Oh where oh where could Spring be?

We had a surprise on Friday morning here and awoke to ice everywhere. I will admit that ice on the tree branches and hanging off the house like perfect little icicles is beautiful, but for someone not so fond of the cold, it was not a welcome sight. It honestly brings up very bad memories of driving on ice when I lived in VA and spinning out of control on the road as I tried intently to get to work. I really should live in a much warmer climate, but for now, this is home and so I try to enjoy the beauty of another one of God's gifts.
On my way home today my car was showered with water from the melting icicles. It was pretty while it lasted, but I am hoping that Spring is right around the corner.

Introductions please...

We are a normal family of Dad, Mom, and one son. We are educated, employed, and loving life away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Join us as we enter the world of blogging and living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!

Even though we are not from WV originally, we have been living in our small town now for a little over two years and feel glad to say we live here. My husband had reservations about moving to WV because he, like many, had a very poor view of the people, the state, and worried that others would think less of him because of where he lived. I had to remind him that my Dad's side of the family is from WV and that none of them were what I have heard people say about WVians....uneducated, married to their relatives, living in trailers with non-running cars in their yards..hmmmm the list goes on. I hope that in some small way through my blog that others will see that WV isn't all that bad.

I have very fond memories of being at my grandma's house with all my cousins, aunts, and uncles for one holiday, reunion or another. Those memories include making applesauce from apples picked from grandma's backyard; Christmas where my sisters and I huddled at the entrance to the living room because we were not able to open our gifts until the adults had finished their breakfast (we of course, had eaten faster than ever before); and sitting in the kitchen with relatives just listening to them talk about "the old days." Oh yeah I can't forget Grandma's basement...it was loaded with every kind of toy imaginable and was big enough for us to ride bikes, skate, play hide and seek, etc. in it on rainy days. A personal favorite for me at Grandma's house was her little VW Beetle; I loved that car and would sit in the driver's seat thinking about how cool it would be to drive that little car through town. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition and I am not sure why, but a girl could dream!

Once my hubby saw how much house we could buy here and that living here would enable me to stay home with our son and homeschool him, he agreed that this was where we were to live. We bought a beautiful large farmhouse with solid oak floors and original moldings. It is over 2600 sq. ft. and technically has six bedrooms-oh yes one of the things you learn with some old houses is that not all bedrooms have closets, but hey our bedrooms do and since the other two are for guests, my office and our son's playroom we felt it was ok. The only mistake we made was not buying a larger piece of land. We have a few added perks though with our property- a monsterous detached garage where hubby can house his plethora of man tools and even a car if we want plus over top of the garage is a nice 2 bedroom rental unit..BONUS!!!

I started to wonder how I would go about making friends here because there aren't a lot of mom's groups, home school co-ops, gyms, etc. around here where you might be able to connect with other moms. I decided that I would start a playgroup and thankfully had a good response from others wanting to have something to do with their kids. Interestingly enough at least four of the families were new to the area as well. Most, like us, were excited about getting away from city life and all that goes with it: bumper to bumper traffic, drugs, drive-bys, etc. Ok, not all cities have those things, but mine did. I was blessed to meet three people that I instantly knew would be a good friend. One friend is a musical talent, a naturally fabulous photographer, a great cook, and environmentalist; honestly the list goes on for miles. She is actively trying to bring awareness to people about MountainTop Removal and the damage that it this is doing to the environment and more importantly, the people. Check out her blog if you want to see what is going on in the fight to save our mountains or even see some of her wonderful photography. My next friend, a stay at home dad, showed up to the playgroup one day and we must have talked for an hour after the rest of the group had left. Ok, for any of you thinking...stay at home dad? Who the heck does that? Let me tell you that any kid would be lucky to have him as a father. His boys are learning Spanish as a second language and speak it very well, they are well-behaved, sweet little boys. Another good friend just moved recently and I miss her a lot. She actually helped me start the playgroup. She is a wonderful mom to two young boys and just had a sweet little girl. She makes some of the best smelling candles that last longer than anything you will find in the stores. She was with me when I needed her most last year when I thought I might have cancer. She prayed for me and then came with me to the doctor's office. Thankfully everything was fine with me, but I couldn't have done it without her...thanks Amy! Interestingly enough when we started looking for houses we looked at one right next door to her and we met her and her husband. She remembers telling her hubby "why can't a nice couple like them move in there?" I don't remember meeting them, but my memory has been known to fail me before. Later when she and her family came to our home to take some items we had posted on Freecycle for a bathroom remodel, we ended up talking for at least an hour or so. When they left, I told my hubby that they were the kind of people that I had hoped we would meet when we moved here. You know when you just click with someone? We just did.

Ahhh...so far life in the sticks isn't all that bad. More to come!!