Welcome to the Neighborhood

I know what all of you are thinking, the Barlows have clearly dropped off the face of the planet...I can't say I blame anyone for wondering as we have changed cell phone numbers, e-mails, and are finally out of our apartment for good. The transition of moving across town rather than across a couple of states went more smoothly than expected. We received overwhelming support from ward members and family who showed up to help move furniture in and out of a stifling hot truck in the middle of August. We really can't thank you all enough for the several hours you gave us Saturday...Once the truck was unloaded, we looked around at all our stuff and realized-hey-it's not taking up the whole house! How wonderful to have added some much-needed square footage to our cramped and growing family.
This week has been a series of working out the kinks-waiting for the new washer and dryer we ordered to arrive (they have delayed four days now and the pile of potty-accident clothing is growing by the hour), installing the fifteen sets of blinds the last family disappeared with, and lastly, disposing of a wood pile in the back yard that consists of a few hundred pieces of firewood so old the neighbors can't even remember who or when collected it.
The wood pile has been a nuisance for several reasons, apparently because for years now it has been the home to several: brown recluses, rodents and then yesterday when my next door neighbor came over to 1-welcome us to the neighborhood and 2-inform us she saw a large SNAKE roaming through our yard the night before, I realized the thing was more than an eyesore! What's a mom to do upon receiving this information? Clearly look up all the poisonous snakes in the state of Texas and learn what to look for, including how much time a person would spend in the hospital upon an encounter...In the process I did come across a friendly rodent/pest removal business who timely returned my phone call, and spent a half hour on the phone with me discussing the snake situation. Luckily, snakes do not "settle down" anywhere; this one was likely attracted to the rodent population in the no longer existent woodpile, so chances are we will not see him again. As Ray the pest control guy also explained to me (I think I'm going to add him to my contacts in my phone after this), having our house abandoned for a couple of months with a wood pile next to it made for some interesting creatures to set up camp, and so our first few weeks here will be spent driving them away. Only after that can it be determined if we have a real pest problem. Thank goodness! I can send the kids out in the back yard again; the noise level of L & M alone is enough to deafen any creature from returning.
The other thing is that Ryan started his Masters' program at the University of Texas today! He is only taking 3 credits right now for obvious reasons, but will pick up a few more once we get residency and are not in the middle of a move and a pregnancy. I am proud of Ryan for his decision to stick with the program despite all the chaos that is going on right now. Lately we have been going to bed at night wondering how on earth our lives could have possibly gotten this busy, but we are blessed to have them full of so many good things. Despite the chaos, we are incredibly happy here in our new home. So there is an update for you. I will post pictures once we get the internet (the non-borrowed kind) but will leave you with this pic Syl took on her porch when we were in Utah as the first day of school picture! Thanks Syl!