Almost exactly 3 months after the boys and I had said our final goodbye’s to Brazil, we pulled out of my parents’ driveway and drove our (new) minivan through the night to Virginia.

We spent the night at a hotel nearby and first thing the next morning, pulled up at our new house.

We had the 4 of us, a few suitcases and not too much else. There was a murphy bed in the basement that Michael and I could sleep on, we brought Colt’s bed and a mattress and Finn had a pack-n-play. Our kitchen table & chairs were delivered on move-in day so we at least had that. And we had a couple of rugs that I’d ordered and had shipped to my parents’ house. So… basically a totally empty house. No couches or even cushiony chairs. No dressers or drawers to be had. No desks. No pictures. No lamps. etc. etc.

 

We had only been in the house when the previous owners lived there so it felt REALLY strange to walk into an empty house with 2 kids and try to realize that this was our new home.

We basically lived like that for a week before our shipment from Brazil arrived along with some other big furniture orders that I’d placed. We shipped some things back from Brazil like kitchen stuff, some art, a couple pieces of furniture, some linens, etc. but we actually sold the majority of our furniture there before we left so we had to furnish the entire house which was TOTALLY overwhelming. It was especially challenging because I didn’t want our family to be living in an empty house for too long so I tried to order most things so that they would arrive soon after we moved in, but it’s hard to really know how things are going to look and feel in a space until you get there. For the most part it all worked out but there were definitely a couple surprises along the way.

We were very fortunate that we were only in an empty house for a week but it was a little stressful because when we moved in, we still didn’t know how much longer we would be waiting for our things to arrive. But we used the week to paint Colt’s room and put together THE IKEA DELIVERY which took Michael hours upon hours and was, to date, one of his greatest life accomplishments.

After a week the deliveries started to come in, friends visited and brought us flowers and little by little, things started to come together.

 

Thankfully Michael had some time off to help us get moved in. Since we don’t have family or anyone nearby to help us with the kids, it would have been nearly impossible otherwise. And while we got settled into our house, we tried to get to know the neighborhood as well. There is an awesome park directly across the street from our front yard that has trails and green space, fields and courts and then a playground and community center.

We walk through the park to get to Colt’s preschool so here he is checking it out.

Sunday morning, checking out Faith Lutheran Church.

Two weeks after we moved in, Colt’s godparents and our dear friends Mike & Moira Saign were in town for the weekend so we got as much time as possible with them and their precious babe, Graham – just a couple months younger than Finn.

The Saigns even set us up with a full-family, private White House tour! Thanks Pete!

Two weeks into our house and we accidentally screwed up our heat so we took to the fireplace for a couple days.

Just after Mike & Moira visited – 2.5 weeks into our move – Michael’s parents came for a quick visit! The weather suddenly changed and we had a lovely time in and outdoors with Nana & Papa.

More getting settled into our home and the neighborhood.

One of my favorite little things about our neighborhood is that we Have BUNNIES running around!! During the spring we spotted them all the time. (And now in the fall I am seeing them again!) Back in April, Michael and I walked about a mile to dinner one evening and we must have seen 35 bunnies. I mean, is there any cuter an infestation than bunnies?!?!

We were enjoying getting to know our new hood but also love getting to return to old favorites.

Up Next – South Carolina for Easter holidays!