Ode to Albany, NY

Wow, as our time here in Albany comes to a close it makes you think of all the things I will really miss.  It is a bitter sweet experience.  We came to Albany, NY for Cory to get his PhD in Social work/welfare and expected to be here 3-4 years, and here we are 4 3/4 years later and getting ready to say goodbye in 6 days!  We are so glad Cory got a job, of course that was our goal, but we sure hit some speed bumps and some beautiful scenery on the way!!!

Things I will miss...

1. The Albany 2nd Branch!!!  The people in it, the little white building that was once a house, the family feeling, the compassion and service that go on in it (I could go ON AND ON!!!)
2. Friends we have made and people who have become "family"
3. The Church in the East (living in the mission field)
4. Kidstitute with other moms and their kids Thursday mornings
5. Spring flowers - Oh the beauty of the East in the spring!!!
6. Fall leaves - Man it's definitely my favorite time of year here in NY!!!  
7. Sprinkler parks in the summer
8. The Empire Plaza Park and grounds
9. The free museum with free carousel rides every 15 minutes!
10. The beautiful luscious and green scenery (or colorful in the fall) on a drive on the highway and anywhere just outside Albany
11. Sparkling trees and bushes the morning after an ice storm
12. Running on the parkway by the Hudson River
13. Row houses (just like the picture on our blog backdrop)
14. The old architecture and history of the houses (many colors and sizes and shapes - pink, purple, green, orange).
15. Girls nights with ladies in the branch
16. The Christmas Tree Shops ;)
17. Aldi store
18. Sovrana's pizza shop (and just NY pizza in general!!!)
19. 2 1/2 hour drive to NYC
20. 3 hour drive to Boston, MA
21. 3 1/2 hr drive to Palmyra, NY
22. The diversity of people and cultures, man I am going to miss that!  Not like it won't be in CA too, but probably just different :)

Of course I won't miss the bitter cold in the winter and humid hot summer days, narrow and one way streets, 3 hour drives to the temple (although the sacrifice made it that much sweeter to go!) and a slew of other things, but we will focus more on what we loved here - my goal is to be more positive and optimistic too!  Although it's not that difficult, there are many things we have learned and many ways we have grown while being here, many people we have met and grown to love.  As time comes to leave you realize that "you won't really know what you got until it's gone".  

We do love you Albany, NY and have called you home for the past almost 5 years!

Thanks for the journey.