Greetings from Crystal Lake

Dear Framily,

The more settled in we get, the fewer things I find to say.  I guess that we basically live boring lives.  Or at least not much varies. We really did miss spending Memorial Day at Flaming Geyser Park with our Clark Lake friends.  We have done this for so many years it is almost as natural as getting up in the morning.  We are hoping to be able to start a similar tradition here.  I might be able to have some influence there, Sunday Dave and I were sustained in our new callings.  Dave was called to be the Priest Quorum advisor, and I am the Ward Activities Chair.  The party gal!  Jon the stinker whispered to me during Sacrament meeting "Isn't that calling for young people!"  How dare He refer to his Mother as a "Oldie".  We are excited to get going and will certainly have a great time doing it.

David has finally got a job.  He is working at one of the hundreds of Dunkin Donuts around here.  They were grateful to have his language skill in Spanish.  The manager stated that he has lots of Mexican employees who don't speak English well.  He doesn't speak Spanish and it is hard to communicate with them.  He is excited and that is important.

We had lots of fun Monday morning working out in our yard.  We trimmed bushes and are starting to prepare the garden space.  I am sad to report that we lost some of our baby Robins.  While pruning the tree and bushes around them they got frightened and jumped from the nest.  They are just not quite ready to fly.  So they hopped around and one just got a little to close to GILLIS!  Hopefully the other 3 are safe somewhere.  This morning I did notice the mommy preparing worm for breakfast and she flew to another bush.  So I am hopeful they are safe on the ground.  They don't have to worry about cats etc around here.  If fact I have not seen a cat since we have been here.  I mentioned it to someone and they said there are not many and those who do have them guard them well and they are strictly indoor animals.

Mike did spot a deer crossing the road in front of our next door neighbors home.  My mind is still spinning to figure out how we are going to protect our efforts in the garden from the larger predators.  I have some dreams so we will see how the play out.

The boys just have a few more weeks of school and then we will be figuring out how to keep them occupied during the summer.  Mike would like to get a job, and Jon will just play and play hard.  There is a dog kennel grooming facility just about a block and a half from our house.  He would like to see if he could get a job there.  I am not sure if any place will hire a 14 year old, but perhaps he can volunteer for a while and then get paid down the road.

It is fun and rewarding to work on getting our house put together.  Dave and I have spent much more time than either of us are used to shopping and looking for just the right accessories.  Although it has been tiring, it is fun to spend time together and be creative.  My job today is to recover some benches we got from Arbor Village.  We are slowly making it all happen.

Again I hope all are well and happy. We are grateful to hear from many of you the fun things happening back home.  Each day brings it one more day closer to when we will meet again.  That new grandson of ours will be coming soon.  I am so excited to meet him, and see friends and family once again.

Until then, blessing to all.

Love You

Diana

Robins Nest

Here are the pictures of the robin's nest outside my kitchen and dining room windows.
One of the joys of spring.

 
 

Diana

Hello From Crystal Lake

Dear Framily,

Well it is beautiful here in Illinois. I love waking up in the morning to the sounds of the birds singing. The very first day we were here we were greeted by the songs from a pair of Cardinals. Later in the morning we noticed that a Robin had built her nest right outside the kitchen dining area. It is in a low bush (must not be too many cats around here, in fact I have not seen one since leaving our Pretty Face behind) that is about waist high. So we can walk by and see right into the nest. David took some pictures of her, and I will post them as soon as we find all the cables and etc. we need to do so.

The area here is very open. It is almost like being out in the country. What a contrast to the week we spent downtown Chicago. There will soon be fields and fields of corn growing. We find most of the same stores here. Some have different names but same parent company. The one thing we have noticed and miss is they don't have any purchase and take furniture stores anywhere around. Laura better appreciate the sofa and chairs we left her. We are all vying for a place to sit around here. It is order and wait 6 to 8 weeks for the furniture to be delivered. We were able to find one sofa we liked that was on clearance and they would sell it and let us take with us. So that will have to do until something is ready.

