getting settled

My life is settling down a bit. Finally. Its hard to believe that I have been home for almost 2 months already because less than a week ago I was still keeping most of my possessions in my trunk. What it comes down to was the last night in our old house. My mom, Kerry, Kalli and I all laying on a king size mattress in the middle of the living room. Each remembering moments that will never leave us. My mom and Kalli couldn't resist the urge to walk upstairs and scrunch into the bathtub together - tears were welled up in all of our eyes as my mom remembered giving Kalli her first bath in that tub. I on the other hand, reminded them of my friends holding each other down and shaving legs in that very tub, which quickly transferred the conversation to our front hedge. My apologies to the new home owners for the permanent lack of growth in that hedge, but the endless summer nights spent "bush jumping" over/through that hedge were priceless. We did our final walk through, and turned over the keys. Moving after nearly my entire life being spent in the same house has taught me a few things, brought tears to my eyes more than once, and provided several gut aches induced by excessive laughter. A few favorite found treasures in the process:

1. Kalli's road trip plans with friends including a required permission slip and a soundtrack listing

2. A card from Kevin Morsching that he sent me when Erin died.

3. More Barbies than I had the tolerance to count...not to mention the accessories! I guess thats what happens when you have 3 girls.

4. Journal we were required to keep freshman year of high school for English class where Erin and I wrote notes and predicted the future of our classmates.

5. Middle school yearbook with an entire page of Ann's unchanged handwriting, a note from Torey, Megan's attempt at spelling, and seeing everyone's home phone numbers written next to their name and gel pen hearts around boys.

Those were my favorites, there were definetly more, some that we convinced each other to let go of. I'm thankful that even in a new setting the people in my life remain the same: wonderful, hilarious, inspiring, encouraging, and loving.