll tell those boys to fill my cup with the sweetest, most syrupy, sweet tea they can make.  Because its just not the same anywhere else.

That night we ate our first meal in our new house.  Mom made fresh snap beans and potatoes, okra, and corn on the cob we purchased from the veggie stand on our way back.  We opened a bottle of champagne our realtor gave us and just savored the celebratory moment.  

We are getting there y'all.  You are almost updated on our summer.  

First dinner in our new home!