We made it! And other updates on the Rusco family...

Hello blog fans! As most of you know, our family has made a permanent move across the pond. And while that sentence only took me a few seconds to type, the actual move has been quite a long process. After saying many goodbyes, (some tearful, some full of laughter and mischief-- now that we're out of the country the Bernals can't retaliate) our family ate a "last supper" at In-n-Out, then boarded an airplane bound for the UK. The kids survived the 10 hour flight with lots of movies and granola bars. Darren and I survived it solely on the promise of sleep sometime in the next 24 hours, because the infant on the plane was determined not to let anyone get a moment's rest. After navigating the maze of security in Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, we boarded a short flight to Glasgow. The descent was a dreadful 20 minutes, and Hayden has never looked greener, but somehow she managed to keep her food in her tummy and not on my lap. We were greeted at the airport by Brian and Wade, two heroes who helped lug our 9 suitcases to their cars and up the 4 flights of stairs to the Ingraham's flat. We had made it!

We managed to stay awake Wednesday afternoon and fell into our beds by 7 pm. Hayden had a rough spell for a few hours that night but the other kids were able to sleep. The next day, Kellie had arranged for us to view 5 flats. We spent the afternoon traipsing the neighborhood, playing House Hunters International. She had scheduled such a great variety of places that we felt as though we had a good taste of everything available in our area. We picked the fourth flat that we viewed as it had a great location, largest space and lowest price. We put a deposit down on it that afternoon to secure it. Below is a picture of the outside of our building. We are the corner unit on the second floor so yes, that bay window is in our living room!

The next day, Friday, we joined the re:hope gang for breakfast at Scott and Monica's. There we were able to catch up with everyone and fill them in on our whirlwind experience over the past 9 months. After breakfast we relaxed for a few hours then braved the elements for an outing to the bank where we secured a bank account.

Now you need to know that we are moving at an alarming pace. It is unheard-of to get a flat and bank account so quickly. But I suppose it is also unheard of to get on the field after only 6 months of fundraising. I have often stopped for a moment to scold myself for being surprised. This is exactly what we have been praying for-- we asked God to get us to Scotland in January, and He did. We asked God to make a smooth transition for us and to get us settled quickly and He's doing just that. I never want to lose my awe for God, yet I also never want to fall back into prayer without anticipation. It's a delicate balance and I couldn't be happier living in the middle of it.

Hopefully this update will satisfy your curiosity for a little while. We don't have a move in date just yet and we still need to get cell phones. Stay tuned for updates and I'll do my best to keep you in the loop.

how are the kids?

I love this question.  I love that other people care about my kids and want to know how they're doing.  I think that's great, so thanks for asking.

I thought that this picture sums up our kids and their personalities pretty well, so let's have a look:

Start with Jason, in the back of the cardboard box boat.  He's pretending to be a gondola oarsman.  He's calm, steady, steering the girls through the water.  He is reliable, quiet and thinking, moving forward with confidence.  Despite the quiet confidence, I know thinkers like Jason need people to check in on them once in a while and ask if there's anything they need to talk about.  We've been playing board games with Jason after the girls go to bed and this gives him a lot of time to talk to us.

Take a look at Cameron.  Somehow, though the movie is older than she and not appropriate for her age, she is doing the "king of the world" move from Titanic.  Our middle child is in need of constant attention, always putting herself front and center, wanting to be a part of everyone's business.  She is all about the drama, act first, think later.  She approaches obstacles with either determined enthusiasm or determined pessimism, with her there is no middle ground.  Despite all that and because of all that, we love her fiercely and are always on the alert as to how we can help her through the big move.  She and I have great dates at Starbucks where she loves to drink a kid's hot chocolate and pretend it's coffee.

And now in the middle of the boat is sweet Hayden.  That is exactly where she wants to be at all times.  She wants to be in the center of a group hug, or sitting between her siblings.  She is anxious for everyone to stick together and she doesn't want anyone left behind.   On most days Hayden can be found walking around the house, sending and receiving pretend texts on her play cell phone.  She loves to communicate although her siblings would call it being a chatterbox.

So that's how the kids are doing.  I'm pretty impressed with their attitudes as we pack boxes and explain that they won't be seeing some things for a few weeks.  They are handling the disorganization and plugging away at their schoolwork.  Thank you to everyone who thinks of the kids in their prayers.  We can tell that they are covered and we are grateful.