Double Happiness--adventures with Lily and Elsa: August 2008

Lily and Elsa before their first day at their new preschool. Lily was feeling especially nervous this morning and Elsa did an amazing job of trying to make her feel better with lots of hugs and kind words.

Here's Lily putting on her brave happy face.

I love this picture because you can see Elsa's arm around Lily's shoulder. They are just the sweetest girls. They really look out for each other.

And just for comparison, here's Elsa and Lily on their first day of school last year. I can't believe how much they've grown both physically and as individuals. I'm especially proud of how they've handling all the major changes we've had this summer.

Drop-off this morning was a little rough. Lily didn't want me to leave and started crying. But, her teacher, Miss Cindy, seemed to be able to handle things well. She took Lily on her lap and told her they could talk about how she was feeling in circle time. And I heard Lily say "I miss my friends in New Jersey like Kyara and Marian." So, I'm glad she's getting some space to process all her emotions. Meanwhile, Mark and I stayed in the reception area and chatted with the Pastor and volunteers. Cooincidentally, the Pastor's last appointment was for 7 years in California and he's a native midwesterner, so lots of parallels. For some reason, Lily and Elsa are already enjoying a little bit of celebrity as "the twins who came all the way from NJ." Everyone seems to know about them. This is a brand new preschool and the whole congregation is SO excited. A lot of the members are taking on little projects like teaching special classes and a retired Agriculture professor is making a little garden for the kids. It seems to be a very warm and happy place. We peeked in the window on our way out and Lily seemed to have calmed down. So, I'm feeling optimistic about this transition. It will probably be rough at first. But in the long run, it will be really good for the girls to get into a routine and make some new friends.

So, we've been in our new town 18 days. Our boxes are almost entirely unpacked, Mark's started work and the girls just started school (mornings only for now). So far, so good. My plan is to figure out my plan. In Princeton it felt like we were barely settled in before we had to start getting ready to move again. So, it was kind of hard to get comfortable. It is weird to think we might be able to stay here for a while. So, I have a little less pressure both timewise and financially to find something immediately. So, I'm going to take my time and start cruising the job listings and looking at some of the graduate degree programs.

The town itself seems nice. Of all the places we've lived, it reminds me most of Bloomington. (large public university town, liberal oasis in a rural area, fair shares of hippies, rednecks undergrads and academics). Definitely a lot more churches and pickup trucks then we've seen for a while. It has not 1, but 3 Walmarts! In Berkeley, the nearest Walmart was probably 40 miles away. It feels pretty Southern. People take their time here. I'm used to New Jersey and Berkeley where people would basically run you over at the grocery store. People walk more slowly and want to talk. People like the bank teller and grocery clerk want to have a long conversations. That just doesn't happen in New Jersey. And everyone keeps calling us M'am and Sir. We've been busy exploring. Checking out the parks, museums, getting library cards, riding our bikes around, etc. Looking forward to making this place a home.

That's the news for now. Tropical Storm Fay seems to be headed our way and might even turn into a mild hurricane. So, it could be an exciting week. We'll keep everyone posted.

Trying to get back in the habit of blogging after a month off for moving. We arrived in Florida 10 days ago and have been busy unpacking and getting the house in order. We were lucky enough to have lots of company and help with our transition. Grandma and Grandpa Panning were here our first week in town, quickly followed by Grandpa A and Aunt Cathy.

Here's a few random pictures.