The first evening, two girls stop by to introduce themselves. They are both in 7th grade and 12 yrs old just like Sam. Jackpot! We also knew prior to move in that there is a 12 yr old, soon to be 7th grader right next door! The girls mention that one has a brother and there are other boys in the neighborhood that they will bring by to introduce to us. Sure enough, three boys show up on our doorstep to say Hi to the boys. One 2nd grader, one 3rd grader and one 6th grader. My boys are in 1st and 3rd grade. I am delighted for all of them.
The next day, Sam meets the neighbor Morgan and they hit it off immediately. I meet her mom and have a new friend, too! We find out her younger sister is Nick's age (they end up in the same class at the elementary school). My boys take off to play with the boys they had met and I follow after to introduce myself to the parents. One family is from New Jersey and we chat like old friends.
The next few weeks have been a blur unpacking and shopping for new furniture. Did I mention that we donated all of our furniture in Florida? We purchased a new couch, love seat, over sized chair, cuddly recliner, kitchen table/chairs, living room coffee table, living room end table, large floor cushions for the kids to hang out on, beds and dressers for each boy, futon, dresser and accessories for Sam, a beautiful new bedroom suite, bookcase and computer armoire for mine and Bob's bedroom, and two HD LCD TV's (a 42" for the living room and a 26" for our bedroom). In between all that, we registered the kids for school, hooked up our utilities, had cable installed, internet connection installed, attended 'meet your teacher day' at the elementary school, open house at the middle school, signed Nick and Sam up for soccer and signed RJ up for tackle football, signed all three kids up for CCD, attended first day of school events, searched for a travel baseball and travel softball team for RJ and Sam. All the while getting to know our neighbors and finding our way around town to do everything we need to do. We also took last Saturday night to enjoy the Chicago White Sox AAA baseball team, the Charlotte Knights, play a game just a few miles from our home. It was a great, inexpensive way to spend a Saturday night, complete with fireworks and Bob almost catching a foul ball. Nick even stood next to the team mascot! A first for him as he has been petrified of characters forever!
School started on August 20th and the kids have settled in nicely. I uploaded pictures from the first day HERE. RJ and Nick are at the same elementary school and Sam started at a middle school that is brand new this year. Kids from 3 middle schools are starting there and everyone feels like they are new so she fits right in. We found out that middle school softball here is fastpitch so Sam will be trying out for the team when that rolls around.
We contacted a travel baseball team right here in Rock Hill. They are the Carolina Reds. They held a tryout just before we arrived but did not have enough talented boys that were willing to start playing this fall due to football and soccer. They will hold another tryout early winter and keep in touch with us until then. That works perfectly for us because RJ has asked to play football and we arrived just in time for sign ups. He started football practice two days before school started. What a change from baseball! When in his gear, you can tell he is built to play the game. At the first practice he announces that he wants to play anything but quarterback but, while goofing around after practice, he throws a few passes that get the coaches' attention. Needless to say, he is now the starting quarterback for the team. He is learning alot in a short period of time but loving every minute. He says he is only playing the one season to 'try it out' and can't wait to play baseball again. As usual, they asked for volunteers to help out with the booster club and I can't help myself... I am now treasurer of the booster club and ordering uniforms and parent spirit shirts for the team. The Jamboree was tonight and regular season games start the next week. Check out the pictures from the Jamboree:
Nick will be playing rec soccer and has evaluations this coming Saturday and can't wait to get back on the field. Sam is playing competitive soccer and has her evaluations Saturday Sept 13. The soccer Jamboree for both is October 4 and regular season games start the next week.
Also for Sam, I contacted 3 fastpitch travel teams that I found on the internet. One was a bit too far away (37 miles), the second one, the Carolina Angels offered her a tryout that she attended today and the third, the Charlotte Blaze is having her for a tryout tomorrow. She had a great practice with the Angels but, of course, they aren't making a decision after just one practice. They would like her to come back for another couple practices and then join them at a tournament the weekend of Sept. 20.
CCD/Sunday School starts Sunday, Sept. 6th for all three. RJ and Nick are starting their first Holy Communion preparation. Sam will not start preparation for Confirmation until the 9th grade. They don't receive that sacrament at our new church until the 10th grade but she will be attending CCD weekly until then.
Bob and I are doing well but are still dealing with issues from his knee surgery. We have contacted a lawyer about his dissatisfaction with the handling of his worker's comp case. He has continually been in pain and has asked to be re-evaluated but they keep putting him off. The lawyer is now working on getting Bob two new opinions here in SC, getting him back to physical therapy and getting his benefits re-instated.
I have slowly started my job search and will be submitting several more resumes this week as well as meeting with a recruiter. In the meantime, I am the official football team photo photographer and have already set up several appointments with families in the neighborhood to take pictures for their Christmas cards and design their cards with the photos that I take. Maybe this will be the springboard that I have been looking for to start me new career... I have the application for my business license filled out and need to meet with the building and zoning department to complete that.
Finally
All in all we are thrilled with everything here. We have been welcomed with open arms and are enjoying the hug. It's like we were meant to be right here in this neighborhood, right here in this house. As is typical for me, I decided to jump right in and get to know the parents of all the kids my kids have been hanging out with so I hosted an party at our house last night. They joked that I hosted my own 'Welcome To The Neighborhood' party. We had 4 families join us for appetizers and drinks and had a great time. I took pictures of course. Here's me with the other moms:
I couldn't have asked for anything better. I now know that good things come to those who wait. God has blessed us in so many ways. It has been a long two+ years for us to get here but it is SOOO worth it. We weren't looking for glamour or high life, we wanted a comfortable neighborhood with kind neighbors, friends for the kids and we found just that. We look forward to staying in touch with everyone as much as possible. For now, consider yourself up to to date with the Petit family. :) I will be updating this website often with pictures of all of our new activities and adventures so sign up for the email notification of updates! The website will also have a calendar so you can see what we're up to. September is a big month for us. Bob and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on Sept 3. Aren't we cute??
Pammy's birthday is today, Sept 4, Samantha's birthday is Sept 9 (turning 13) and RJ's birthday is Sept 23 (turning 9).
Love and hugs to all especially those who have endured these past two years and our saga of wanting to move! :) We appreciate the support and encouragement from all.
Donna, Bob, Sam, RJ, Nick
Great pictures. We will miss you but now we have some one to visit in SC.
Posted by: Becky | September 08, 2008 at 07:27 PM