Odds-n-Ends

Olivia made it through her first week of school here with flying colors! She is excited about a gym unit that includes square dancing (guess she takes after my parents!) that will end in a "show!" She came home every day from school knowing more friends and so happy. We are so thankful for God's blessings and for the kind teachers and students who have made her feel so welcomed and "at home."

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Boston is excited for his "school week" to begin next week. He will go to a preschool at First Baptist of Carrollton on Tuesdays and Thursday. He and I went yesterday to sign up. Donny and I think that he will do well attending a structured time of learning. He is SO smart, unbelievable at times, but not so much in the "booksmart" way! Ha! He can write his name and knows numbers and letters (most of them) but like most boys his age (or so I hear) he doesn't want much to do with that kind of thing. This was evident when he was most excited about the THREE PLAYGROUNDS at his school rather than anything else we saw! Ha! His teacher's name is Mrs. Seaton and he will just be there with her for about 4.5 hours twice a week. We will go on Tuesday to meet his teacher and attend Open House. We also will need to talk to her about Celiac Disease. We are so blessed that Boston is so aware of what he can and can't do and is so responsible about it. He NEVER complains or gets upset when he can't have something that has gluten in it. I think we all can take a lesson from him! There are so many different preschools options but I just couldn't bear to give him up any longer than this. =) He is a big part of the reason that I am so excited to stay home! We've had a great week together. He is a sweetheart and one-on-one time with him is so special! In fact, every day after we dropped Liv off this week, he would say, "Mom, it's going to be a special day, isn't it?"

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We went to dinner last night with a guy Donny works with and his wife. I had met them once before at the 4th of July picnic. We had a good time talking with them and getting to know them. (I do have to mention that the kids were SO well behaved!!!!) Through the course of our conversation, we found out that they were in the same Sunday School Class at Southland that Donny and I went to just 2-3 times when we first got married...AND....her brother was roommates with one of our good friends in life group!!!! Can you believe that? What a small world! They have since been to UT and have now been here in TX at Pioneer for about a year.

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Donny is working so hard to finalize his presentation for Wednesday. He is not considered an intern anymore but is still working on his intern project which he will present at 3:00 on Wednesday. (You can pray for him!) He has an amazing Power Point with slides that go beyond anything I can comprehend and that are absolutely amazing and detailed. Once he finishes and presents, he will move down to his permanent team.

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We close on our TX house at 11:00 on September 7. The countdown is on and moving so slowly! =) We also have an offer on our KY house. PTL! The inspection should take place this week. We are praying that it goes well and that the sale can go through smoothly. We never imagined that we would get to sell our house so quickly but God's plans are sometimes much bigger that we can even imagine, aren't they.

SO VERY P*R*O*U*D!

Olivia Jade was the very image of a seven-year old girl who knew that Jesus would be with her all day today in a new school, in a new state, with a new teacher, in a new classroom, filled with new friends. Donny and I prayed for her last night (as we have been doing for a long while now about a new school) but Donny put it exactly right when he said that God had done a complete transformation of Liv's heart in the past two weeks. She has gone from, "I don't want to go to a new school" and "Texas will never be my home" to "When will Monday come?" and "I can't wait for school to start!" Only God could perform such a change. We continue to see His hand in each step of this process.

Olivia planned out DAY ONE of SECOND GRADE with absolute preciseness....

Her nails were to be PURPLE just like Mrs. McNeal's (her Wilmore principal) were for her 1st day of school this year at WES... She should try on her outfit the night before (and get a picture in case we didn't have time this morning)...

She thought she should have a picture with her brother... (It was Boston's idea that they put their arms around each other. He woke her up this morning with a kiss and was so excited for her! A moment of pure sweetness!)

She also said she should have a picture with Mommy since that is what we do every year...(although this year Mommy isn't in her 'first day of school' attire)

...and she should have a picture with Daddy...(however, he was not quite ready for pictures when the time came, still buttoning and zipping...ha!)

The drive to school seemed LONG to me but the three of us talked about the day and said a prayer as we headed there. God worked things out beautifully as He had a little girl sit by Liv in the cafeteria (where all students go in the morning) that was also new to Rosemeade and who was in Mrs. Petros class!!!! The girls walked with Bos and I down to their room and as we were walking, sweet precious Gloria said, "She's my friend." Praise the Lord!

In the car, Liv had said THIS MORNING, "Will you help me find a friend before you leave, Mom?"

You all, typing this gives me chill bumps and tears. Are you getting how powerful God is??? How He sees to EVERY LITTLE DETAIL???

Olivia and Gloria in their classroom. They even got to sit by each other with two other girls at their table. Guess what? At the end of the day, when I picked Liv up, she wanted me to come meet the other two and she said, "Mom, guess what?! Gillian is gluten-free too!" Just another way God made her feel included today...

