32.

Please excuse my lack of posting lately. Life has been a little busy. But it's early Sunday morning, the coffee is on, and the kids are drawing- a great time to update our neglected blog.

We are still attempting to get settled here in Knoxville. It feels as if somebody picked up all of our things in Zionsville and threw them in a big pile in Knoxville and I have to sort through it all and try to put our life back in order. Sometimes it is almost fun, other times it has gotten overwhelming.

Because the house recently went through a major renovation, it has been unoccupied for a while. Unfortunately for us, this has meant lots to trips to Lowes to purchase things like towel rods, toilet paper holders, curtain rods, blinds, and shower curtain rods. It has also caused a bit of a hiccup in trying to get cable and Internet service. Luckily for us, we can get online on Ben's laptop from anywhere, so I haven't missed my laptop too much, but it has been a long thirteen days without TV!

My cousin Meaghan stayed with us a few days this week and was a tremendous help with the kids as I tried furiously to unpack. The kids love her and I really appreciated the chance to work for uninterrupted chunks of time. I got so much more done because of her visit than I would have otherwise- and I know this for a fact because I haven't gotten a whole lot done since she left! ;)

Gracie has two days at her new school under her belt. She was pretty casual about the whole thing. Luke and I were much more nervous for her than she was for herself! All day Luke kept asking me, "How do you think Gracie is doing at her new school?" and "When will it be time to get Gracie?" She didn't come home with many stories the first day and said that it was a really long day, but the second day seemed to go a little better. Ben asked her who her new friends were and she replied, "Well, I think my whole class are my new friends." That's my sweet girl.

My week has been a blur of painting, cleaning, unpacking boxes, and getting paperwork completed for our new school district- on top of all of the normal mommy-of-three jobs like laundry and cooking. Ben and I have declared today to be all about having a little fun. We're planning on taking the kids to hike and have a picnic in the mountains. We're all excited.

Despite the hassle of moving, I feel good about the move. Knoxville seems great and I think we'll be happy here. Proof?

{things I love about Knoxville so far...in no particular order}

• Sweet tea is everywhere. You can order it at any restaurant.
• The people are incredibly friendly.
• The streets have interesting names like "Pillissippee Parkway" and "Grigsby Chapel Road."
• I find the Southern accents adorable-though I will admit a bit hard to understand at times!
• I live minutes away from a wonderful grocery store; I actually had to call my mom from the store to share my excitement over the great selection, friendly employees, and low prices. Add to that dozens of car carts to occupy Drew, a Starbucks inside the store, wide aisles, and an employee whose entire job seems to be unloading carts for shoppers while his partner bags groceries at the other end...well, you have a happy grocery shopper! I know, it's the little things......
• I have found four good country radio stations. I can always find a good song to sing along to!
• We live just minutes away from a great shopping area called Turkey Creek. We were able to take a walk this evening to go get ice cream and walk through World Market.
• Our mail comes directly to our house rather than to a neighborhood mailbox as it did in Zionsville. The kids love checking the mail each day.
• I have yet to encounter any traffic.
• Our neighborhood is so nice to take walks in. There is very little traffic, the houses are pretty, and the neighbors are friendly.
• Lots of cowboy boots!

Happy weekend, all!