Some new pictures:

This is the cottage on the ranch that Ali (Hamed) stayed in for a month while he was waiting for us:

This is the park that is right around the corner of our condo. It is so beautiful- it has a pond, creek and bridges.

The view from our deck:

Summer's First Day of School...and second first day of school

When we arrived in Bozeman the first thing we did was register Summer for school. I heard that in previous years the school district basically had a lottery and parents chose where their kids attended. The last two years (thankfully) they have switched back to assigning kids by location. The day I went to register her they told me that she could not go to the brand-new-never-been used-one-block-away school because it was full but they would put her on a waiting list and there was a good chance that she could switch. My thinking was noway would I switch her cause this kid has been through so much already so off she went the first day to the nice-but-10-minute-drive school. We met and loved her teacher, she made a new best friend instantly, and things were great until....the third day of school guess who called me? The district had an opening at the nearby brand new school. I went to pick up Summer and I had one hour to make a decision. When I picked her she was standing with her new BFF and the girl (her friend) looked like she was going to cry. I felt terrible but I left it up to Summer. We got into the car and prayed about it. We went over to the new school, met her teacher, saw the school, and it was 4:25. I had to call by 4:30! Summer looked at me and said she wanted to go there (I think the biggest reason being that we could walk/bike to school). I called the lady at registration and she already knew I was there (remember its a small town). I started laughing and told the secretary this really must be a small town! So, she made another BFF at her new school and now she has two new friends! You know I always think EVERYTHING happens for a reason and I think the reason that all happened was so that Summer could meet her new friend. She is such a nice girl and we ended up getting together with her family this past weekend. So it all worked out.

Summer's First Day

Summer's First Day-Part Deuce

Life Here...

So I have been here almost 2 weeks and here is what I have noticed:

People are always smiling and laughing here. I am serious when I say I don't think I have smiled this much in the past year. I am really serious when I say that I don't think I have so many people smiling all the time. People are just HAPPY here. So comfortable.

I have never seen so many skinny in shape people in my life!

People are very eco/health conscious if that's what you call it. How do people afford all this organic food?

Still have not found a discount food store...still looking... I miss Marc's (never thought I would say that).

Ok the biggest difference I have noticed is the weather: it has been sunny everyday except maybe one. If you know me you know that I am not the biggest outdoorsy type but I want to be outside all the time here. You can see these cool rain clouds but it doesn't mean it is going to rain. It just means it raining in another spot and it might not even get to where you are. If it does rain it's for 20 minutes and half the sky is still sunny. The nights and mornings are cool and the days are warm.

Oh and yesterday we were watching the news and the weatherman said there was a storm coming from the Pacific...the Pacific??? Oh ya we are closer to the Pacific!

Aug. 24th

I applied for a part time job today, took Summer to see her new school, and took Adam to a preschool to check out. New beginnings! Summer starts school Wed. and she is really looking forward to it. I thought she would be apprehensive but she is really excited. I think my kids are ready to meet new people. I am so proud of them.

My thoughts on Church

So, today I decided to try going to a Church here in Bozeman. Here are my thoughts. First, I was thinking OK Church is great. You meet people. You can serve on ministries while helping people. The kids can meet kids. The kids will learn about God (in addition to what I am teaching them). But then I thought wait, isn't that selfish? Shouldn't the whole reason why I go to church be to worship God and meditate on scripture? Shouldn't I be going to give God all the glory and to demonstrate to the world that God and worship is important to me? I mean that just shows my humanness. To turn the most holy thing that I can do all week into self serving reasons. So, I went to church (by myself- that's another story) thinking you know what even if no one talks to me, even if I don't feel comfortable, even if I really don't like the church I am dedicating one hour of my whole entire week to worshipping God. So, I went. It was OK. I didn't talk to anyone. I sat and watched a family in front of me. The mom was doting all over her kids which made me think about do I do that enough with my own kids (loving them up, kissing, and hugging)? Also, instead of the pastor speaking today a few teens that grew up in the Church got up and spoke about what it meant to them. It only reinforced the importance to me for my kids to go. Church is counter-culture to our society. I want my kids to have a place where they can go and just be themselves. and be with other kids that share those same values. They don't have to say or do the "right things". They don't have to fit in. That is the point. God wants us to be peculiar and different. Sometimes I forget that. I am very self conscious at this point because I really have no friends here. I feel I have to make a good impression. No, I don't. God will lead me to who I need to meet and where I need to go.

I had the opportunity to serve at the Vacation Bible School at our church before we left. It was a wonderful experience for me. As always, when I go to help to do something for others, I always am the one that gets blessed. I get determined to "help" when I am the one that needs to be helped. Here is what that experience showed me: God's love. I got emotional when I saw all of those kids singing and dancing about God each day. I thought why couldn't it be like this everyday? Why couldn't everyone start the day with a little singing and dancing for God? Why did it have to be during this particular week? So, I have made the effort of weening myself from popular music and I literally force myself to listen to Christian music. Some of it is the most beautiful music I have ever heard and some I have to turn off because of the annoyance.

I wondered why I had met such wonderful people at VBS and felt so much at home there only to leave? I feel that was God's way of showing me how important church is to mine and my children's life.

Now, if I can only find a Church I like and if I can get my kids to go...

Mitchell Corn Palace

Can you believe that Mitchell Corn Palace, one of "America's Destinations" and completly decorated with corn does not sell corn!? I was so disappointed. We walked in and I searched the vending area but NO CORN. I was such in the mood for corn. Oh ya, they had popcorn but it was probably Orville Redinwhatever. I told my friend Jill and she said you would think they would have creamed corn, corn casserole, baked corn, roasted corn, corn cakes, corn whatever! Nope no corn at the corn palace. (We still had fun though being that was our first stop after 18 hours of being in the car).

