New Jersey- 2 months in

We are now just 2 days away from our 2 month mark. I admit that a few weeks ago I kind of hit my "wall". We came here and were so amazed at the beauty here, and at all there is to do and and see. Oh, and the trees? So. Many. Trees. I love it. I often hear people say that they miss the Mountains when they move away from Utah. Not me. I'm not what you would call an "out doorsy" person. I am rarely if ever found in the mountains. I enjoy a night around the campfire for some s'mores and a hot dog, and then more than happy to come home to my bed and a toilet that flushes. That's just me. I get that the majestic mountains surrounding a valley is beautiful, but here we are surrounded by beauty everywhere you look. Trees everywhere. In fact as much as I am looking forward to the leaves turning their beautiful Autumn colors I'm enjoying the green. Anyway... Suddenly real life settled in and as much as we have been welcomed here and we are generally happy and into our routine, there was a sudden overwhelming feeling and realization of the life, though imperfect, we had left behind, and more importantly all our family and friends. Now, admittedly with technology these days you really can still be in almost constant contact via phone, text, video chat, facebook etc. but I was still suddenly feeling an extreme sense of loneliness. We have met people and made "friends". But they are just still acquaintances. We have people we feel like we can call even in an emergency and we have. But somehow I relate this experience to dating. When you are dating someone you feel like you have to be your best self all the time. You want to always be positive and cute, and fun, and funny etc. You constantly wonder if you are good enough for whomever you are "dating" etc. Now, as you think I am probably waaay ridiculous or stupid that's fine but for what it's worth that's how I was feeling. I was just missing having people around me who really get me, warts, and all. I wallowed in my sad and lonely state for a bit and then decided that I don't need to look to others for their acceptance. I need to just be who I am and not hope with all my being that someone will "like" me. Good news is I'm feeling back to my old self.

We really are liking it here. Some of my favorite things are the rain. Since we have been here I think it has rained at least once a week if not twice. It's amazing too because it's beautiful and sunny and suddenly the sky goes dark and a few minutes later it is pouring outside!! Oh, and thundering and lightning. We have had some pretty intense storms. Thankfully our kids don't mind thunder and lightning one bit and I love it. Storms are so cozy. We have just learned to always have an umbrella. I even bought the kids rain jackets yesterday because they actually need them here. We may even purchase galoshes at some point :) I also love the little town we are in. I love that we are within walking distance to so many great things. It is such a fun thing to just say, hey want to go down town and walk around? I also love all the various church's. There is something really nifty about the beautiful and grand church's. There are too many church's of all different faith's to count. I love the stained glass windows, and spires. Most of all I love the church bells. At 8am every single morning the bells begin to play in a near by church. I rarely get to hear them because I am rushing Ethan to school, but I try to listen and can almost always recognize a hymn they are playing. I like the diversity of the people. There are people here from all over the world. I hear languages I don't even recognize. The diversity factor has made for some good conversations with the kids and needing to be kind and accepting to everyone.

Cheese. This one deserves it's own paragraph. We love cheese. There are so many to choose from and they are so yummy and fresh. Fresh, soft mozzarella? Yum.

Anyway, we have our ups and down's but for the most part we are still really glad to be here. We are meeting new people and trying new things. Yes, there are some things that I don't like here, but even some of the things I initially hated, like driving, are now not a big deal. Who knows, in a few more months we may like it even more, and maybe by then I won't hate grocery shopping!