Life in Texas - First Day of Fall

I can't believe we have lived in Texas for a little over a year now...and that it's been almost that long since I blogged.  My October resolution is to start blogging again.  Even if it's just a little somethin' somethin'.  Even if it's just my facebook posts.  This is for ME, because as it turns out, journaling?  Not so good at it.  Too many wonderful things happen not to be writing them down!

We are settling in to our beautiful new home in Humble.  We are in a lovely development that I am just crazy about.  We had an extremely stressful first year in Texas, the last six months in particular.  I know feel like we can exhale.  Well, a little bit. 

I will post pictures as I can, but here's the latest haps:

Lonny continues to settle in and do well at the Court here in Houston.  He has a MUCH better commute and that has helped so much.  He can now drive into work and not take the bus (not so Earth friendly, but definitely more Lonny friendly).  He enjoys a great rapport with his colleagues and has made some friends.  We are all super proud of him and how hard he worked to make the dream of our home come true.  He was recently ordained as a High Priest at church and is in the High Priest group leadership.  I like to tease him because that's usually an office for older men but in our ward, he IS one of the older guys. 

Connor is amazing.  He is starting at a new school again and was so brave when we had to move and he left his best friend Dominic, behind.  He is making new friends, slowly but surely, one of whom is right next door!!  He rides his bike to and from school all by himself.  He has gotten rewarded for his conduct by teachers and the safety patrol.  His interim report card reflects that he is on track for all As and Bs.  He is back in karate, at least for now.  We will see how that shakes out.  AND he is a Cub Scout.  He just earned his Bobcat badge and is working towards his Wolf.  He is a great guy, super laid back and easy going (a little too much sometimes!!) and is taking on more responsibilities at home.  (He LOVES to mop!!!).  I couldn't be prouder of him.

Abby is our littlest Pehrson.  She is so compact and tiny but super strong.  I would love to put her in gymnastics full time, but due to finances, she is in a combination jazz dance/tumbling class.  She LOVES animals and all that girl wants to do is ride a horse.  She loves to jabber, and tell big whopper stories that involve unicorns and witches.  She has the cutest voice and it is impossible to resist her when she asks for "bean-illa" ice cream.  She loves her daddy and just wants to be tickled by him all the time.  She is a little miffed with me for having married him so that she can't.  She is super snuggly.  I love her so much.

Ella is just....wow, a force to be reckoned with.  Bossy, talented, attention seeking, she never met a camera she didn't LOVE.  She loves to dance and sings "Let It Go" with wild abandon (and a bit off key).  She is constantly smiling and is smart as a whip.  She is super funny and has a great laugh. She will be the first one to tell you that she's pretty.  And that she is going to marry a prince.  Along with dancing lessons she and her sister are also going to preschool a couple of days a week. 

I am doing great.  I would like to weigh a lot less but you know.  I keep starting a running program and have trouble sticking with it.  I do love to ride my bicycle all over our neighborhood though.  I am serving as a Primary Teacher and teach an awesome group of 6 year olds.  I also help teach the preschool co-op so I have kiddos at my house every three weeks.   I recently joined MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) which is an amazing group that I am so thrilled to have stumbled upon.  I still miss my old job, but enjoy homemaking too, though I don't know that I really have the hang of it.  That is always evolving.

We have not been able to get out and play tennis much, but we do have courts.  I feel that soon, Connor can watch the girls while we get out for an hour or so.  We did spend a lot of time at the pools this summer.  We are really looking forward to going back to Utah to spend Christmas.  Life is good.   We are celebrating our 13th anniversary this Sunday.  It's been quite a ride.  We are so grateful for the life we have helped create.  And are excited to see what is in store.  The adventure continues.......