Olivia with Mrs. Petros. When I got to the car line to pick Liv up, I spotted her giving Liv a hug goodbye. What a sweet thing for a mommy to see!

Olivia eating her Book Cake. (I forgot to take a picture of it before Bos and I cut it...) Last year she wanted a pencil cake, the year before that was a school bus cake, this year...a book. Boston and I had fun making it together today!

Thank you, dear friends and family, for praying for our girl today. It is evident that God was in control and that she is in His hands. We so appreciate your phone calls and texts today checking on her (and me...). We miss you all so much!

Liv's New School!!

Her teacher's name is Mrs. Petros. From what I can find out on the school website, Mrs. Petros taught 5th grade this past year and is Donny's age. She is a true Texan, growing up here and attending college here too. Her website seems kid friendly... We are excited to get to know her and see what she looks like! :) Liv wants to buy her a "first day of school gift" so we are on the lookout today!

Here she is...the soon to be Second Grader! Rosemeade Elementary is 25 years old but newly remodeled this year. Looks great inside, the bit we have seen...(When we went to register her, there were still "hard hat zones" so we couldn't walk around.) They don't do an Open House before school starts so yesterday we just got to go look on the door and see the class lists posted. Such a weird tradition if you ask me...but no one did! Ha! Be watching for First Day of School Pics to come next week! =)

Just Some Thoughts...

It's interesting how having so much "alone time" causes one to think. I mean I am always with the kids but without an adult to be conversing with throughout the day, I have lots of "thoughts" that just come and go. Poor Donny gets bombarded with conversation when he gets home from work each night! (He says women have a certain number of words they have to say each day. :) I may agree but I would need to add that those words may need to be in addition to the words spoken concerning Polly Pockets, Legos, poo-poo, trains, swimming, and why some men choose to have long hair and earrings!)

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On Wednesday night we drove to my grandpa's house for dinner. It takes just under an hour to get there and on the way home it was dark and everyone was zonked. Donny fell asleep immediately (thank goodness I was driving! ha!) and the kids asked to listen to "Our God" by Chris Tomlin. If you haven't heard this song or really listened to it DO SO TODAY. It is song #1 on a CD that Mel made me and the kids have been listening to that CD for 3 months now, over and over and over again in the car. Well, I gladly put it on and we just rocked out in worship. All three of us sang at the top of our lungs and even got to drumming to the beat pretty well too. I was so thankful that my kids, at ages seven and four, know how to love Jesus through music and are unihibited. When I looked in the rearview mirror and saw my boy raising his hands in the air in worship, I got a bit choked up. It took me twentysome years to feel "okay" expressing my love for Jesus in such a way.

After the kids and I sang the song several more times, they crashed, both with their heads resting on their seatbelts and their mouths wide open. [See a post from earlier in the summer for a picture example of how they sleep in the car! :)] It was dark outside and quite in the car - something that is rare in our family. As I drove through downtown Dallas, seeing the skyline lit up, I again got choked up. God has been working on me in the past few weeks. He is giving me a heart for this city. I don't know how, or really why. I love Lexington. I love Nicholasville. I love Wilmore. Those places are HOME. However, the more I drive around, especially in Carrollton, where our new home is, where Olivia's school is, and where our church is, I am just feeling drawn to the people there. I, on my own, cannot make a difference there, but Jesus in me and in my family can. I don't know what that looks like but I have a feeling it is going to be big. And THAT is exciting. To be a part of what Jesus is doing is right where I want to be.

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Now, saying that doesn't mean that any of this move has been particulary easy. It hasn't, for me, anyway. I am amazed at how our kids are adjusting, and doing so at such a rapid pace. Olivia can't wait for school to start on Monday and they both are embracing the new things around here. They were listing the TX friends they have and were delighted that the names filled up their white board! (Mind you, our entire family and the entire Weece family of 6 was on there but, hey, the BOARD WAS FILLED!) [*Side note: Only God could have set up the plan to have us and the Weece's (our KY pastor's brother and his family from OK) move less than a mile apart this summer! Another way He is showing that His hand is guiding us.*] Donny has adjusted to a new job, town, and group of coworkers like it is nothing. I am so proud of how he has jumped in and shown them what he is made of! Me, on the otherhand, I am the one who struggles. The one who feels lonely. The one who cried all the way to the city pool yesterday because in KY we always meet friends at the pool not go just the 3 of us. This doesn't mean that I am moping around at every moment and not willing to try anything new. It just means that I continuously have to "put on my big girl panties" (to quote a friend's mom), roll my sleeves up and step up to the challenge. I have no doubt that I will come out of this "valley" stronger and more in tune with Jesus than ever before.

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I had made lots of KENTUCKY plans for our family - the friends who our kids would grow up with, the teachers they would have at Wilmore Elementary, the neighborhoods I would like to move into, the ways I would like to serve at church, etc. However, I am NOT the real maker of plans. I know that but it is my nature to plan and so, plan I do...

