New Home in Saginaw

Previously on "Michelle and Sadie's trip home": Crazy busy 2 weeks getting ready to move to Michigan, Saturday the 14th we went to sleep at 8pm.  Let's see where we go from there:

ST. DAVID  
15th - 4am we wake up, throw Sadie in the van half-asleep and make it all the way to Amarillo. (My mom made the road trip with me)

AMARILLO, TX  to ROLLA, MO
16th - Leave slightly later at 7am and make it to Rolla, MO where we spend the night at a gracious friend's house (who Lincoln and I had been friends/neighbors with on the island).

ROLLA, MO to NAUVOO, IL
17th - Slower day, we leave at 9am and spend the afternoon in Nauvoo where we run into Adam and Anna and their kids (Lincoln's sister and her family). This is funny because we knew they'd be in a neighboring state (they live in the Phoenix area) visiting but we had no idea they planned to go to Nauvoo.

18th - We return to Nauvoo for the morning and then have a slightly fussy Sadie as we drive to Marshall, MI

SAGINAW, MI
19th - arrive in Saginaw at 9am and check-in to our new apartment and have all the paperwork signed by lunchtime.  Go shopping for a mattress and get the entire van moved into the apt (on the 3rd floor) as well as the mattress set up.  Thanks to our amazing new neighbors (also known previously on the island) for storing items such as a futon and kitchen supplies for us so that we'd have somewhere to sit when we arrived. They also greatly helped with unloading and helped Sadie re-adjust to USA life.
20th - unpacking/shopping for food essentials
21st - finish the bulk of unpacking and leave to get Lincoln at the Detroit airport 2hrs away.
22nd - Sunday = RELAX!!!!
23-28th - Lincoln immediately starts studying for his big test coming up on May 18th (called the "COMP" it is a comprehensive test of everything he's studied in Medical School so far and is required by Ross in order to take Step I - the first of his board examinations, also a similar test that Lincoln will be taking in September). My mom and I finish setting up the apartment and hit a ton of garage sales (They're EVERYWHERE here! I've never seen so many garage sales in one place before! I think the economy up here relies on them as part of their income or something) we made a lot of great deals. Excellent kitchen table and 6 chairs for $35, an entire room full of toys and other necessities for Sadie for under $80 (kitchen set, stuffed animals, Lightning McQueen bed, Legos, some church appropriate toys, shoes, shirts, etc) we also were able to find a dresser for Lincoln and I as well as some more board games to add to our collection.
30th - dropped my mom off at the airport
May 1st - 5th Sadie and I took the rest of the week slow while Lincoln continued to study at a nearby library. The worst problem we've had with this apartment so far, is squirrels in the wall. The other problems were immediately taken care of by the maintenance crew.  I think we're really going to love living up here.

May 6th, we had the missionaries over for dinner, such a great couple of Elders. Elder Baird and Elder Coon, both from Las Vegas although Elder Coon said he lived for a year in Mesa while attending Mesa Community College because of Basketball. We'll make sure to have them over at least once a month.  Saginaw is nothing like I pictured it being, it is a very lovely town with a variety of stores available and the drivers here are some of the most considerate I've ever seen in my life.  There's only one ward up here so they meet at 10am on Sundays and it is filled with so many characters! And such talented people too! Looks like my piano skills won't be needed here and that's going to be a nice change for a while.  The missionary work is also booming, there was one baptism on the 28th (we were planning on going... but I ended up taking a very long, much needed, nap... oops) and it looks like there will be a family baptism coming up soon. There are also so many recent converts that Relief Society stays pretty interesting (for those that don't know, I haven't been in RS much, usually in Primary, so it's been a struggle for me to go - can't seem to stay focused).  Lincoln is similarly enjoying Priesthood, and Sadie is in love with the nursery here. They have so many toys, even a slide!, and there are anywhere from 10-15 little ones running around.

This last picture is from one of the first nights Lincoln was here. Sadie really missed her daddy and still refuses to let me put her to sleep. She cuddles daddy while he sings her to sleep and then Lincoln places her in her bed. So sweet.

I suppose I've bored you enough but I wanted to make sure you all knew we made it back to America safely.  We love you all so much and are so grateful for your support!


Update: Elder Coon was transferred and we now have Elder Palmer serving his stead.  We are really blessed to have such an excellent set of upstanding missionaries in our Ward.