Our First Week

We are so excited to be here in Romania and also to have a home again!  Even though we don't own it and we know it isn't permanent, it's nice to be able to settle in and start to make it feel like home.  When we arrived, there was a blue-green couch and two chairs in the living room, a crib for Kamryn, and air mattresses for the rest of us...that's about it!  So, our time since arriving in Bucharest has primarily been spent shopping and building furniture!  The team leaders here have been so gracious with their time and have driven us around, patiently waited while we shopped, helped with the kids, and much more.  I don't know what we would have done without them...Thank you, Richard & Wanda!!!

Here are a few pics...

 The "back" of our duplex...although this is the door we use most often.

 "Front" of the duplex

 Kitchen and dining room

 

 Kamryn's favorite part of the house...stairs!

Temporary baby gate:)

 First breakfast at our new home (at 5:30am:) )

 Ryan and Carter building Carter's loft bed and desk.  Carter is so proud of his bed!

 Yep, even the couches from IKEA require some assembly:)

 Getting our new kitchen appliances

(lesson learned: when stores offer delivery, it needs to be clarified whether that includes delivery INTO the home, or just to the doorstep :) )

Things are coming together...we still have a ways to go, but it is starting to feel more like home.

Right now we are anxiously waiting for our washing machine will be delivered!  We had some trouble deciding on the best option, then had some trouble finding a store that had it in stock.  We were finally able to purchase one on Friday and it's scheduled to be delivered today.  After doing a couple "loads" of essentials in the bathtub, I am beyond excited to have a washing machine (and clean clothes again)!

Other than shopping and building furniture, we have also made progress at the grocery store and in navigating the streets.  I haven't done a lot of cooking yet, but have been able to find some staples at the store.  I will wait and post more about that later when I have more experience.  As for driving, we have actually gotten out on our own several times.  Our car is a standard (as are most of the vehicles here), so that's been an added challenge.  Fortunately, my dad insisted that I learn to drive a standard in high school, and my first car was a standard, so I felt fairly comfortable with that aspect.  Ryan, however, hasn't had much experience in that area, so I have been doing most of the driving...it's nice to feel like I'm contributing my part, since he's done most of the manual labor:).  Driving is a crazy experience here, but we've done well so far!

So, what's next?  We still have some shopping to do this week, but hopefully will be able to shift our focus a bit.  The next priority is getting everything in order for Carter to enroll in school.  He has to have some medical forms and labs done, so we will do that tomorrow.  Once we get those back, we will visit the school and he will most likely start sometime next week.  After he starts school, Ryan and I will work out the details and begin our language school, so that will be another week or two away.  I also need to work on getting in to see a baby doctor, so I'm hoping to get that lined up within the next week.  One thing we have learned in our short time here is that everything takes at least twice as long as you would expect!  So, we make tentative plans, then adjust accordingly!

Thanks again for your prayers.  We will keep you posted as we find out more about starting school...