Chicago, Here we come...

After joining my wife and the boys in spending the holidays with my 3 sisters and their families in Maryland - our dday arrived. Waking up at 3am of Jan 2, a sister and a brother-in-law took my family and our 20+ baggages to the Washington DC airport for our flight to Chicago. I was concerned about adjustment; after 1.5 months with their cousins and plenty of activities in Maryland, we're moving to a hotel room in the northwest suburbs of Chicago where we'd be on our own. My wife would have to know how to get around the new environment, and the 2 older boys would have to start their homeschooling in earnest after a prolonged holiday.

We were given the biggest room in the hotel - and my wife took a couple of days to arrange everything to make use of the limited space. She did quite a good job, and we have ample space for the boys to jump all they want and do 10m races (no kidding!). It's one of those places where there is a fully equipped kitchenette and my wife has since been whipping up wonderful home made meals since our first day.

For the first week, checking out our surroundings was a priority. We visited a major shopping complex, checked out several grocery and fresh food stores, visited a couple of indoor playgrounds, and went to a very good library - all within 5 to 10 minutes of where we were staying. Furthermore, my workplace is near so I am able to join my family for lunch. Only the Fil-Am church where we attended Sunday worship took almost 45 minutes to drive.

After almost 2 weeks, we're pretty much settled. Not all have been smooth sailing though - there was the time when we had to wait for an hour and a half for the reserved van to fetch us at the airport only to find out that our 15 checked in baggages wouldnt fit in. Then, our middle son asks me why I had to work in the US when he misses his friends and the ability to play outdoors anytime in Marikina. Of course, we miss our househelp. And, in winter, going outdoors is a burden with the all the dressing up that has to be done - gloves, scarves, sweaters, jackets, and that pesky facial cream. But these are all a bundle of experiences that we as a family are gladly facing together - and for that, we're very thankful.