Comfort

Yesterday, Connor was a little late to get home from school.  Not time to go out of my mind with worry late, but enough that I noticed.  I figured he had stopped at his friends house or was out in the street chatting.  But something compelled me to walk outside and just take a look around.  I did and looked up the road and saw the flash of red shirt that I knew he had put on in the morning.  I thought "well, here he comes, he's fine, I'll go back inside and make sure the girls aren't tearing the house apart". 

But something made me stop.  Something whispered to me that I should go towards him.  As I did, I heard.  And I saw.  He was running towards me and was crying his eyes out.  I started running and when I got to him I started searching for signs of an injury.  I asked him if he was okay, if he was hurt.  "No," he stammered, "I missed my stop and forgot to get off the bus".  Relief flooded through me and while I am sure the bus driver was none to happy with him, I assured him that it was okay and grabbed him and held him close to me. 

Would he have been okay if he had just told me about it when he got home?  Sure.  Was it better that I was there to scoop him up and reassure him while the hurt was still so fresh and he was so upset?  In my eyes, you bet.  I was so thankful that I could ease his mind sooner, even if just a few minutes more.  I was grateful for my mother's heart and for listening to the still small voice within.

I started thinking about how many times I have been in sorrow, crying my eyes out, hurt beyond measure.  How our Heavenly Father would love to reach through the veil and scoop us up and pull us close.  While Jesus walked the Earth, he spoke so many beautiful words that sustained and gave peace.  When He left, it was promised that we would be given the Holy Ghost. 

I have always loved the description of the Holy Ghost as "comforter".  It gives me an image of being wrapped up in a warm cozy blanket.  But of course, another definition is one to "run to our side and pick us up".  Of course, it isn't in the physical sense.  But as a remembrance of the words of Jesus that brings comfort to those who love him.  John 14:26, we are told ...

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

We are given the spirit within us to bring to mind that which Jesus taught us.

 

But I also believe that our Father in Heaven uses human vessels to bring comfort to us.  That's a phone call from a friend.  That's a message that says "I was just thinking about you today".  It's what leads us to do acts of kindness to others, sometimes without knowing why we are doing them.  And it's what compels a mother to go out to the street looking for her child just to make sure he doesn't need her.

 

I find comfort today knowing that I have that big old blanket whenever I need it.

Houston Zoo!

 

We have been getting used to our new life in Houston and man that's taken a lot of time!  Still trying to get settled into our new home, learn our way around town and establish a routine.  I have been relishing my new role as stay at home mom (though have been putting on the serious pounds...gotta lay off the baking) but it's a lot of work and there's no vacation or sick days!  We had the opportunity to take a little r and r as we hosted Lonny parents. Lynn and Edy for 10 fun filled days!  One of our stops, was the Houston Zoo.  Everyone frome friends at church to my new hairdresser have been saying "you MUST visit the zoo!" so we decided to check it out.  It's incredible!  The landscaping alone is worth the trip...the animals are the cherry on top.  They had one of my favorites...an ocelot.  I didn't get to see him though, as he was sound asleep somewhere, so new name?  Napsalot.   

 

But the best pay-off?  Grandma and Grandpa visiting some homesick kids who needed a taste of home.  And between you and me?  So did their Mom.....

 

Now we can regroup and continue to explore our new home.  The weather is amazing and we're up to the challenge.  But we have some great memories to store away as we make new ones!

Acclimating....or Turning into Texans

I have been told that it actually can get very cold here, but I have decided that there are just varying degrees of summer in Texas.  I have laughed at stories I hear about Texans bundling up when it hits the 60s (brrr! it hearkens me back to my days in California, where the uniform in winter is a sweater with your shorts).  I have been looking forward to flaunting flip flops in February (say that three times fast).  I have been planning on tossing out all the sweaters and scarves, saving just a few for trips back to Utah.  These silly Texans.  It is so hot here sometimes I can't speak.  They don't know cold!

Then the funniest thing happened....

