sunny stretch

We all are so excited about the past couple and ext couple of days here: sunny and 70 without much chance for rain.  It's been beautiful and people are out everywhere.  The park near us went from us being the only people there and me bringing a towel to wipe down the swings and slides to crammed with families all out together.  There's such a transformation when it's nice outside!


In case you needed a dose of diaper-clad boys throwing new toys around...

With another week under our belts, a lot has happened:

• church service

Hubs with Gray out to eat after nursery at church (where he got his "cown" that he insisted wearing to nap time also!)

• second small group + post church lunch
• meals and tea at several church members/small group members' homes
• discovering the tram and downtown accessibility
• getting library cards and checking out books for the boys
• working out kinks of no TV and lots of restrictions with online TV here (no hulu or American TV networks or even American amazon prime)
• figuring out laundry without a dryer

 laundry day!

• finding some of the last few grocery items I was hoping for: pretzels, black beans, avocados, tortilla chips, how to do our boys' half and half (whole milk mixed with single cream), 
• doing more baking- conversions! oven temps in Celsius and everything in grams instead of cups
• took boys to Weston Park Museum

 The Museum had this exhibit...can't seem to escape it!

 Enjoying the boat area at the Museum

 Holding hands at the Museum

• learning and venturing out by taking taxis
• realizing how long the health system takes...a week to get anything done it seems! 
• cooking: white chicken chili, egg hash with potatoes, ham, asparagus and peppers, my attempt at bangers and mash (sausages and potatoes), chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies (I've gotta keep A happy!)

Highlights:

• Church- We already feel like a part of the family here.  So welcoming! Sunday preaching has been great too.
• Encouraged spiritually by going through 1 John at church + life groups
• The sunny weather, obviously
• Feeling like we're getting our bearings
• Time with people

Tougher things:

• Gray and I are sick...allergies or cold? We're not sure. Either way we've both been a little on the cranky side with runny noses.
• Boys have been tough to handle...I think they're bored or too cooped up in our small apartment and don't get to run around as much.  Though parks are great and they are exhausted at the end of the day when we can get them outside.  It's been pretty draining for both me and Andrew at times.  Then again this could be a stage of having twin high energy, loud, emotional two year old boys!  Plus, we also know our personal capacities are smaller...so it might just be a combination of it all!
• Transitioning to life without a car.  It's felt like one of the the biggest changes so far.  It's doable, but exhausting to push our (thankfully small) guys up hills to get anywhere!

Other snapshots of the week:

 watching the ducks at Weston Park

 double rainbows

 swinging at Ponderosa Park!

 Gray waiting outside our door to load in the stroller

 Jackson watching the "leedy bug" on the flower

 looking out over downtown Sheffield

 Gray has moments of such sweetness, like when he found a flower and brought it straight to me, completely unprompted! I wanted to cry it was so adorable.

Playing at the Peace Gardens downtown in front of Sheffield's City Hall