Uncle B and Auntie Anna

We had our first "non-relative" visitors this past weekend! We consider them family, but they're not blood-related. Uncle Brooks flew in from Texas and Auntie Anna drove down from D.C. to see Josiah and our new house. Brooks was meeting his nephew for the first time! As you'll see in the pictures, they were pretty gaga over this little boy...lots of flying, playing, wrestling, singing, dancing, peek-a-boo, and they even fed him! We had a fabulous time and miss them so much already...one day, maybe we'll all live close together.

Sometimes you just gotta have fresh air

I am a firm believer in the idea (fact) that everyone needs some fresh air and sunshine each day. People in Raleigh were complaining of the "freezing" cold temps late last week, but the sun was shining, so I bundled up my hearty Midwestern-born child and headed outside. The truth is, Josiah and Bella were both whiny and discontent, so we had to get out of the house or else. I don't know what the "else" would have been, but it would have been bad.

Josiah in his warm, elf-looking outfit...



He played in the exer-saucer while I threw the ball with Bella. It was funny to watch him figure out how to play with his fingers covered. Once he did, he had a blast!



Bella loving her new backyard...


She wouldn't stay still (shocking, I know), so I only got this one shot.

Come back tomorrow for pictures from our first "non-family" (well at least not blood-related) visitors!

Question: How does one get to know the members of one's new church quickly and intimately?

Answer: By inviting yourself to different members' houses and bringing loads of laundry. That's right...it's as easy as dirty laundry!

A little background on this story: The movers unloaded our stuff on December 19th. At that point we moved the washer & dryer into the dining room because our kitchen and laundry room were being re-tiled while we were in VA over Christmas. We came home on the 29th. The tiling project was taking longer than expected...2 weeks longer. Therefore, our washer & dryer became a lovely addition to our normal dining room furniture. Finally, this past Friday (January 11th), the tiling was done and we could move them into their correct home! We hooked them up with excitement...only to find out there was a plumbing issue with the washer. Yesterday, Jan. 14th, the plumber arrived and fixed that problem. We joyfully threw in a load of laundry and commenced washing. Upon drying that first load, we discovered that the dryer is broken - the heating element is not heating and the timing element is not timing. Something must have happened on the move. We're not quite sure what and we're in the process of filing a claim & hopefully getting it repaired.

So...for the past few weeks and now for the foreseeable future....I will continue calling upon various kind church families and showing up on their doorstep with my dirty laundry in tow! You're probably now saying to yourself - "I sure am glad I do not live near those Woods". I promise, it's a fabulous "get to know you" game!

The Greatest Toy...

You cannot buy it at Toys 'R Us and it may not stimulate brain waves like a colorful Baby Einstein contraption, but if you move with a 6-month-old, it may provide hours of endless (and contained) entertainment! What could this invention be?!? That's right...the good ol' fashioned box.

While Josiah & I were waiting for Andy to get home yesterday afternoon, I decided to let him play in a box. Here are the results...

We're done with boxes!

I logged on this morning and realized we had not posted since Christmas Eve! Things have been a bit busy here, but we're settling fairly well and quickly into our new house, neighborhood, job, church, life, etc. After a long Christmas vacation in VA where we were able to spend fabulous time with both families, we started our new adventure in NC. We have found grocery stores, Home Depot, Target, PF Chang's and Starbucks. All of the important things, right?!? I went running on the "greenway" behind our house yesterday and it was awesome - dirt trails through the woods next to a stream - worlds away from my usual St. Louis routes on busy roads. We're getting organized and making our house "our home". Andy has had his first couple days on the job and the church has been an amazing support. They've brought meals, helped us unpack, given advice and directions, and made us feel like family already. Josiah has had his first cold & ear infection since getting here, but we found a great pediatrician whom I'm sure we'll be getting to know well. We have about 5 more boxes to unpack and then WE'RE DONE! I'll post some pictures of the house at some point this week...once I find that camera cord...