We made it!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Yesterday was a long day but mostly very good. Dropping off Sabrina was a concern as she had expressed a lot of distress about us leaving. It went very well. No tears, from either of us. Mom and Dad came and prayed with us. We all laughed as Noelle and I tried to make our suitcases weigh under the required 40 pounds. We ended up checking three bags and two carry-ons. Eight weeks is a long time!

Scott drove us to the Cedar Rapids airport. Honesty maintaining our relationship through all of this the last three years or so has been difficult. Yesterday I was reminded of all I love about him. When we were first married and I was stressed or anxious he always said the perfect thing to bring me back to sanity. On our trip to the airport he was perfectly up to the task of reassuring us, distracting us, helping us and making us laugh. Thanks, honey. Shortly before boarding Noelle experienced major anxiety. They loaded the plane early which messed up the timing of her anti-anxiety pills, but we made it through. By the time we landed three hours later Noelle was in a lot of pain.

Things went fairly smoothly through picking up our luggage and renting our car. Then we had to make it to the car. So my tired girl pushed herself in the wheelchair and I pushed the cart of five suitcases. We reached the parking lot to find the sidewalk ramp blocked by a disabled truck. The driver and I watched as Noelle propelled herself over the curb! Thankfully she stayed in the chair! No way was she taking the long way at that point. The driver helped me get my luggage down the curb.

This Ford Fusion was the only "full" size car they had. Small compared to the Jeep Commander I usually drive. But we do like the cheerful color.

The trip from Mesa to Scottsdale was uneventful. Thankfully driving in five lanes of traffic doesn't bother me. And as long as I stayed in the right lane Noelle was able to keep her anxiety in check.

We are staying in a nice two bedroom suite/apartment.

I had to buy a plant to brighten up the place:) It is hard for me to be in a place with sunshine and not be near my garden.

We have agreed we need to take one day at a time. If we think ahead we start to panic. Two months is a long time.

So today we grocery shopped first. Noelle and I both like to cook and bake and are used to a very well stocked kitchen so this will be interesting. I think we did OK. Then we checked an all gluten free bakery. Noelle was in heaven!! We had gluten free breakfast sandwiches and brought back some yummies. Next we hit the lounge chairs at the pool for about 45 minutes. Since then Noelle has been resting and I have been reading. Until a good friend suggested I needed to blog:)

Your prayers and thoughts are so important to us! It keeps me from feeling alone. Tomorrow at noon is our first doctor's appointment. We have no idea what to expect. Our patient care coordinator did tell us to bring a snack as it will be a long day.