Mrs. Kroeger: moving

We got home from our church's staff retreat and hit the ground running on our house. Three years of male renters took their toll on our poor little abode.

Not that it was, "Oh look, someone thought it'd be a good idea to permanently epoxy a plywood beer pong table onto that countertop," bad. It just needed a little TLC.

After three days of running around by ourselves and pretending to get something done, our parents swept in and painted, spackled, trimmed, told us what ridiculous purchases from Home Depot we could return, and helped two first-time home owners set up shop.

We're still waiting on a few items. Our kitchen table will be delivered tomorrow and we need a vacuum, but our bed is set up and we have clean dishes.

It's different than I expected. Kyle and I looked at each other after our parents left and realized we were the only two people that were to share all of this space. I've never shared an entire home with just one other person. It's kind of a crazy feeling.

So is sharing your closet.

Kyle and I will be moving into our house very, very soon. I am so excited to open up my wedding presents that have been sitting in closets and every available corner in my parent's house for the past eight and a half months.

I hope they still work.

I'm excited to give my mom a hug and see my cousin, who after four years I will no longer be sharing a town with - much less a house.

And I can't wait to feel the sun sink into my skin. Call me crazy but I have missed the heat (and the humidity....). There's just something that's not RIGHT about it being 63 degrees in AUGUST.

I can't wait to see my older sister and hear about how Africa changed her.

Not to mention being back with our church after being gone for over a year.

I told Kyle the other day that while the mountains do captivate me, they also leave me unsettled. Which is why I think God brings me up here, usually - to stir things up when I don't have the luxury of being in a familiar environment.

After being up here for two and a half months, I'm ready to actually watch the sun sink below the horizon and leave a trail of color behind it. Up here the sun dips below the mountains early, and I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on something every evening.

There's something very real about the Rocky Mountains. Colorado never promises anything more than honesty about it's rough edges and a fierceness about its beauty. It's something my soul can only handle for so long.

So we leave in less than a week, and I've asked Kyle if we can stop at the closest Mexican restaurant and stuff ourselves on chips and salsa and sweet tea at our first opportunity.

Soon, and very soon.

Meanwhile - here's some pics from the summer:

Mt. Ypsilon