Moving to Pennsylvania

WARNING: Long post ahead! Proceed with caution! (My posts will not all be this long I promise...)

Well... we made it.

We are here in Pittsburgh, and have made it through our first week. To say it has been interesting, would be an understatement.  We have spent a lot of money, a LOT of time driving, taking wrong turns and getting lost, and a lot of time cleaning and unpacking.  But I guess that is probably normal when you move across the country to a new place!

Sean and Clark (aka Super-Dad) got in late Friday night (the 15th), after driving for two days straight.  Saturday they unloaded the moving truck (a very quick deal with help from the awesome Elders Quorum here in our new ward!), at which point I sent them on a wild goose chase getting furniture off Craigslist from people in the surrounding area. And by surrounding area, I mean at least a half hour from where we live in three or four different directions... (oops!)... so they got to see a lot of countryside!

Madison and I flew in Sunday, leaving at 7:30am Utah time (9:30am Pittsburgh time) and walking off the plane at 11pm Pittsburgh time (5 hours after we should have arrived).  Let's just say it was a looong day, and I realized that it was possible to board a plane, and after sitting there for some time, be told to get back off the plane due to no pilot or crew. I also found out that I have the ability to carry a heavy sleeping two-year-old all the way to the back of a plane along with a diaper bag, backpack, two neck pillows, and a stuffed bunny.  So there's that!

(Let me mention I am very grateful that I didn't have to drive 28 hours with Madison. I would gladly take the flight delays over that! Sometimes I wonder just how in the world the pioneers walked across the plains with their babies, children, the elderly... I can't even imagine.)

The next few days were a whirlwind.  One of our first priorities was to buy a car, since we were currently renting one.  It turns out you have to have a Pennsylvania driver's license to register a car here, so after three trips to the driver's license division downtown, a lot of time and anxiety trying to figure out where to park in the city, and a trip to a credit union since you have to have either check or money order to pay for the license, I got my license.  And then after an hour-long drive to Apollo, PA to look at a car off Craigslist that we didn't end up getting anyway (and then driving back with a cranky toddler), turning up at a used car dealership that was randomly closed all day, and then driving to another one, we finally got our car. Pictured below is our 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe.

It ain't a Mercedes-Benz, but it is ours and we love it!

(The whining is almost over, I promise!!)

Then there was our duplex which, as much as we love it... was an old, dirty mess.  The kitchen cupboards, the fridge, the basement (oohhhh the basement...), the windows... not quite what I expected. Not to mention a broken hot water knob in the shower, no bathtub plug, a cobweb-infested unfinished basement with a hole in the window, a leaky faucet, many burnt out lightbulbs, doors and doorknobs that stuck, etc.  A lot of small problems, which all added up, and seemed very overwhelming to us.

Even trying to get our internet/TV set up was a joke due to some crazy old-home wiring in this place. We tried it on our own, and it didn't work, so Friday we had both the plumber and the cable guy here at the same time trying to help fix our problems!

So here's little old naive me, from little old Utah, I'm 23, having lived only 3 places in my life--home with my mom and sister, Sean's parents' basement apartment, and a nice apartment complex--and here I was, realizing for the first time I have to take care of a house, and having no idea how to go about tackling the job. And with Sean being in Orientation all week, I was feeling extremely overwhelmed.

Okay, now here are the tender mercies.

My wonderful, amazing, fabulous mother.  She flew in Thursday, and basically saved our behinds.  And/or kicked our behinds in motion.  What I was expecting: to fly in Sunday, get a car Monday, be at least half unpacked by the time I picked my mom up Thursday, and do some sightseeing with her over the weekend. What actually happened: we spent Friday and Saturday cleaning and unpacking just the kitchen, and she basically cleaned the entire nasty basement all herself.  I am totally kicking myself for not taking before and after pictures of our home!! She also helped with Madison, helped us figure out what we need to be aware of in a home, what we need to watch for, clean regularly, etc, and much, much more. We did get to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo on Saturday with Rico & Erin Snow (our Merkley cousins that live out here) which was super fun. Rico & Erin have definitely been another major blessing to us - they helped us get our apartment, looking through it for us and taking pictures, picking up our key, helping us move, giving us endless useful advice and information, and much more. We are definitely blessed with amazing family, there is no doubt about that.

Other tender mercies: the cable guy came out and got us all set up free of charge. The plumber also didn't charge us for the visit, and since he showed Sean what needed to be fixed and how to turn our water completely off (different in these old houses!) Sean was able to fix it himself and saved us the $250+ it would have cost to get that fixed by the plumber. Sean also fixed the hot water knob, and has become quite the handyman around here!

We also had some people stop by.  First, a couple from our ward came over to bring us a treat and welcome us to the ward, which was super nice of them. And then, the missionaries came over - and one of them was a cousin of mine! Elder Stowe (my second cousin I believe--Aunt Karen's grandson), along with his companion Elder Bailey and a set of sister missionaries stopped by to say hi, and we chatted with them for a while. It was so great. It was good to be reminded again of what is really important--the gospel, missionary work, service--and the little frivolous things I had been getting all worked up about seemed a lot less worrisome.

Other tender mercies include realizing that we had $100 on an IKEA gift card that we got when we were married (this helped with buying supplies since we sold everything before we came here!), kind people that helped me with my bags and with Madison on the flight over here, and many, many more things.

The last tender mercy that comes to mind is our great new ward, and especially a talk that was given on Sunday. One of those talks that I felt like was meant just for me. I have also been stressing out about the fact that I don't have a job yet, and wondering how things are going to pan out for our family. This talk was given by the bishop's wife, who is also a nurse, and she spoke about their move to Pittsburgh from Utah. How they dropped everything and sacrificed a lot, how neither of them had jobs for a while (and they had two kids), how hard it was, and the miracles that occurred and how much they have grown. I know Heavenly Father is mindful of my concerns and that He knew I needed to hear this talk. He knew I needed to be reminded to to put my complete faith and trust in Him. In this sister's talk she quoted scriptures from 3 Nephi 13:25-33. It says:

26 Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;

 29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.

 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

The job will come. We will have food, clothing and that which we need. We spent three years living with parents to save money for our time of need, which is another immense blessing. We can deal with whatever lies ahead, with His divine help. I know that if we are prayerful, faithful, and strive to do all we can to keep the commandments and build His kingdom, He will provide for us. Apparently I just need reminders every now and then. :)

I am so excited for this new experience and the challenges, growing experiences, and fun times that are ahead of us. I have stopped freaking out (to an extent) and have accepted the challenge ahead. Pennsylvania is a beautiful place to live, and it is filled with great people. And I can honestly say I LOVE our new home. I am super excited that Sean has embarked on his law education, and we will be here to support him every step of the way. He is my best friend, and the most wonderful, hard-working man I know. He is going to kill it.

Here we go!