Adaptation

After a month-long haitus, Christopher and I are back in action, blogging from our warm little apartment in Mishawaka, Indiana. We hope you all had a blessed Christmas and that your New Year has been full of joy!

The last month has taken us from Rome to Amsterdam to Chicago to South Bend to Mishawaka to Livonia, Michigan... and back to Mishawaka once more. We felt God's provision through every leg of our journey; in fact, our flight into the States was so well-timed that had we arrived a mere day later, weather-related delays would have almost certainly kept us from spending the holidays with my family. As it was, we made it into Livonia and pulled into my parents' driveway as the first flakes fell and watched the inches accumulate from inside their cozy house. God is good!

We spent the next two weeks recovering and transitioning back into every facet of American life and culture -- the time zone, the temperature, SNOW (and driving in it), Walmart, being able to communicate with the general population in our native language, etc. Christopher's transition was near seamless, as he expected; mine, however, was slightly less so. In any case, it's hard to express just how wonderful it was to be taken care of for those first days back and what a blessing it was to be able to re-adjust without having to worry about things like decorating, planning, unpacking, grocery shopping, cooking, or cleaning. Thank you, Mom and Dad N!!!

Now that we're back in Mishawaka, it's time to settle back into our apartment and the grad school routine. There are still a few boxes here and there, but we're mostly unpacked and moving onto the big things like classes and homework (Christopher) and finding a job (Katie). We're also enjoying the chance to see friends again and get back to our church family at CCM.

Stay tuned! In the coming weeks, we'll keep using the blog to share some post-Rome thoughts and photos that never made it up. Until next time, stay warm!