The Motherland (a peek at our new town/flat/school)

We have arrived!! After months of intensity, including a few weeks of record-ridiculous-lows, we are finally coming up for air. And it's lovely, rosy English air.

Finally being in one place for longer than a week, has felt amazing. Overseas moves with a family of 8 are not for the faint of heart! Fickle three year olds with their short legs and fatigue and temper tantrums and demands. Mouthy teenagers with their sour attitudes and sleep needs and phones and contention. Stressed adults juggling the pressures and details and money and whining. For weeks on end, it's....A LOT. But spreading out and digging in and meeting folks and getting our bearings, it's sure improving the negatives and while it still ain't smooth sailing, at least life's manageable again. :)

Cheltenham is such a lovely town

my crew passing Lloyds Bank :)

considered the best shopping in the Cotswolds

Montpelier Park just a few minutes walk from our flat

Our first day in England we were met by our kind sponsors, the Kimblers, who walked us around town and set us up in our temporary housing. A few days before, the lady who was to move out of the four bedroom house reserved for us, became too ill to leave, so they had to scramble on our behalf and threw a bunch of beds into a two bedroom nearby. Fortunately, four days later the adjacent flat vacated and we were able to spread out next door, connected by the back garden. It works. (pics at bottom of post)

our church meetinghouse

The first week was spent viewing houses (with subsequent tears of disappointment over losing said houses), eating out, shopping the corner market, touring school/buying uniforms, walking to parks, getting plugged into the warm American community & church, and setting up bank accounts, library cards, heritage site memberships, delivery/laundry services, internet and phones. Darren had purchased a large Land Rover which we picked up the second day and has been amazingly fast at learning the roads and driving like a champ. He's even able to use his same British license he got as an LDS missionary in London over 20 years ago!

These SIX blazers represent my slightly traumatic baptism by fire - uniforming 6 children. But hey, at least the prep school they attend has alpacas, cats, chickens & goats on a see-saw, so.....worth it!

Currently living just five minutes from High Street in Cheltenham with all its restaurants, shops and action is a treat. But we were all ready for school to start and get a bit more of a schedule going. The big kids coped with their homesickness through sleep, phones and Netflix, so hitting the reset button there I thought would be good for everyone. I was mostly right. (Some are adjusting better than others, but hopefully once everyone finds a friend...) It was a really nice time to settle in though before the more rigid schedules, and we were grateful for the slower pace for a couple weeks. We even had a few (gorgeous) outings, which I'll post soon.

kitchen window sunset view

so many lovely footpaths

I have had the opportunity to do A LOT of walking lately and have loved discovering all the little footpaths and back alleys of town. That's where the magic is, isn't it? I really do love this place so far and am glad to have lived right in town before moving to the outskirts tomorrow. I'm even a tad sad to be leaving this charming old house where we all crammed in and adjusted to the newness together. Good times.

our back alley

I've looooved this kitchen

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