Pictures!!

Our Journey

Make a Smilebox photobook

Hi from my new home in Montana!

Well here I am sitting in my new home in Bozeman. Sorry for the delay but somewhere along day 2 I lost or realized that I previously lost the power cord for my laptop. We just got Internet today. Yay! I felt so disconnected from the world. I don't watch TV too much so the computer is my outlet to the rest of the world. Anyway, we had a great trip! The kids were great (not too much complaining) and the dog slept the whole way, and we didn't drive grandma too nuts! I will post some pictures from our journey. We started off driving to Wisconsin, day 2 to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Day 3 to Rapid City, South Dakota where we stopped to see Mitchell Corn Palace, Wall Drug (google it- it's a long story), and Mount Rushmore. Day 4 we drove to Bozeman, Montana where we got to see Daddy after a month and our new home. I can honestly say this the most beautiful place I have had the honor of seeing. I still have to pinch myself to make sure this is for real. So far we have been exploring the area- we swam at the hot springs (all naturally mountain heated, no chlorine water), and horseback riding! The weather has been so sunny and perfect! Just a cool breeze. I just realized how cloudy Cleveland is! We really love it here but we really truly miss everyone. I wish you could all be here.

Dear God,

I GET to live HERE???????? Thank you for the blessing.

Jen

Day 1 Driving to Wisconsin

Hi- sorry I don't have time to post pictures yet because it took us 10 hours to get here instead of 8! I think that was because we stopped twice and traffic. Plus, we passed about 50 cops so I was doing the legal limit the whole way (ummm not like I would pass the legal speed limit normally). But anyway, the first day was great. The kids were good, no complaining or whining, they just played in the car and watched movies. I think they are just really excited. I told them I would travel with them anywhere! We got to the hotel in Madison, WI at 8:00 pm then swam, and kids (and grandma) went to bed. While we were swimming Summer said "This made it worth the 10 hours" (she loves to swim plus we had the pool to ourselves). Then, I took Asia for a walk. She did great too! She slept in the back the whole time. I have a cute picture of her all snuggled up in the back. No Benydryl needed. Well, hopefully this will continue but we'll see. BOZEMAN OR BUST BABY! Tomorrow its to South Dakota. Love you all.

Tears and goodbyes

Well, today we finished packing up the house and got to spend some time with family. Tomorrow the movers will be here in the morning. Hamed's (Ali's) family threw us a party at the park- it was so hard to say goodbye. Thanks you guys for showering us with so much love. It is hard to leave knowing that we have been surrounded by your love for all these years. I know you are all there for us when we need you and that is truly a blessing. We love you all so much!!

"Helping" pack. The part that you don't know about this picture was that it was taken at 2:00 and you can see what they are wearing. Ugh and that couch is free if anyone wants it.

Summer '09 Pictures

I thought I would post some pictures from the short time we had this summer.

It's going too fast!

Adam was in soccer and is turning out to be quite the athlete. He also passed level 2 swimming classes and Summer passed level 3.

We took a trip to Chicago in June to see family and of course the highlight was the American Girl Doll Store. Julie (doll) sure enjoyed herself throughout the whole trip.

Some pics from that trip:

The boys went to Lego World and the girls went to American Girl. Who do you think had more fun?

Summer and Julie

Lego World with cousin my cousins Jeff and Anthony

Exploring Museums

At Our Hotel

My dad just came to visit last week and the highlight of that visit was building a model police car. (Sorry about all the "whisking around" dad).

Summer and Adam infront of our house in Cleveland.

Bozeman (my new home)

The Bridger Mountains

These mountains surround Bozeman, where we will be living.

"Bridger Mountains were named after one of the first white men to explore Yellowstone National Park, Jim Bridger. The explorer scouted many of the trails and knew the mountains well. At the age of 17, Jim Bridger was the youngest member of the Upper Missouri Expedition, the beginning of a long and colorful career in the mountains. Bridger rose to the status of the quintessential mountain man, guiding many through the area."

The Bridger Mountain Range lies to the north of Bozeman. It is home to the Bridger Mountains National Recreation Trail and Bridger Bowl Ski Area. Many recreational opportunities can be found in this scenic mountain range because of its close proximity to Bozeman, yet this area retains it remoteness.

The Ridges

The Ridges around where we will be living

My First Blog

Wowee! My first blog entry. How exciting! I will be filling you all in with what's going on in my life. Especially since we will be so far away in MONTANA. Hopefully someone will read this.

So, today is Friday and I have been packing packing packing away (with my mom). I did now realize how much we have and I threw at least 30 bags or more of garbage and I just filled my car to the rim today with stuff to donate. But it feels good! Purging of stuff. The movers are coming Monday and we will be leaving Thursday August 13th.

How am I feeling? I go from being excited to very sad. I did not know I would be so emotional because I WANT to go. But now I am just reminiscing about the past 36 years! Yes I have lived here my whole life. My biggest deep down fear is being lonely but I need to face my fears right?

I know that God directed us to this path and it is a HUGE giant blessing from Him. In fact, we have had many blessings the past few weeks including selling our house within 1 month. I truly believe that this is all God's plan and this is what we have been praying for. He has changed our hearts and minds. We are all stronger from the past two years and closer to God and we know He is in control.

OK well signing off for now. (um is that what bloggers say or was that just lame?).

Oh, my fashionista daughter is afraid they have no fashion in Montana! Can you believe her favorite clothing store Justice does not exist in the entire state of Montana! Well, I must admit I am nervous that I will not find all of my fashion needs there too. You know we are so hip here in Cleveland.