Beginning Again

it's a pretty crazy thing we're doing - we moved here without brian having a job and without a place to live - just a place to stay and a friendly face to pick elena and i up from the airport. so, in the midst of this craziness, fortunately we have still been able to enjoy the beauty that encompasses this city. i can't stop talking about the weather. it's so amazing to experience a true fall: complete with the changing colors of the leaves, sweater-worthy temperatures and soup and hot tea in the afternoon. in california we would still be wearing our shorts and tank tops and praying for cooler weather that would arrive mid-november. i am so thankful to not be in that state and also for all of the small joys we have experienced since we arrived here. i am so excited about church. i haven't felt excited about church in a long time. it is so refreshing. i feel like this place fits me or i fit it, whatever. we are staying in a house around the corner from beautiful whatcom lake and whatcom falls. we took elena there and she quacked at the ducks. ducks are her favorite. "duck" is her official first word. coffee tastes wonderful every place i have ordered it. mmm... what could be better? elena is right at the age where she is taking everything in. i can almost see the wheels turning in her little mind. she has started pointing. it's so cute. all the parks here are clean and in beautiful areas. we took her to fairhaven park and she got on her first park swing. she is doing and seeing so many things she can hardly sleep. literally. oh and have i mentioned the focus on sustainability here? amazing. go to a restaraunt downtown and they are liable to offer something local, vegetarian, free-range, organic blah blah blah... it's so GREAT! i actually ordered breakfast last weekend that was vegan!!! this is so shocking to me as there is nothing like this where i come from. every store abounds with signs speaking of local, natural type things. i can't get enough. we went to the farmer's market today - more local organic goodness all around. YES! (and the garbage cans in this town are smaller than the recycling bins!) So, while i am absolutely loving this time we've had - i can't wait until we are planted here. beginning again by uprooting ourselves is going to be good for us. i know it. but, it's going to be hard. i miss friends... i will always miss them, even after we meet people here. no one can take the place of certain people in my life. that is surely the hardest thing about moving. still, i am glad for a new beginning. i am happy to know that i will be raising my daughter in a culture like this, a community like this, a church like this. so, while people think we are crazy, i know, we are also making something happen that we otherwise would have regretted later in life. we are beginning again, taking a risk and daring to believe that life can be different. and it is good, i think.