The neighborhood is wonderful. It is turning out to be a positive here where fences are not allowed. This in the sense that you look out a window and are not sure where the boundaries are. I our case we will have a lot to keep up, the neighbors all have a gardening crew that come in and maintain. I don't think my crew is as motivated. I hope we can keep up with their good work. We have I think 4 member families in the neighborhood. Two we can see from our front yard. Jon is happy about this because one has a son just a year younger and they have a very large sports court open to all the neighborhood kids. A fun small world story, Sunday after Sacrament meeting in church a lady (Bonnie Milner) came up to us and introduced herself and told us she had grown up in the Seattle area. The conversation revealed that we had grown up in the same area of Burien, attended the same High School, and been in the same ward Seattle 9th growing up. My Mother used to pick her up for seminary when she took my older sisters. Her parents have been dear friends of our family for many many years. Shortly after we moved into the then 2nd ward, we realized that her parents lived right across the street from us in the Soos Creek Village. Lloyd and Wilma Mc Donald. They moved from the Park Orchard ward about 2 years ago, and since Wilma has passed away and Lloyd is about to celebrate his 92nd birthday. What wonderful people they are. It is Bonnie's daughter who lives down the street from us and have the sport court. This just verifies to me that home is never far away.

I hope that all is well with everyone. Please know that we love you and appreciate the good influence you have had on our lives.

Love Diana

Checking Out!

Dear Friends and Family,

I guess I should change that to Dear Framily, Because I do value all of my friends as family.

Well Dave has taken Mike to seminary and as soon as he is back to the hotel we will begin loading to meet the movers and begin our new lives. This has been a wonderful journey so far and I am sure that it will continue to be so. I think we will all be glad to have a home cooked meal and sleep in our own beds again. I think that even Gillis will be glad to check out the new scents and we hope that he will quickly learn the new invisible dog fencing at the house.

The walk through yesterday went well and all was in order. Despite any comments that might have been made by Dave, I do like the house and think that He did a wonderful job in finding this home for us. I look forward to the opportunity of making this home ours. The boys all liked their new bedrooms and are going to be grateful for the added space, especially having a real closet to store their clothing and treasures in. It will be fun watching how they make the rooms their own. I really like the addition of a basement. This will be a great space to set up a fun family/rec room, and to have my sewing space that I so needed. All the sewing stuff in one room will be great.

Well this may be the last communication for a few days, as we are not sure how long it will take the internet service providers to get things connected. Until then, I hope all is well with all of you, and that you are all healthy and happy.

Love to all,

Diana

First Sunday in our new Ward

Dear Friends and Family,

I will certainly be happy to get into our home the end of this week.  I would never guessed that I would be glad to do dishes and laundry again. Even eating out and living in Hotels has lost it glitter.  I have gained a new perspective about the joys of housework.  Oh I hope I don't regret saying that.

We very much enjoyed attending our new ward.  The boys all were made to feel very welcome.  During Sacrament meeting there was an announcement that the youth would be going to the temple on Thursday.  By the time Dave met up with the boys for the beginning of Priesthood meeting Mike and Jon had already received their interview to be able to attend with the ward.  Jon has already made a friend in our neighborhood, and Mike met a young girl who spotted him at the restaurant we had eaten Saturday night.  I remembered seeing her also, and wonder why she stood out among the hundreds of people coming and going.  So He is willing to be up this morning to go to Seminary. I am sure that the kids are going to enjoy being back in school.  Jon has mentioned several times that he misses being in school, and that living in a Hotel is boring.

It was nice to be able to attend our new ward.  We met some very nice people, and were made to feel very welcome.  We met one family who lives just down the street from our new house,  they have a boy just 1 year younger than Jon.  There is one other family in the neighborhood but they are serving in the Spanish branch which meets in a different building right now and do not attend the ward.  We were wetly greeted,  I am not sure that is a real word, but it rained most of the day Sunday, and were pretty well soaked running from the car to the building.  The rain drops were huge,  I am not even sure I could call them drops!  We were accused of bringing the rain with us.  And as if we needed another verification that we have done the right thing the opening song in Sacrament meeting was Dave's all time favorite hymn, "There is Sunshine in my Soul today". ( He has made me promise that we would sing this hymn at his funeral.)  We felt the spirit telling us that we are in the right place.  What a comfort!

Today will be a busy adventure,  getting the boys to their schools on time, and then trying to register our cars.  I was stopped by a police man for the first time in my driving career a couple weeks ago in Kent.  I asked him what I had done wrong and he stated my license tabs were expired.  I stated that I had until the end of March.  He looked at me and said, well it is April!  So the van has been on time out not being driven except to get it to the Jenkin's to be picked up by the transport company.  Now to see if I can get it to where we need to go without being pulled over again.

Hope I am not boring anyone with these notes, and if I am please let me know and I will not send them to you anymore!

I hope you all realize how important you are to me.  I will be forever and eternally grateful for the great influence you have had on my life.
Thank You to and for all, you have helped to make my life wonderful.

Love
Diana

Our Second Phase is beginning

Dear Friends and Family,

Well phase one of the adventure is coming to a close.  We are packing up and heading out to the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn.  It has been a fun and adventuresome few days downtown Chicago.

