And the blessings rain down

Today has been a day of blessings.

#1 - Apple picking. Our friends invited us to join them and some other families for a trip to a mountaintop orchard. The day was wet and foggy (as it has been all 3 times I've been to this particular place), but I had so much fun talking with old friends. I was a bit unhappy about the fact that I'm allergic to apples and couldn't enjoy the crunch of one right from the tree or take even a nibble of the awesome-smelling apple cider doughnuts. But the orchard had a few rows of grapes and those, along with a tiny tub of fudge, totally made my day.

#2 - A brand new shiny red cell phone. We went to the cell phone store yesterday to let them know that the boring base model phone they gave me worked and what were my options for something cooler? They told me that I *was* eligible for an upgrade (I thought it would be mid-October) and that any of their new models should get adequate reception. So I've got a stylish new phone with all the cool features and it works even out here.

#3 - The internet is here! We were out talking to our new neighbor when her significant other drove up in an internet company van. He was just coming home for a brief stop before his next appointment, but he took a look at our connection and had the whole thing figured out in 2 minutes. The installer had just hooked it up wrong. He did a few things and came back later and had it all working in no time. Let me tell you, it pays to have the cable guy living next door! Tomorrow I will be baking him an apple pie because we have a bag full of apples that have to be eaten and we are completely in his debt.

#4 - We have neighbors. We stood outside for awhile today and talked with the people who live in two of the other units in our building. We're still waiting for the last family in our building to close and move in, but I love that we're getting to know the people who are here so far. I want for this neighborhood to be a close-knit community and getting here at the beginning of the building process is a good place to start.

#5 - Empty boxes. There may still be a lot of work left before we're done moving-in, but I managed to unpack quite a few boxes this evening and get more stuff organized and put away. The essentials are easy to find and get to and I feel much more ready for the week. I've got a busy couple of weeks since all of our fall activities are starting - dance class, Wednesday night church, MOPS, CBS for us, BSF for Mr. at Home as well as his university teaching duties. It's all well-spaced so that we're not over-whelmed with stuff to do at any one time, but it's always a rough start setting our routine in motion. Adding in a new house complicates it, but I think we're ready.

Speaking of ready, I need to go get the school stuff ready for tomorrow.