Ikea

Fortunately for us, Kev's sister and brother-in-law arrived just minutes after the movers pulled up. I LOVE Ikea furniture but the concept of "some assembly required" is definitely a bit of an understatement. At one point Dave looked up at me and said, "Did that box really say 31 of 72? Tell me we don't have 72 boxes of furniture to put together." I sheepishly shrugged and said something lame like, "We did move from Africa." We were extremely grateful for the furniture that our home church pulled together for us prior to our arrival in Durham. But as we made plans to move here, we decided it was time to bless other folks in need with much of what we had been given and invest in some furniture that we thought was both beautiful and functional. Furniture that well... matched. There was very little discussion about where to go to buy such furniture. Ikea draws forth such an emotional response from both of us. When we were first in Uganda and evacuating in and out of Fort Portal due to rebel warfare, our place of refuge and safety was a former Swedish missionary compound. All of the houses there felt beautiful and safe. They were well but simply decorated with various Ikea pieces that were likely easy to ship to such a remote location. So when we considered how to furnish our new home here in Exeter, we were drawn to a similiar style. Beautiful, yet simple. Ikea.
Of course, that was before it occurred to me that when we arrived at Kahunga Bunyoni all of the furniture was already assembled. As we stared at the 72 boxes with screwdrivers and allen wrenches in hand, I began to think that maybe, just maybe, we should have bought furniture from Craig's List or Rooms to Go. Something that perhaps might not invoke the "safe" memories but would arrive...well...together.
Dave and Janis worked tirelessly for days putting together tables and chairs, sofas and beds, dressers and wardrobes. As my family would say they worked from "can to can't." (From when the sun comes up and you can see until it goes down again and you can't see anymore.) I did think the queen size box spring might be the straw that broke the camel's back... imagine having to assemble 150 different 1 inch by 20 something inch slats into rubber pieces that first must also be attached to various wood pieces that form a frame of sorts. We won't even mention the need to assemble and adjust the 25 or so center piece double slats to reflect a hard or soft bed preference. Of course, now fully assembled it IS the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on...
All of this to say, we love our Ikea furniture and we love Janis and Dave.
And while the house is still not fully unpacked, the kids are all happily attending school, Kev is teaching, our internet/phone/cable services are hooked up and the whole family has been to see both dentist and doctor. So for all intents and purposes we are settled here in Exeter. It is a lovely place to live. And did I mention the Ikea store that is just outside of Boston? It is a decent drive, about an hour or so away. But Nate is thrilled that we have to go through a complicated underpass, over a high cool looking bridge and through a long tunnel to get there. Anything to please the kids...