Safely in Montana!

We have arrived! It is nice to finally be here after weeks of dreaming and planning. (And truly, the dreaming began long before that.) We are so happy to be here.

But SOOOOO tired! Michael and Kathy and Ethan came to NY on Thursday. It was wonderful to see them and love all over Ethan again, but then we had to start packing and preparing to leave. In the midst of that chaos, Ethan came down with a bad cold. We are hoping that Ellie doesn't come down with it. Michael and Kathy are back in Florida and now they have it so, time will tell... I keep thinking I'm coming down with it, but so far nothing has happened. I'm exhausted from all of the packing and traveling. It was really hard to pack up months worth of stuff in the Ronald McDonald room to send to storage, and then figure out what we would need for a whole month in Montana. I love to unpack, but I'm terrible at packing. (There were a couple of times when I would have liked to send and S.O.S. out to my mom!) We had to be at the airport at 5:00 a.m. yesterday (after getting very little sleep the night before - John never even went to bed). I was dreading the trip with Ellie and a sick Ethan but I was pleasantly surprised. The kids mostly slept on the first flight, which was the longest leg. There was enough time at our layover in Salt Lake City to change the kids (they were still in P.J.s) and eat some lunch and then it was a short hop to Kalispell, MT. All in all, it was rather painless.

We had a good night sleep on VERY comfy beds (such a luxury) and are enjoying the gorgeous views and fresh air. The views from this house are unbelievable. And the best part is that I can see all of the nature from indoors without actually getting any of it on me. I know, I'm such a princess. (You may stop laughing now, Tricia.) Hey, I might actually step out onto the veranda and feel the wind on my face from time to time. Seriously though, it is beautiful enough and the weather is so mild and nice that I really am loving it. And I'm sure the kids will drag me out a time or two for a hike... I'll make sure to take picture so I can prove it to you IF it happens!

Thanks so much for all of your prayers. Sorry I haven't been posting much. Now that we are out of the frantic pace I hope to post more often. I hope that you are all having a great Tuesday. We sure are!