Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

This past week was the first week in a very long while where life felt "normal" again.  We were finally able to settle in to our new house with all of the comforts that make our home, our home.  It took a lot of work to get here though, and it's been exhausting.  There is just SO much that goes into a giant move across the ocean, and it's been harder on me than I expected.  Eric and I have been talking about all of the intricacies of such a giant move, and how I could go about explaining them to you all so that you would understand why my blog has been so quiet and why it's been a hard adjustment for us, but ultimately, those intricacies go beyond my writing abilities and all I can say is that these past few months have been.... exhausting.

Our house is as unpacked as it's going to get for our short time here in Virginia, and I've hung up all that I want to on our walls to make it feel like ours.  We do not have any living room furniture, but are managing with a very cheap IKEA futon and Isabelle's Lovesac.  Eric and I found the most perfect couch at a furniture store not far from where we live, but are debating on whether or not we should buy it since we will be moving again in only 5 months.  We haven't decided yet, and change our minds every other day.  But we did, however, purchase a washer & dryer!  And I've never been so happy to do laundry in my entire life.  It's been surprising what sort of things you miss when you aren't able to do them anymore.  

Emotionally, things have been a little easier than I anticipated, but that's not to say that our hearts aren't aching for Europe right now, especially Isabelle's.  All three of us are dealing with a little reverse culture shock, which I'm planning on doing a blog post about, but we are slowly remembering aspects of life in America that we had totally forgotten existed (paying at the pump for gas?!  So weird!) and are happy to be back.

We do plan to keep traveling and exploring the world we live in, because this world is so worth seeing, but I'll admit that we are more focused on the upcoming holidays, visitors that are arriving in a few days, and on the new year, so I am a little worried that things will be sporadic on here for at least the next few months.  Eric, Isabelle, and I are still getting our bearings, and we aren't totally sure what Eric's schedule will be like yet, or if it will allow us to travel as freely as we did in Europe.  We will make do though, and I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

A few weeks ago we decided to see Thomas Jefferson's home in Charlottesville!  Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd American president and author of the Declaration of Independence.  His home is also where he is buried.  
But besides that, there really isn't much else to say.  There was no photography allowed inside the mansion, but we spent our day touring the mansion and then wandering around the plantation.  Virginia is so pretty this time of year, and the weather was amazing!  And then, after we were finished, we ate a late lunch at Cracker Barrel!  It was just as good as I remembered!

Thomas Jefferson!

They're my favorite.

I wouldn't trade a single second of our time spent in living in a foreign country, and there are more moments in my day than not where I desperately want to go back, but these last few months were more exhausting on me than I anticipated.  Now that everything is safely back in America, and all the stress that comes with moving is gone, I'm thankful to be settling down, and am looking forward to making the most of our time in Virginia!  

But, like I said... I am a little worried that things will be sporadic on my blog for at least the first few months of the new year.  Eric, Isabelle, and I are still getting our bearings, and we don't know what Eric's schedule will be like yet, or if it will allow us to travel as freely as we did in Europe.  But I hope you'll stick with me, though!  Because I feel like 2017 will be the best year ever!