Life in the O-T-T

 I'm not gonna lie, moving to the OTT - as the locals call it - has been an adjustment.  Leaving our dental school family was rough.  And moving to a place where the best shopping is located at a dilapidated Target and most of Joseph's patients would rather have their teeth pulled than fixed (yes, even their front teeth...are you getting the picture?) has not helped the situation.  However, what has helped the situation is this beauty:

We love our new home!  Just the fact that we live in our own place has been like a little piece of heaven.  Our neighborhood is a little oasis.  Across the street lives two retired teachers, a pediatrician, an internist, and next door is another pediatrician.  Our neighbor joked that only in Ottumwa will you find doctors and teachers living on the same street, and we absolutely love it.

Because we are still a one-car family (I know...) I have been spending a lot of time at home getting this place feeling like...well...home.

We bought new living room furniture:

Before  

After

Set up our unfinished basement to be a playroom:

 Got the boys bathroom set up:

 complete with dentures for bath toys (that's how we do it dental style here):

We got Jake's bedrooms done:

and we're still working on Eli's room (no, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, Eli's room is pink.  C'mon, guys, one thing at a time):

The kitchen is now done:

The landscaping in our backyard is still a work in progress, but we've done lots already, including ripping out a dead tree that was in the middle of the yard.  Why it was there in the first place is still a mystery to me.

There is still a lot that needs to be done.  Next thing on our list (well, besides a car) is to get our entertainment room set up.  We're still living in the dark ages of a big box TV, and Joseph is more than ready to upgrade.

 We also have a fourth bedroom that is sitting completely empty.  Literally.  So, that means plenty of room for visitors, hint hint!  As long as you're willing to sleep on the floor, that is...  Just kidding, we'll get an air mattress.  :)

So as you can see, life has been busy.  It hasn't been all work though.  We've started to make new friends in our church and our neighborhood.  Some of our new friends even took us out on their boat recently.  Yeah, we choose our friends wisely.  :)

Jake getting out of the boat...love the face!

Tubing with friends

What handsome boys!

Life in Ottumwa has been dichotomous.  On the one hand, it's been hard living here.  I've had my fair share of breakdowns, as Joseph can attest to.  It's a completely run down city that the people have kind of left for ruins.  Sometimes I drive around the town and I look around and think to myself, "Wait, I live here?" But on the other hand, life in Ottumwa has been wonderful!  Joseph loves his job, and I love our home.  We have met some wonderful people and are anxious to get to know them better.  All in all, it's taking some time to adjust,  but we feel blessed every day.