God, on the other hand, IS the plan maker. His plan for our family did not include staying in Kentucky forever. I know His plans are best and am so willing to follow it is just tricky. In fact, a few weeks ago when the kids and I were back in KY and I was sitting in the seats at church, I thought, "I always imagined Olivia getting baptized here." It was a passing thought. Just a few days after we returned to TX, Liv said, "Mom, I want to get baptized." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She has always been so faith-filled and automatically turns to prayer when there is a problem but hasn't mentioned baptism much before because she was scared to go under water. :) She asked Jesus into her heart at age 5 and has such a sweet relationship with him. So...we've been talking daily and nightly about baptism and she has decided she wants to be baptized in our new pool. What better use for it? Donny was baptized in a lake and I in a river so why not a pool? She wants a celebration and we fully support that. What bigger decision will she make? Her eyes lit up when she said she was going to invite all of her family and her KY friends. My heart sank. Why would Jesus put this desire in her heart as soon as we moved far away from all of our family and friends??!! She also wants to invite her entire class (remember, she knows none of them yet...) and all of the people she has met here (they include the Jehovah Witness family, the Hindu Family, and others!). I pray that she stays this way and is never hindered or afraid to share her faith and love for her Savior. She is currently working on a little journal where she is writing each day reasons why she wants to be baptized or what being baptized means. Pure sweetness.

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OK, enough randomness...good thing you are not forced to read all of this, or even worse, forced to be stuck in my head with all these thoughts! Ha!

Summer Favorites

What a summer we have had here in TX! Who knew that this summer would turn into a new chapter of our life? We have had so many great opportunities and are so fortunate to have time to just focus on each other and play together! As we get ready for school to start on Monday, we have had fun looking through pictures and remembering the fun we have had! Take a look---

Liv driving the Las Colinas monorail

Going to Bounce U

Seeing the Circus as a Family

Liv, Kit, & Mommy Going on a Date to the American Girl Doll Store

Playing at the Beautiful Irving Fountain by the Library

Hours Building with Legos

(Thank you, Jonah, for introducing us to the Lego Store!)

Mimi Making Clothes for Kit and Andrew (not pictured)

Playing Homeade Games like "Pin the Tutu on the Ballerina"

Digging for "fossils" at the Science Museum

Watching the kids and Grandpa get to know each other

Going to the Fort Worth Zoo

(Can you spot Boston in the picture?!)

Watching the Kids Learn How to Swim

(Neither of these tubes are needed any longer! Yahoo!)

Having My Family Come Visit The summer ended with a great trip to Kentucky. I am working on those pictures and will post them soon. They will forever be some on our most special pictures containing some of our most special memories and friends.

New Beginnings

You may wonder why I haven't blogged in a few days or why, in this blog, I am not mentioning leaving KY. Well, the truth is, it is too soon. Honestly, packing our suitcases, cleaning our home for strangers to come in and look at, hugging my brother and sister-in-law goodbye, saying endless farewells, talking to my kids about what it means to "move", staying up late night after night talking with dear friends, and walking into the airport - leaving such special friends - is too raw to really describe. Sometime soon I will share my thoughts about "steps" and how they have changed our family's life but not tonight. Tonight I want to talk about new beginnings.

When a seed is planted, it can't survive without the farmer's help. You know from my previous posts, and I pray from watching me live my life, that I love Jesus and want Him to be the "farmer" of my life. So, with that mental picture in mind...

I think I am a big terra cotta pot. You know those big planters that sit in people's yards that are filled with beautiful flowers? The ones that take a LOT of soil, seeds, water, and CARE? Well, that's me. I started as an empty pot and Jesus is slowly filling me with what it takes to make a beautiful planter filled with gorgeous flowers. However, along the way, He has to take time to weed, to water, to prune, to nurture, and grow it.

This summer has been a pruning time. A time for Him to show me "the weeds" in my life and to reveal the many areas that I need growth in. Now He is ready to nurture, care for, water, and grow the "leftovers." Thank goodness.

What am I thankful for? I am excited to see what new flowers He is going to plant in my life. What new opportunities He is going to offer our family, what areas He is going to let us serve in, and what people He will introduce us to. HOWEVER...I am also thankful, and clinging on to the fact, that He allows us to continue to grow the parts of our lives that are good - friendships, gifts He has given us, the desire to learn more about Him, the love for our family...

Good-bye

After spending the last ten days saying "good-bye" to people, I am just not too sure who came up with that word and why they decided to put the word "good" in it. Nothing seems really very good about what the kids and I have had to do over these two weeks. Waking up each morning and knowing that we will spend yet another day giving last hugs, taking pictures, and realizing that this is no longer our 'place of residence' is hard. So very hard.

