Settling In

We are in the process of getting settled in. The wedding is done- it was wonderful. God gave us a beautiful day- sunshine and warm weather, which was nice considering the reception was under a tent outside. The ceremony went without a problem. Things went smoothly. We only had 2 hiccups- which everyone has- we were taking pictures in the park- and a ranger stopped us, it was a national park and you have to get a special license to do that. Thankfully Russ and I went over to the park before the wedding party joined us, so we got a ton of pictures of just the two of us at the park and just a couple with the wedding party. I can't wait to see all of our pictures.
The second hiccup was that our friend Paul who was going to videotape our ceremony got stuck at the camp where the men's retreat was held the night before (another story to tell). While we missed him and are sad he wasn't able to join us we were very thankful that my cousin Nick was able to step in a tape it for us.
All in all it was a great day and at the end of it I was Mrs. Pierpont. There are some specifics I do not remember about that day, but the things I do I love and will always cherish this day.
We went to North Conway, New Hampshire for our honeymoon. I had never been there before and we had a good time. We saw lots of moose crossing signs- they made me laugh. I however did not see a live moose, that would have been even better!
We went up on Mount Washington. We took the cog railway up the mountain, it took about 30 minutes to go up 3 1/2 miles. It was a beautiful day up there- not too cloudy and not too cold- it was about 35-40 degrees while we were up there and we could see really far. The pictures are awesome- I will have to try to post some.
After New Hampshire we went to Maine for about 5 days to see Russ's extended family. I met some of them that were not able to come to Ohio for the wedding. Maine was also a first for me. We had lobster one night- I wasn't a huge fan of having a cooked lobster in front of me that needed to be dismantled to be eaten. Lobster at a restaurant already dismantled is good- its the dismantling that I couldn't handle. So needless to say I had something else to eat that night.
After Maine we headed west to go pick up our dog, spend time with Russ's parents and see some friends before heading to Iowa.
We stopped in Ohio and spent time with our good friends Steve, Amy, Hayley and Abby. This was lots of fun, but it ended way too soon. I am looking forward to November when we go to see them again. It was so difficult to say good-bye on Saturday, I cried on our way to Michigan.
Russ's parents and Attawolf (our dog) were very excited to see us. It was good to see them too. We spent a couple of days with them before heading out to Iowa. We went to a huge Christmas store called Bronner's- they give you a map to find your way around. It was a bit overwhelming! For the past many years every Christmas I buy a penguin for Ruben, a nutcracker for Dad and a Santa for Mom. It has always been about finding an interesting, unique, different one for them. There were lots of Santas that fit that description and I could not handle it. There were a few tears and I decided that I was just going to skip Christmas this year- it will be hard.
We packed up the car one more time, this time with a dog for a 9 hour trip. Attawolf is not a bad traveler, but he doesn't like sitting in the back seat, so he stood in the middle the first half of the trip and on my lap the second half.
As we were getting closer it was weird thinking that we were coming here to stay, not just a vacation. It has been sooooo very long since I have lived here that it seems weird that we are here to stay. But we are beginning to get settled in, unpacked the suitcase and put clothes away- which was so nice, after a while one gets tired of living out of a suitcase. Attawolf has settled in too, and realizes this is home. He loves Dad and Ruben and enjoys playing with them, begging for food and even sleeping with them.
Now we are looking for jobs- resumes have been updated and being sent out, please pray with us that God provides us with good jobs quickly.
We are excited to see what God has for us here in Iowa and we know we are where He wants us to be. As spoonfuls of grace are being scooped out I will share how we are seeing God work in our lives.