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We arrived safely back in Moscow last Saturday, the 28th of August. We're settling in bit by bit and the boxes are gradually finding themselves emptied, broken down, stacked, and waiting to be put away until they are needed again. In case you're wondering, yes, we keep our boxes. We like them. They've been kind to us, and it's super nice to have everything pre-labeled so you know exactly what to put into each box.

The new walls may be white and the blinds may be vertical, but I still love being here. The day we loaded up the U-Haul I kept thinking of Proverbs 15:17 "Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred." It's a bit of a hyperbole, but I draw a connection between our old beautiful condo and the fattened calf. It was glorious and indulgent, but it wasn't home. Here, we have an anemic, cookie-cutter apartment, but there is much love, and I'll take this over 9 1/2 foot ceilings and British hand painted wallpaper any day. Here's a short list of some of the things we love so much about little ol' Moscow.

-You can see a car in the parking lot at WinCo with its lights on, and you know whose it is and can catch up to them inside and let them know.

-WinCo and WalMart are only 5 minutes away.

-Actually, everything is only 5 minutes away.

-All of the policemen wave at us because they recognize our MVFD license plate.

-There are at least 3 church families living within a block of us. Probably 15 within a half mile.

-When someone thinks they hear gunshots, it's almost always fireworks.

-Everywhere I look, there is a memory. That's the street we used to walk down when I was pregnant with Bella. That's the intersection where I totalled my last car. There's the store I used to work at. That's where we got married. That's where our daughters were born. That's where we went to school. That's where we had our first date. That's where...

-Rush hour lasts 5 minutes, and you can count on it coming before 5:00 on a Friday because it's a small town and everybody seems to get off a little early for the weekend.

-If you forgot to call somebody the day before, it's okay because you'll run into them at a football game.

-The unmistakable smell of August on the Palouse.

-The blue bugs that follow in September.

-The wet honey locust leaves stuck to the wood floors at Bucer's in October.

I know it sounds like one of those You Know You're From _____ If.... kinds of lists, but it's all true, and I love it.