33

We are beginning our fourth week in our new house in a new state and I'd say we are finally beginning to feel settled here and beginning a normal routine (well, normal for summertime, which allows for 10 pm bedtimes for the kids and popsicle lunches). I think the transition was so easy for me because NC was my home for 22 years, so coming back meant returning to the familiar. For the kids, it was a bit more of a shock. We did our best to make things as easy as possible for them and giving them what we felt was the right amount of information at the right times. They have known for months that we would be moving, they came with us househunting in March so they could see the area, we tried to find a lot of time to spend with thier friends in the days and weeks before we left Ma. It was hard to say goodbye to their home and they are still a little rattled by all the big changes but we have been so lucky to meet wonderful new friends already and they love the house so they have adjusted really well.
My sisters came to visit me last week and then we traveled together to my hometown for some more family time. It was so great to have all 7 cousins together and see how they all loved each other. Moving closer to family is definitely at the top of the list of the best things about moving to NC. It was the best birthday present ever!
Speaking of birthdays, I feel like I should have some reflections on turning 33. Not that it is a milestone birthday (although my dad did point out to me that I am now exactly half his age). 33 is significant for me because 23 was a very significant age for me. On my 23rd birthday my parents gave me a card that said "On your birthday if life surprises you...Let it." A few days later I found out I was expecting Hayley. Before my 24th birthday I had a new husband, and new home, and a new baby girl. 23 was a year of the sweetest surprises. So my wish for my 33rd is that life continues to surprise me, and I continue to let it.