Hello From the Big Apple
well friends, we made it! we're officially New Yorkers. more importantly, we survived the 6 day, 41 hour, 2,859 mile long road trip through 12 states with three small children. *exhales + drinks wine* I'm finally somewhat catching my breath after the past few weeks and am excited to find myself here again with you all!
all joking aside, the road trip was surprisingly smooth and went by somewhat quickly! we managed to have no car trouble (until our check engine light came on in new jersey, which thankfully ended up only being because of the gas cap) and the girls were such troopers. I did my best to set us up with plenty of activities to do along the way which were mostly successful, but we certainly stopped a few times for more disney princess stickers, candy, and watched a whole lot of movies. we jumped on many a hotel bed, drank lots of mediocre coffee + ate lots of mediocre food in tiny towns along the way, saw LOTS of cornfields, and honestly really had fun (except when we were cleaning up carseat blowouts and paying insanely expensive tolls in the midwest). as soon as we arrived in NYC we unloaded the uhaul and sold our car (which I must say felt pretty good after 6 days basically living in it!).
it still feels a bit surreal that we're actually here. we've known we'd be moving here since november of 2020 - I think on some level it kind of felt like this obscure thing we just talked about. it's been wonderful and difficult at the same time to have so much time to mentally/emotionally/logistically prepare for a big life event like this, and finally settling into this thing we've known about for so long feels amazing, relieving, and exciting. we're HOME.
we landed on the upper west side in a 700 square foot 2nd floor walkup that's really cozy with a lovely view of the park. signing our lease sight-unseen was a bit of a gamble, so we feel really thankful that we actually like our place, ha! we've been hard at work trying to make it feel as settled as possible before Michael starts school, and it's been a fun challenge to make the best use of every square inch. the girls are having a blast waving to passersby from their window, while we adjust to paying to do our laundry downstairs and trying to see in the bathroom mirror that's hung too high for me (*orders step stool*). we're truly having fun and genuinely enjoying small space living, so far! (an apartment tour will be coming soon, but in the meantime head here for all my inspiration for our place.)
when we haven't been unpacking and settling in, we've been braving the NYC humidity and doing as much exploring as possible. the girls can't even believe how many playgrounds there are, love riding the subway, and most of all love that the Mister Softee truck drives by our building every day (me too, tbh). the more we explore, the more excited we get about having the opportunity to experience the city with our girls, seeing it all through their eyes. the simplest things are so magical to them, and we're truly thankful for the diverse experiences they'll have here.
inevitably moving to a new place brings up all kinds of emotions. we're doing our best to remember that we're already home with each other, surrender expectation, and trustingly step into whatever each day brings, remembering that our good, good Father has already gone before us. further up, and further in, my friends.