Things I've learned since moving to Indiana...

This born-in-Texas-raised-in-Arizona girl never dreamed she'd be living in Kentuckiana (the local nickname for the greater Louisville area that extends across the Ohio River into Southern Indiana). But here I am, and I'm glad to be here. Here are just a few things I'm learning along the way.

This is a beautiful part of the country. And because we live on the outskirts of town, we enjoy a kitchen-window view of rolling hills covered with trees that are becoming more colorful every day. We're surrounded by farmland, and the wildlife love it as much as we do.

It's colder here. When fall comes to Southern Indiana, it comes in with a bang. As in dig out the sweaters and sock liners that I normally don't wear until December or January.

In fact, there's quite a variety in the weather here. Over the past few days, it's dropped ten degrees each day, but is expected to be back in the high seventies early next week. I'm not sure when we'll be packing up the summer clothes.

Because of the cold, fall comes earlier here. We were actually able to wear fall-appropriate attire when we made our annual October trek in search of pumpkins and apples. In Georgia, we tried to dress fall-like, but usually stripped off the outer layers by lunchtime.

I'll probably be chastised from both sides for this one, but White Castle really is almost exactly like Krystal. I could discern little difference between a Double Krystal and a Double Slider, and I may like White Castle's crinkly fries better. But I'll probably never try the Chicken Rings. And we are still without In-N-Out Burger.

On the whole, folks are friendly here. Neighbors spoke to us as we moved in, the grocery clerks are easy to chat with, even the fellow who loaded my garbage can into the car welcomed us to the area. It did take a few days to realize that it wasn't really my husband's name plastered all over, but the nickname for our town!

Homeschooling is awesome. Okay, I didn't just learn this since moving here, but I'm appreciating it anew. I love that we can load up our books and travel down to the seminary to work while Jeff is in meetings. And I love that we can take family outings during the week while everyone else is at work or school. And I love being involved in this part of my children's lives.

Moves are a bonding experience for our family. We've bonded in the car, over boxes, exploring our new community, and restarting our daily routine. Even as we seek to serve others outside our family, we find ourselves refocusing on strengthening our family. And we learning anew to depend on the Lord.