From MN to MI

Yes, we are here.
Yes we are alive.
Yes we are fine
Yes we are sad.

The drive was long. The truck drove rough - lots of swerving - very scary to follow and wonder if we were going to make it. It rained the whole way, but the temps stayed warm, so there was no snow, no ice. The kids did ok. They were tired and short tempered but we all made it. They watched 4 movies - bad mothering, but it gave me lots of time to cry.
We got here sometime between 11 and 12. I have how many miles it was in the van, but I forgot to check - somewhere in the vicinity of 630. We did not get out our clothes or bedding when we got here. The kids all collapsed in their sleeping bags on the floor and there was a mattress in our room so we fell onto that with the lawn blankets we had in our vehicles. My first thought was maybe some day I'll look back on this and laugh. Soon I was sobbing, but sleep always wins out, which is a good thing. We did not go to church - we played drop the hanky and unpacked the van and car. The church folk showed up around noon with pizza, salad, etc, then we unloaded a few boxes - including the fridge and freezer boxes. Someone filled up my fridge for me. Its a mess, but its full. Someone actually bought groceries for us and put them in the fridge - but forgot to turn the fridge on. That made me chuckle. All I threw out was the lunch meat. Everything else still smelled normal. Everyone was trying to figure out how to get my freezer stuff in a freezer - they were all going to take a box home - crazy. But I told them I hoped we could just buy a freezer today and get it all done. SO, someone from the church that was at our house works at a place that sells freezers - go figure. I love how God works out little details. So, we all left for church and unloaded everything there, then reloaded it at church with the stuff we need here at the house. When we left church, I got in a van with people I had never seen before - from church- and drove to some store somewhere in Muskegon - Landlois (Stacie, I know you'll google it, they have a clearance section and they sell furniture and washers/dryers) - and I was in the store a total of 10 minutes, told them which one I wanted, and we walked back out the door! WITHOUT PAYING - so we have to go back and do that tomorrow. I did pick out a scratch and dent one! The guy walked up to his boss and said, 'this is our new pastor's wife, she needs a freezer, we'll be back in tomorrow to pay for it.' crazy! Then we got back to our house as we've come to call it, I don't think it will ever be home - and all the stuff in the boxes I packed were still pretty frozen - wahoo! Now they are snug in my new freezer.
Its weird to see your whole life in boxes in a warehouse, and to have everything hauled around by people you don't know. We have way too much crap!
We also met a couple whose friends live across the street from the house we have purchased. They both own pools and have invited us to join them whenever it works out - come summer of course.
Tomorrow I send the kids off to school. School starts here at 8:10 - a bit of a rude awakening for all of us. We are going back to church to rearrange the boxes and hopefully find Anika's bedding. Poor girl has to sleep in her sleeping bag again tonight, while we all get sheets, but she does have her mattress.
I expect it is going to be hard to leave the kids at school - pray for them and for me.
TV, phone and internet are iffy around here. I am using the church's internet, it seems to be good. TV - two channels, no Sunday night football for me, very sad. No land line - won't be hooking one up here, in a few weeks at the other house.
That's my last 24 hours in an nut shell.
I don't plan on doing this every night! =)

Love and miss you all!
Carla