settling in...

Dear friends and family, I realize that many of you have wondered if Thomas and I have become hermits instead of New Mexicans, as I have procrastinated sending the mass e-mail of new contact information. Alas, as those of you who have ever gotten married or moved across state lines or bought ten acres of projects well know, there is an extended settling in period. We're still in it, for sure, but we're slowly looking a bit more organized. We moved out of Denver on Sunday, May 30th (my last day of work was the 28th) and began unpacking in earnest with the help of our dear friend JD on Monday. That Saturday, June 5th, we left New Mexico for Oregon, stopping briefly to celebrate Ezra's 2nd birthday. We drove through the night to reach Bend mid-day on Sunday and then took our time getting to Portland that Friday to get ready for our wedding. June 19th will forever be a day to remember for Thomas and I, captured beautifully in photos by our friend Oren. With a trailer and truck full of love and memories, we pulled out of my parents' driveway on Tuesday, June 22nd to pull into our own driveway late Wednesday evening. "A whirlwind," you might say, as we crossed through five states in 24 hours twice less than three weeks apart...a feat we knew we wouldn't have to repeat for a long time. We're still unpacking, and there are still a few gifts all wrapped up waiting for a place to go. For two weeks we worked hard taking down a porch, moving a porch, building a mudroom, setting up Thomas's new workshop, and making this house a home. For our hard work we were rewarded with a wonderful celebration at Thomas's parents' home with family and friends traveling in to celebrate our wedding, see our new home, and party! What fun to have visitors so soon...really a blessing! And since the last ones left on Monday, July 12th, we've been back at it: took apart the utility room, built a pantry, taping and texturing, painting, organizing, cleaning, planting our first two trees, etc. As we continue to settle in, we are starting to plan where the chickens will go, where we will build our home, where the garden is going, and all those other fun ideas for years to come. It's been a full month of just us, and we're loving it. But our doors are open, and we welcome more visitors. Just give us a holler... Despite how it reads, my e-mail account is still intact, and I haven't given much thought to changing it. So if you're like my father and deleted it because I don't live in Denver anymore, add it back. I am relishing not having a cell phone (my old one doesn't work out here, so I shut 'er down), though someday I may go back to carrying one. For now you can reach us on our land line, yup, one of those old fashioned phones with a cord out of the wall. And walking down to the road to check the mailbox is a lot of fun, so if you fancy yourself a letter writer, drop a line the ol' fashioned way. Abrazos, tori vigil