Yesterday we hovered around 85 degrees here.  We have been here just about a month mind you.  I looked around the house and everyone had long pants on.  I found myself with a chill and ran upstairs to get a shirt with long sleeves.  The air conditioner (which is hands down the most essential thing to have here, forget food and water) was set at 75.  And I was cold!!!  Lonny and I both watched football under blankets (can I tell you how wonderful it is to live in a football town again?  It's, in an overused word, awesome).  I felt like making a pot of chili. 

Could it be that we are turning into Texans?

We have made it a goal to try every BBQ joint in The Woodlands. then perfecting our own.  I am determined to learn to make pie crust.  Connor has noticed that all the kids say "ma'am" and "sir" at the end of their sentences.  He and I both sported cowboy boots at our Ward Fair on Saturday.  I don't scream my head off at the cute little lizard who lives on top of my outside trash can anymore (I accidentally touched him ON MY BIRTHDAY while throwing out some trash because I didn't see him and had the heebie jeebies for two hours after...I don't know who freaked out harder)...in fact, I have dubbed him Larry.

I have even caught myself calling him "Sir".

I do believe, we are turning into Texans.  And I couldn't be prouder. 

Blowin' the Dust Off....

Whew...almost went an entire year without a posting.  Shame on me!  And what a year it has been.

After so much uncertainty and having to exercise tremendous faith (soooo not easy), we finally got the answer to the questions that have invaded our lives....where are we going to wind up?  What's going to happen in the next few years?  What does the Lord have in store for us?

What He had in store was certainly nothing I saw coming!  We were presented with a few different scenarios, a few I was absolutely CERTAIN held the answers only to find that no, that's not the fork we're to take...and finally ended up with a wonderful opportunity to live in Texas.

We had both looked at the job posting and considered it then thought....nah.  Well, maybe, but well, nah.  Then during a conversation with Lonny one day he remarked, off handedly, that he had put in for the job in Houston.  We thought nothing would ever come of it.  He had been called for a second interview for a job in Washington D.C. as well as Orange County, my home stomping grounds.  We had already lost what we thought was our dream opportunity to move to Sacramento (they interviewed Lonny, he felt he nailed it, we felt so certain that was were we were going then they casually drop the "Well, we don't actually have funding for this position, so we don't know when we will be able to fill it...."  - as of this writing, they still haven't) so we were trying to remain cautiously optimistic.  Then lo and behold, the call came from Texas for an interview.  Right away, in the back of my mind, I started thinking..hmm...something about this feels right.  And no one was more surprised than me.

I will spare you a long drawn out rest of the story (ha! when have I ever) but the short of it is that in June, we (don't you love how I say "we" but really, it was entirely a team decision) accepted the position in Houston and 6 weeks later we were on the road.  We have been here a month now, still settling in.  Everything sort of fell into place.  Lonny received a "Welcome to the Court, we are excited to meet you, I am a BYU Grad" type of email from one of his fellow law clerks.  As it turns out he and his wife have been amazing friends to us.  Because of a contact we were given by them for a real estate agent, we were able to rent a house that we love, sight unseen, which I would NEVER do (again, exercising faith) and we have landed in their ward (our new friends' AND the agent) so we already knew a few people when we arrived.  Lonny's colleague also is in the Bishopric here in our ward and when we arrived, there were 35 people here to help us move in.

We love the area we are in.  We are really "into the woods" and there are critters to get used to and the heat and humidity here are cray cray (we were warned August is the worst month to be here so it can only go up from here!).  We live right around the corner from a nature preserve, there is everything we could want (except a Café Rio, but we are in the heart of Mexican Restaurant Central, I think we'll survive) and so far we have been very happy.  I am in love with how much closer we are becoming as a family.  I also have the opportunity (or should I say challenge?) of staying home full time, at least for now.

It is a huge relief to have these questions answered.  Of course, more answers lead to more questions....

