one year ago

Next week marks the one year anniversary of our move to Knoxville.

This moment I can remember like it was yesterday. March 18, 2010- the first morning in our new home.

We had arrived in Tennessee the evening before. After dinner at Panera and a little exploring, we had spent the night in the empty house on blow up beds and woken to a picnic breakfast on the kitchen floor. Gracie and Luke could barely stay in one place for more than a couple of seconds; they were running all around the rooms getting a feel of everything. The kids were still in pajamas as the movers pulled up and there was a palpable excitement in the air. 

The truck pulled up and Drew and I went out to meet the movers. There was a chill in the March air and I distinctly remember the feel of my hot coffee cup in my hand. As we walked down the long, unfamiliar driveway, I remember thinking- cheesy as it was- that at that moment we were starting a new chapter in our lives.

There are so many other amazingly vivid memories I have of that day- closing off one room of the house as kid-zone so the kids could play and stay out from underfoot of the four movers, frantically trying to unpack the kitchen throughout the day so we could begin to have real meals as soon as possible, driving to pick up lunch for everyone and feeling completely lost, the way the sun shone all day, the way neighbors stopped by to introduce themselves each time I stepped outside, the way our phones rang off and on throughout the day as family and friends called to check on us, Drew napping on my shoulder because there was just no quiet place to put him....

I remember walking from one empty room to another wondering how quickly I could make it feel like a home for us.

It was such an exciting time in our lives. The months that followed that day were filled with frequent overwhelming moments of What in the world have I gotten myself into???, but that day itself was pure excitement.

Hard to believe it has been a year.