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.