Moving to Maine

Our time in St. Kitts has come to an end. I like to think that we finished our two year mission. Leaving there felt just like leaving the mission, Austin said. Our last Sunday in the branch was Easter- a memorable day and wonderful time. Of anything that we will miss, the branch is at the top. Eden has made lots of friends at church, as have we, and we have learned much from the people there. Having such a small congregation requires that each member steps it up and gives their all; it also requires them to be strong and completely devoted. I admire their innocence and pure testimonies and will miss the strong spirit found among them. 

We were fortunate enough to meet Tricia and welcome her into the church. She has become a good friend and will be a great asset to the branch. Eden often speaks of how daddy baptized Trica :) 

Though this isn't everyone, we tried our best to get a group picture. Cheese everyone!

 And how could we forget the Mango tree? President Foreman, the Elder's Quorum president that Austin served under became the new branch president just a week before we left. He was one of the first to welcome us to the branch and was the last to say good bye. 

Did I mention that it was Easter? Eden will tell you all about it :)

(If the movie doesn't work, click here: https://goo.gl/photos/CrTtEPRGY2sBPhwk7)

Turn up your volume and name that tune! Eden loves singing... and dancing... and the piano.

(If the movie doesn't play, click here: https://goo.gl/photos/jXEZcfwZiv9iaHRKA)

This was one of the last sunrises we saw from our room. Good bye ocean view and penthouse apartment. You were good to us. 

And good bye St. Kitts. Though I may not miss you, I can't say I regret our experiences and the time on the island. I am a completely different person- for better and worse- and it is where Eden grew up. 

Leaving was insane. It's a different kind of difficult to move with everything you need in suitcases. I don't know what I'd rather: nothing and luggage or everything and a moving truck. We ended up with 5 checked bags, 6 carry-on's, a stroller, and a car seat, plus Eden and her backpack. Thank goodness Eden can walk! I sure wasn't much help being so pregnant, so Austin was Superman handling all that on his own. I will add that we were blessed in every way as well. 

We took a bus to the airport in St. Kitts; it took a bus to haul all that luggage where we needed to go! Talk about a workout- Austin carried all 50 pound suitcases from our third floor apartment to the bus and unloaded again at the airport. What a relief when everything was checked! The biggest relief was finding kind people to help when we arrived at Charlotte, NC. Austin asked these two girls for a cart and directions, but when they found out that we had 13 pieces of luggage, they took the liberty of finding a warehouse cart and loaded our luggage for us. They even escorted us through security and checked our bags again after customs- which wasn't supposed to be allowed since we had an overnight flight. That was a huge help! It let us stall enough in the morning that we were able to grab a little breakfast at the hotel. AND we had two of our carry-on's checked too, so we were basically hands free. Ah! 

This was the first time that we booked a hotel for our overnight flight. Austin has always graciously offered, but I'm so stubborn and cheap. It was totally worth it. As you can tell, Eden thought so too. She could have stayed up all night playing with the phone and pushing buttons on the tv, but we were hungry and wanted warm food so we walked next door to the Waffle House for an authentic, 10pm Southeastern experience. North Carolina was surprisingly warm, but not inside! B-rrrr!

We had a good time, but no wonder people are so overweight. Wowee. Poor Austin didn't agree with the food either. Good for the palate doesn't mean good for you. He spent all night after eating there on the toilet. We almost thought we wouldn't make our morning flight, but again... blessings. 

From North Carolina, we flew to DC and then to Maine. DC was beautiful! I can't imagine anywhere more green. The earth was covered in trees with dots of nice looking property. We even saw the Washington monument and Capitol from the plane. How neat! One day, we will have to go back and really tour. 

This is Maine:  

As Austin says, it's full of nothing but white people. Ah... America! It's good to be back. Though I didn't realize I was holding my breath or really stressed in St. Kitts, it felt as though a huge load had been lifted once we got here. Even Austin will like Maine- I told him he would because the toilets in the airport had automatic toilet seat covers that replaced themselves with the touch of a button. Me? I'm just happy they have restrooms everywhere we go now. And Eden? She's just happy no matter what.

We were fortunate enough to be blessed with wonderful friends. Lyle and Joanna Hickman picked us up from the airport and let us stay the first two nights at their place while we got settled. I'm convinced that JoAnna is right up there with Mother Theresa. Her name might just be listed under the definition of charity in the Bible Dictionary if you look close enough. Without her, we would have basically nothing. She single-handedly furnished our house. She got us a free kitchen table, free couches, free desk and chair, free mattresses, and mostly free rocking chairs. That just left us to finish the rest at Goodwill, DollarTree, and Walmart. Thank you America. After finishing up the kitchen, bedding, and odds and end items I think we were right around $300 (and that is including the toys that Austin bought for Eden. Boy is he a sucker!) :) 

That's not even the best part. We have groceries! Real food. Fresh- not rotten or expired- healthy food. There is no explaining the satisfaction of buying two loafs of good-for-you whole wheat bread for the same price that I would pay for one Wonderbread quality loaf gone stale in St. Kitts. As for Austin- he is back in business with cereal and real milk. How did we survive the last two years?

PS. Don't we look good in clothes?

Sam's club and Walmart aren't the only fun places we have found. There is a cute little park in our neighborhood that Eden has fallen in love with. It's even more fun because Daddy has been around to play with. Weee!

Did I mention how cold it is here? Hehe... colder than we are used to. But it is SO nice not to sweat! It only took a day before Eden was convinced that a coat is a good thing. 

So here we are on our first day in Maine:

The Hickman's took us to this cool place called Two Lights. It is home for two lighthouses, hence the name. And the platform we are standing on? It's rock. You'd think it was wood, but nope! Oh, and did someone say waves? This is no Caribbean Ocean, people. 

For Austin's last day of "summer vacation" we took a little drive and visited a place called Fort Williams. It was freezing. And all part of the fun. Eden was a doll with her coat. She looks more and more like Austin, especially with her hood on and  hands in her pockets. 

So, Fort Williams: it's a huge park with another lighthouse. This one was really neat because you could walk right up to it. And it's super old- commissioned by George Washington. Pretty cool, eh? The next few pictures are all of us at Fort Williams. It'll be worth going back when it's warmer. Eden couldn't wait for another park, but we were basically walking through a cloud and everything was wet. And frozen. Including us by the time we were finished. 

I suppose you can call us Mainers, at least for the next 4 months.