"A gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener."

Greetings, from the great white north!
Not so very long ago, we were enjoying the usual mild and comfortable Phoenix winter. Now, we are freezing in sub-zero temperatures and trying our darnedest to enjoy snow and fierce wind. I talked here about our big and scary step. Well, we took it. We've uprooted ourselves, our children, and are living in unfamiliar territory. Yet, with the change and turmoil that we have endured recently, we are finding that the rich colors of our lives have deepened.

I am now the "dorm mom" for about 120 girls in a small town LDS college. It's funny. I thought I was still pretty young; I thought I was not terribly far removed from my own college years. Turns out, I'm older than I thought. And yet, that is probably an advantage I have here.

It is absolutely remarkable to me how well my 2 year old has adapted. She has simply embraced this new place as "home," and this move away from family and all that she had ever known has been very smooth. I have been so busy with the start of a new job and a new semester that I have hardly had time to think about being in a new place. And the Mister...well, he's remembering what it means to be a full time college student, but he's working hard and enjoying the challenge. The New Guy is as happy as ever. Its hard to phase him.

I'll probably be scarce, though hopefully not as much as I have been the last month, as we finish unpacking and settling in. In the meantime, I took these pictures tonight to honor our fresh start in a new place. Here we are, all squeaky clean and enjoying the "rain".