Tuesday the boys and I drove (opps in my dreams, we walked) all around downtown Chicago.  I got a kick out of the boys reaction when they asked if I knew where we were going and I plainly told them NO.  David's reaction,  "Are You Kidding".  I didn't and we walked some more.  Saw several stores and shops several times!

Wednesday Dave went to St. Louis for some business meetings.  The boys and I drove out to Crystal Lake to make sure that all the school registrations were in order.  The boys and I had decided that we would not try to find our new home and let Dave be the first to show it to us.  Then on the way to Jon's school the boys said, "Hey!  That is our house!"  Sure enough we drove right by the backside of the house and property.  So since we didn't try to find it and found it anyway we took a little drive by after the trip to the school.  It looks just like the pictures, but the pictures do make it look a lot bigger.  That was fun, and then on the way to Mike's school we passed by the church building.  Jon was a bit worried because it was so small, but relieved to know that it does have a gym. I think that this house is the closest to a church building than any of the others we had looked at and were considering.  Dinner tonight was at a pizza place called Gino's East.  Quite the place,  authentic Chicago style pizza with the deco centered around graffiti all over everything.  Walls, tables, chairs, lighting fixtures, ceiling.  All over the place. They even provided color crayons to add to the decor.

Thursday,  The boys and I  took the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  There we saw the animals and other things you see at zoos.  Then when Dave got home from work we went to a Brazilian BBQ.  They gave us a tour of their kitchen and it was amazing. Look for pictures from Dave on our family web site,  I am sure as soon as we get situated he will have pictures posted. I think we could have fed our family for a week on that bill!  Once in a lifetime experience I keep telling myself.

Friday we did laundry, and Dave got home from work early and we took the trolley to the Navy Pier.  Then back into town do have dinner at a hamburger joint called Ed Debevic's.  This place is well known for their rude waiters, and it is a wild and noisy place.  Filled to the brim this night.  I think there was 3 different groups with bus loads of High School kids on trips.

Thankfully earlier in the week Dave made arrangements for us to come and visit His office.  Another lady and her daughter were waiting in  the lobby because their husband/daddy didn't plan ahead!  Thanks Dave!  We had fun seeing Dave's new office and the fun art collections and displays in the building.  We helped Dave retrieve all his belongings there that He has been accumulating over the past several weeks.

On our way to Crystal Lake we drove through our first thunder and lightening rain storm in Illinois.

Once we arrived in Crystal Lake We drove by our new house and we also drove by our other favorites houses. The only one I was sad not to have was the Crandon Place House.  Even saw a goofy teenager walk out of it. How dare her!  I think Dave did a wonderful job finding the Erin Ct. house.  I think we will be happy there.  As we drove through the neighborhood we do have a lovely home, but oh you should see some of the mansions and castles there.  They are on the other side of the neighborhood.  I enjoy the humble side of things.  They fit me better. I am more happy that way.

We have our three vehicles now and the truck driver had quite a scenic trip across the US trying to avoid the weight stations.  The first weigh station he came to in Oregon he got caught not for being overweight, which he was worried about when He  picked up our cars, but for being to long. He told us he was not willing to risk it again.  That is why He took the scenic route.

Tomorrow we will have the opportunity of attending church in our new ward.  This will be an exciting yet scary adventure.  I really don't like being the new kid on the block.  I would rather be the one welcoming the new kid.  We do know that this is where Heavenly Father wants us to be at this time, so we will go and do whatever we are asked to do, and enjoy.

Thanks to all who have written such supportive and loving comments to us.  We have truly left behind some wonderful friends and family in Washington.  We will let you all know when our Christmas Open house will be this year, and all know that you are welcome to come!  Just a little longer drive this year!

We Love You all,

Diana

Dear Friends and Family,

Just a quick note to let you know we have arrived in Chicago. And it's raining! We will be here until Saturday and then we will be moving to a Hotel in Crystal Lake. The boys and I will tour and walk the streets while Dave is at work tomorrow. Dave goes to St. Louis on Wednesday and we will again tour and fill the time with what ever we can. We are hoping to drive out to Crystal Lake so we can at least see the outside of the new house and the neighborhood. We should be able to move into our new home on April 30th. I will try to keep you all posted and will do my best to write a quick note letting you know how and where we are.
I cannot express how grateful I am for each of you in my life. There is not a way possible to thank each of you for the goodness you have had in my life. I know that friendships are forever, memories will keep us close and will not end due to miles of separation.

Thank You all,
My Love to You,
Diana