Today

Today the boys and I curled up on our sofa and watched the Inaugural ceremony on C-Span. The boys had notebooks nearby where they took notes. The only guideline I gave them was to fill one page. ~D~ recorded the exact time that the President and Vice President finished swearing in. ~N~ wrote a lengthy description of the security measures that were taken to keep everyone safe. Neither one could figure out why John Kerry was there!

We aren't in any sort of school routine yet. I'm taking it day by day right now. We have not yet received our last household goods shipment from Sweden, so we're getting by with the bare necessities. 4 forks, 4 spoons, one pot, one pan, etc. It works pretty well actually. I never have a counter full of dirty dishes! I have most of the boys' school books, but not everything. Yesterday I spent the afternoon filling out the legal paperwork to homeschool in Virginia. It wasn't much. There was a Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction, SOL for language and math, and a "note stating why I am able to provide an adequate education for my children." Since I am not enrolled in an approved correspondence course, I enclosed copies of the table of contents from my math and language teachers manuals. Hopefully, it will keep everyone happy and off my back.

Somedays I feel pretty good about being here. Other days I have to fight off the tears and depression. I don't really understand what's up with that. I feel easily tired some days and can't wait for bedtime. We have surely adjusted to the time difference by now, and I don't feel unhappy about being here. It feels like a mental sluggishness, like I'm extremely lazy! Winter blues, reverse culture shock, moving stress, spiritual slump? My husband says we just need to find a church and I do think that will help a lot. This Sunday we'll visit one that we drive by every day, only a couple miles from us. I really miss our Wednesday night Bible Study group in Sweden. We need to connect with our community and we definitely need to reconnect with a local body of believers and the Lord.

That should give me reason to rejoice-
Marla