Settling In

We have been in Georgia now for a little over a month. Are we getting settled in.... barely! We haven't been able to do a whole lot since our house hold goods haven't arrived yet. Once we got to Fort Benning, we spent the first couple of nights with friends until we got our feet under us. Our first full day here was dedicated to surviving in the US. We bought cell phones, we looked for housing, Jay checked in on post, and I don't remember what else. Nonetheless, we were busy! We had two days to get things figured out before both of our parents were coming down. On Friday, we signed a lease for a townhome in a big housing complex off post. After attempting to get in contact with the housing office on post, we decided it would be easier to be off post.

We arrived to Georgia on a Tuesday and both of our parents arrived on Thursday! We had reserved two hotel rooms for all of us to stay in during the time they were here. Thursday consisted of shopping! We were looking for a couch and end tables. We ended up finding a sectional we liked and purchased it on Saturday! That was a big deal for us. Other than the car be bought in Germany, this was our first big purchase as a married couple! Yes, I know we've been together for nearly 5 years, but the Army supplied us with furniture in Germany. We also went to Target and bought $100 worth of cleaning supplies! We had to throw everything away that we had in Germany since they won't ship these things! That evening we enjoyed good ol' American food with our parents!

It took another week to be delivered. Here it is in our living room, filling up the entire room!

On Saturday, we were able to get the keys to our new place and move in! Well, the moving it part was pretty simple since we didn't have anything to actually move in! The ladies cleaned all day and the guys built a kitchen counter for us. There were hook-ups for a washer and dryer in the little kitchen. We decided more counter space was a better option for us.

 

We were able to enjoy our parents company on Friday and Sunday, with a trip to the Coca-Cola Factory in Atlanta and the Infantry Museum in Columbus. We didn't make them work these day! We'll see if they ever come visit again after all the sweat they shed for us on this trip!

 

Even though we had a house to stay in, we opted for staying in a hotel for the next 10 days. This way we had a bed to sleep on, a tv to watch, towels to use, the basics! Mom brought down most of the basics we needed to survive and we have borrowed the rest! We have made it work for a month and a half now with little to nothing in the house!

 

After our parents left, it was time for us to face the real world again! Jay had to go back to work, and I..... well..... really had nothing to do! I couldn't clean the house. I couldn't unpack. I couldn't work. Jay was extremely busy studying and working on projects. So, I decided I was going to go to Iowa for three weeks, hoping our stuff would be here by the time I got back!

 

My Iowa trip.... amazing! I sure do love that place. A quick brief of what I did...

 

Went to the Iowa State Fair with my parents! Tried out the fried oreos, which turned out to be delicious!

Drove three hours down to Kirksville, Missouri to visit friends that I haven't seen in a really long time! I met up with Jennifer and Samantha for lunch. Then we went to surprise Tristan at his baseball game! We spent the rest of the night catching up on life!

The next day, I drove six hours up to Sioux Rapids (where I taught my first year) to visit teacher friends! I stayed with Erica and her family and was able to go to the football game! It was fun to see so many of the kids I taught now half way through high school.

I went down to Nicole's for a night after leaving northwest Iowa. We hung out together, along with Amy and Michael.

The majority of my time home was spent playing with these guys, my brother's sons! I enjoyed being outside with them, watching them play on all their toys!

Over Labor Day weekend, my entire family (except for Jay) was together for a family birthday party and a family reunion. I hadn't seen these kids for a long time, so it was fun to see how tall they've gotten! This is Jacquelyn, my only neice.

And my lil' buddy Carson! This guy kept me entertained the entire time home! I can't wait to see him again, and the rest of them too!

 



After all that excitement, it was time to come back home. I was missing my hubby by then, and I think he missed home cooked food!

We got a call earlier this week that our shipment has made it to Georgia. They will be coming this Wednesday to deliver it! Hooray!!!! No more sleeping on a blow-up mattress! The bed is the first thing getting put together! That's what we miss most!

I'll be sure to put up pictures of the house after it's all put together. It won't take me too long because we aren't doing much to it. We have decided not to hang anything on the walls or do too much decorating since we will be moving out in five months. It's not worth it this time around!

Hopefully after this week, this will start feeling like home! We want to get settled in and be comfortable here.