April 7

I took Abby over to our old house this afternoon so she could do some sorting in her room, and after I'd loaded my car with as many boxes as would fit, we headed back to the new house. (I want to say "home," but it still feels weird.) After I put away the items in said-boxes, I didn't do a whole lot until I decided to take an after dinner stroll.

I've already shared a few spaces inside the house and the view from the observation deck in the back, so I thought I'd show you the entrance. So, this is our front door. As I stood there looking up at it before my walk, I had two separate thoughts. The first was "holy cow, this house has a lot of steps." (And indeed it does. They're everywhere. My bum hurts at the end of each day from climbing up and down stairs.) And the second --and more important-- was "holy cow, this is so beautiful. And I get to live here."

It's definitely hard to feel a sense of gratitude when it seems like so, so (so) much is going wrong in this world, but I am incredibly thankful to be here. And I'm incredibly thankful that living here will allow me to welcome people into my home and to spend time with them. (Just make sure you're ready to climb some stairs when you get here.)