From "Georgia on My Mind" to "Rocky Top Tennessee!"

It's official. We are all now residents of the state of Tennessee. We have the drivers' licenses and vehicle plates to prove it (mainly because there is no property tax on vehicles in TN, so that will save us a bundle this year!). Kind of crazy that at just shy of 6 years old, Daisy has lived with us in four states in her short life now (Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee). She is actually moving back to her roots as she was born here in Tennessee before we bought her from the breeder in Kentucky back in 2006.

The move was a "fun" time. The movers (a local company from here in TN) arrived on Monday, January 2nd to start packing us up. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived that afternoon, they only managed to drop the trailer, take a quick look around, then call it a day. Wow. After promising to arrive the next day by 8 am to begin, we sat around waiting on them until almost 9 am. Go figure. We quickly learned that Ray and Junior (aka Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Duh, or Stinky and Smokey) were not exactly pillars of efficiency. Because of our unique situation (moving into an apartment and sending over half of our belongings to storage), we had to watch them pretty closely, instructing them what items were to come with us and what items needed to be stored. I guess because we were there hovering, they felt the need to chat with us. While this would normally not be a problem, it was in this case because they struggled to simultaneously pack and talk. Sigh. They appeared to be moving slower than molasses in January and we started to worry by late Wednesday that they were never going to finish. They assured us we would be good to go on Friday, but we doubted them. After yet another delay (this time an entire 4 hours) on Thursday afternoon when their rig experienced mechanical problems when they went out for lunch, we were becoming quite skeptical. So, Josh talked to their boss and fortunately, they brought in two local temp guys from LaGrange on Friday to help them finish packing, then load the truck. Though it was nearly 6 pm before they finished that day, they did it! It definitely wouldn't have happened without the temps who managed to load all of our furniture themselves that day.

We spent one last night at a local hotel in LaGrange, then bid our Georgia home farewell on Saturday before making the trek up to our apartment in Tennessee. Below is one final family pic in front of our beloved home. :'( We sold it at the end of December to Josh's company as part of his relocation package. We are thankful to not have to worry about trying to sell it any longer in this poor economy, which frees us to be able to put an offer in on a house here when we find one that we like. We're hoping to be able to do that soon. Thus far it has proved to be an impossible task as we have looked at over 100 houses with no luck. Sigh.

With none of our belongings being delivered until Sunday, we got a hotel room up here for a couple nights. They decided not to mess around on Sunday and sent six guys to unload everything that morning. Finally! They finished by 2 pm and we began unpacking all the boxes. Surprisingly, less than a week later, we are almost done! Just a couple more with odds and ends to finish up and we will be completely settled in. It's definitely an adjustment moving into an apartment that is less than half as big as the house you previously owned, but we're making it work. If only the kitchen and master bedroom were a tad bigger, then I really wouldn't mind staying here for an extended period. It is a nice complex that has a fitness room (I'm hoping to start using that soon!), a fantastic pool (hopefully it warms up early so we can use it before we move out!) and is super close to tons of shopping and restaurants. Score!

Moving with two small children is not something that I would ever recommend unless you like pure insanity. I do not. It was definitely easier the first time we did it, even at 9 months pregnant! At that point I didn't have to worry about nap schedules, feeding a toddler without access to my kitchen and nursing a baby round the clock. I must give a huge shout out to my mother for being there to help me with the kids during the whole ordeal. Without her, I really don't think I would have survived. I still haven't figured out how people make big moves like this by themselves without movers. I definitely would never be able to do that. Movers are a must! Below is Noah with his buddy for the week, Grandma Frank!

We were welcomed to Tennessee by experiencing our first snowfall the first week we lived here. Awesome. Unfortunately, we had become used to the warmer climate of western Georgia and we haven't been thrilled with the frigid temps we have been experiencing so far here. We had to buy a space heater for poor Noah's arctic room! :( Ethan enjoyed playing in the snow with Daddy on Friday afternoon and I'm sure he'll look forward to more snowfalls this winter. Here are the boys sitting on the slide of a little play area that is located less than 30 steps from our front door! Convenient!

Here's Daddy and his kiddos enjoying the snow. That is our apartment behind them on the left.

Me and the kiddos. We are getting much use out of those winter coats and accessories I bought for them this year. :)

Sweet baby Noah trying to stay warm. Look at that cute little pink nose! The snowfall hit just one day shy of him turning six months old.

Ethan loves it!

I think Noah preferred being inside and watching his big brother play from there. ;)

We are really enjoying being reunited again as a family. Especially awesome is the fact that Josh has Friday afternoons off, so we get to enjoy extended weekends every week with lots of quality family time now. It doesn't get any better than that! :)