What's Going On?

After dividing all our stuff into "Store" and "Move", loading a POD and a moving truck (with the help of great friends), cleaning for the last time our Louisville home for the past year and a half, and driving for many hours through Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and the length of Pennsylvania, we are finally in Philadelphia! We are not quite in our "home" yet, but we are all safe and well taken care of. Moving is difficult. The physical work is exhausting and decision making can be daunting. Our first night in Philly was definitely proof that this is all true. When we realized that moving in to our apartment was not going to happen, we found a nearby hotel. Micah and I both were overwhelmed by all the obstacles in front of us and we wanted nothing more than a good night's rest. Our eyes were tired from driving in the rain for the better part of a whole day and I was keenly aware that I needed time to regroup. For all of us, sleep came very quickly and easily after melting into clean, crisp bed linens.

I don't remember falling asleep. What I do remember is having the thought, "Great day in the morning! What is that sound! It is really loud! Maybe it will stop soon... Oh... It's the fire alarm!!!" Boy was it effective! It was the equivalent of a blow horn in every one of the five floors of guest rooms. The next thing I know, Micah is jumping up, grabbing stuff- including the children, and trying to get to the door of our room to see what is going on. I started looking for shoes, then my purse, etc. but realized I was having great difficulty seeing anything. Was it because of smoke inhalation? Was I losing consciousness? No! I didn't have on my glasses!!! Another important thing to grab. Micah had stuck his head out into the hall to see what was going on. He did see and smell smoke so we were assured this was not some sort of crazy, middle of the night drill. Usually, you don't get to know your neighbors in a hotel, but in this situation, we got to know our neighbors extremely well. There is instant bonding when you see how people look in the wee hours of the morning! As you can imagine, we were all trying to avoid looking surprised at the chosen attire of some less-dressed guests as we all scurried toward the outside exits. There were police men and firemen arriving complete with sirens and flashing lights. Then, we heard someone announce the reason for all the commotion. Someone had set fire to a hot pocket in the lobby microwave. Needless to say, we were all relieved to go back to bed unharmed. Micah and I looked at each other and for the first time since we left Louisville, laughed out loud at our circumstances:)

We still have a few details to work out in the moving in department. The boys keep asking, "Where is our home?" I keep reminding them that our home is where we are all together. At this minute, we are all together at a hotel. Hopefully soon they will have access to all their toys and things and that might help their feelings about the situation:) It has been a while since I was in a totally new place. One of my first objectives was finding a nearbyTarget and I am happy to say that one is right around the corner! Micah started working this morning. The Chick-fil-a he will be managing is in a mall with a train for kids to ride so the boys think Daddy's new work is pretty cool already. I will try to keep you all up to date on our adventures here in Philly. Thanks for your prayers!