Georgia Greetings

Hello out there from Cumming, Georgia! I'm excited to write my first Atlantan blog. The move went well and we are getting settled into our new house and our life as Georgians. We live about 45 minutes out of Atlanta in a suburb called Cumming. It is beautiful, the weather is so nice, and you can even see the mountains where we are!

I never thought I'd live in a subdivision. I never thought I'd live in a housing development where my neighbors have the same floor plan as I do. I never thought I'd be living in Georgia! I grew up in Webster Groves, the place of charming old homes, none like the others near it, full of character and an older feel. I used to scoff at people who lived in subdivisions. They didn't know what they were missing, with their plastic houses. Ugh!

Well, here I am, years later, loving our "plastic house" (which isn't plastic—the front is brick!). Actually, it's a townhome, and it's just under 10 years old. We're the third owners. It has a great mix of hardwoods (what I'm used to) and carpet (what Joel grew up with), and a great modern style. The main room is a combo kitchen/dining area/living room. The kitchen is wonderful, with lots of counterspace, a dishwasher, and a garbage disposal (none of which we had in our previous house). I've really enjoyed cooking meals there in the past week. The two bedrooms are both suites with their own bathrooms, and they also have walk-in closets.

The house is wonderful. So is the neighborhood—very safe with very friendly neighbors. Lucia and I have been taking walks after lunch in the nice, warm weather. We can't wait for the pool to open up, which is about a three-minute walk down the street.

This is our second week here, and I'm looking forward to establishing a kind of routine (our last few months in St. Louis were anything but routine). Last week, Joel left for a few days to go to Indiana to work on his CD recording. Lucia and I fended for ourselves, visiting the recycling center, grocery store, and Super Target, but we're really glad to have our daddy back!

Today our mission is to either find our stamps (in one of the boxes somewhere) or go to the post office and buy some. St. Anthony, help us! I'm excited about making enchiladas and salad (with homemade dressing—thanks Katy H.!) in our new kitchen tonight, organizing a little more, and seeing Joel again. It's so exciting to see him in the evening after he's being gone all day!

Speaking of which, some people have asked me if it's hard that Joel isn't working from home anymore, especially being in a new city. I would say that it is just an adjustment. It has some perks—I think Joel and I are both more focused on our "work"—his in the office and mine in the home. We didn't "slack off" before necessarily, but we did talk and generally interrupt and distract each other a bit.

Also, Lucia is doing better in the car. If we are driving somewhere, I wait until she's woken up from a nap and in a good mood, and then I just keep the flow of new and exciting toys going to the back seat. I can usually get one place and back without too much of a fuss. Lucia is adjusting very well to her new environment. We've noticed that the familar furniture and toys have helped her...but I think the most important thing to her is that mommy and daddy are here with her.

I could say much more by way of an update, but I'll stop now. I look forward to blogging more (although I don't expect you to believe me—my last blog was two months ago!). In my defense, I did write a couple of blogs that got lost between the text box and the send button. It was frustrating, but I'm over it now. I do hope to keep our readers posted on this new chapter in our lives as well as write about wife and mommy themes!

Family and friends, we love and miss you!