However, when I looked up the word origin of "goodbye," this is what I found:

Goodbye.

This phrase comes from God be with you. It has been shortened over the years since 16th century. Shakespeare used "God be wy you." The substitution for good for God seems to have been mainly due to the influence of such phrases as " good day" and "good night."

Knowing this doesn't make what we will be doing today any easier, per say, but telling our friends, "God be with you..." well, that IS what we desire for each of them. Our life group at church has experienced so many life changing times of brokenness over the past year and our family has had its share of ups and downs the past years as well. We have had such support from friends and family here. I've been wondering what will happen if a crisis arises and we aren't here for it. Well, guess what?! GOD WILL BE HERE! He is always here! HE will take care of our "people" here far better than we ever could. Yes, I want to be here to make dinners, or give hugs, or watch children, or pray in the same room as people, or sit with my friends who are struggling, but I have spent this summer watching Jesus prepare every step of the way for our family this summer and I have to rely on Him to do the same thing for each of our friends here in KY. I am also praying that He will give us people in TX that we can come alongside and serve. (Not to mention the prayer that our KY home will sell so we can afford to fly back here sooner...hehe...)

So, as I start today, thinking of my friends who are at school making final preparations in their classrooms for tomorrow's big start without me there and of the friends who I will have to say a final goodbye to today, I pray that God will be with them, and you, today, the day that the Lord has made.

I ask that you pray that for us too. We are missing Donny and he is missing us. This is a huge transition and it is hard being apart right now. Most of all, I ask that you pray for our babies. Watching them say goodbye, even thinking of it right now, makes me cry every time. My Mommy Heart has had about all it can handle. They have given so many hugs, high fives, and every last stick of gum, coin, and drawing they can find in the car to their friends. I keep watching them, trying to protect them, wondering if they know what is going on. Yesterday, watching them say goodbye to their buddies Elizabeth, Brady, Phillip, and Palmer, I understood that they do get it...and that just broke me.

Not the Blogger I'd Like to Be! =)

As you can see from the catastrophe below... (the next/previous post)...I am not a great blogger when it comes to adding pictures! I guess I have a lot to learn, don't I?! Well, at least you can get the gist of where we will be living. What you see is as much as I have seen. That's right, I haven't seen the real house yet. Inside or out, except through pictures!

We had put a contract on a house in Flower Mound, TX, but then found out the city would be building a 6-lane highway adjacent to our backyard. Not good. We were able to get out our of contract, thanks to the work of our wonderful realtor, without having to pay penalties, and began looking for another house. All this happened while the kids and I were in KY and Donny was in TX.

We looked at several online and then he went to see them in person. When he got to this home, he knew it was ours. Besides the beautiful kitchen, and some other wonderful parts, it has a yard (my desire) AND a pool (his desire)! We put an offer in and it came back accepted! The kids are bummed that their desire-stairs-is not included since it is a one-story home, but since they are not paying the AC bill...I think they will just have to deal with it! =)

Donny took our TX friends to see the house and they all called me while they were there. Things look great and we are excited that this is working out! We will register Olivia for school on Friday and are hoping that with a signed contract, they will let her start school there, even though we won't be living there right when school begins. We hope to close around September 7.

God continues to be in control. It is evident in so many ways and so we continue to follow His direction for our family and hope, that in doing so, we can glorify Him.

We will be moving to Carrollton, TX...

As you know, the kids and I are in KY and Donny is in TX. We are here for a bit longer seeing friends, making memories, and having a tough time saying good-bye. When we left TX, we had just signed a contract on a great house in Flower Mound, TX, and were happy with our new home. This past Wednesday, Donny met with the home inspector there and the house inspected very well. However, we found out that there would soon be a 6-lane highway behind our home, backing up to the pool. This was not our ideal situation and, after talking to each other, our realtor, and the city “road people” we decided we need not be in that house. Fortunately, we have a realtor who knows what she is doing and we were able to get out of our contract without a problem or loss of money.

So, back to square one. That night, I found about 10 new houses online for Donny to look at. He narrowed it down to 5 and went on Thursday night to see them. He called about 10 to say that he had found our house and that it was perfect for us. I could tell by his voice that he was smiling and sure.

He went the next day, with friends and looked at it again. They called from the house, and “gave me a tour” of it and answered all my questions. The yard is amazing. It has a big fenced yard AND a fenced in pool area. The house is 1-story (great for lower air conditioning bills!), and is in great shape. It is also less than a mile away from our friends! (I think I feel a “walking partner” coming along!!!)

Long story short, we put an offer in on the house (along with 2 other couples) and OUR offer was accepted! We have bought a house that I have not seen but I am, once again, at peace. It is amazing how things have continued to work out…

I will share more later but wanted to get these pictures online so you could see! 24 3

We bought a house!!!