In any case, I am excited to have landed and am going to work diligently to blog our journey here in this life again.  Don't really know if anyone is that interested in reading it, but it is good for my soul so here it is, warts and all.  I have some camera related issues, always it seems...there is a lesson somewhere that I am not learning....but will post some pictures soon.  The kids have sure grown from my last post!!!  More to come....the journey never really ends even if the blog post did for a while.

Splish Splash

What better way to cool off on a hot summer day AND let Mommy go shopping?  Splash Pads at Gateway!  Ahhhhhh.....

Cleaning Ladies

We can all use a little help now and again with those daily chores....double the trouble?  Double the HELP!

A Rootin' Tootin' Birthday

Party Day!  After Connor enjoyed an afternoon snooze, his family (the ones left in Utah, anyway) all came to celebrate.  We had a great BBQ with all Connor's favorite foods and some new yummy stuff too.  Then the kids got to work on earning their Junior Ranger badges.  They had to fill out a work book and look for birds, answer questions about how we take care of our National Forests, do word searches, all kinds of fun.  Everybody earned their badge!  Connor got lots of presents, including a Batman costume, books and more cowboy gear.  He even got handcuffs!  We will have to ask Angela if she thought that was such a good idea.  Once again, Connor had a great day!!!

Connor turns 6!

For Connor's 6th birthday, he decided he wanted to go with a cowboy theme. That worked perfectly, because we had planned a camping trip (love when a plan comes together!!). So on his actual birthday, we loaded up the family and headed off in our RV to Wasatch Mountain State Park. We had a great dinner and the birthday guy opened up a few presents from Mommy and Daddy. He was overjoyed to receive a REAL pair of cowboy boots! So excited, he launched into a jig! It was awesome and his dad got it all on video. He also got a cowboy hat, so he was all ready for his party the next day. All the excitement got our cowpoke a bit tuckered when it was time to roast marshmallows, so off to bed early to rest up for the next day.

The Big Picture

I often talk about this, particularly when I am attempting to be of comfort to others. At times when a friend is going through heartache or disappointment I am so quick to point it out, so eager to share my wisdom. So much so that I eager myself out of remembering it when I need it most. The Big Picture.

 In the last year, my little family has experienced numerous difficulties. Don't get me wrong, I am still enthralled with my little daughters and watching them grow (and getting some sleep). Connor is an amazing little boy and I feel so blessed that he chose us as his family. I have a husband I adore and who makes me laugh. I have great friends. I am remembering to be grateful for the mommy-moments and the good times. We have had some fun family trips and I got to spend time in SoCal twice this summer. The main issue that we have been dealing with - and for me it is no small thing - is uncertainty. It has loomed all around us. Without getting into specifics, and knowing that life is full of uncertain things, I can say that it has been a burden that has been almost too much for me to bear.

 I like things in their little boxes, I love to plan to a fault. I need blueprints, itineraries. I won't even fly stand-by, that's how NOT-operate-by-the-seat-of-your-pants I am. I think it can be a fault and I work on flexibility (this is why I keep going back to yoga even though I have decided that I don't think I really DO like it all that much, because even my body has trouble being flexible). I actually believe it is the key to longevity so I try to be really rigid about being flexible. And in some ways, I have made great strides. But in the ways I am being tested on now, not so much. So I struggle.

 Some things in my life I was counting on happening, that would surely solve all our problems have not come to fruition and I just don't understand what is going on. My crystal ball is on the fritz. My mojo meter is definitely off. I feel a little bit adrift.

 So this post is more for me than anyone else. And if it can help one of you dear readers (if you are even out there anymore???) then even better. This cloud of despair has taken up too much of my time. I have been beyond negligent in my blogging and the things that I need to do to be complete and happy. So it is time for a gentle breeze of wisdom to blow through and clear my skies again.

 A long time ago I was experiencing the pain of a miscarriage, back when Lonny and I had barely been married a year. Through my heartache, I kept hearing a voice inside that said, "you are hurting now, but you can't see the big picture". I bought a CD by Cherie Call, a favorite of mine, in an attempt to lift my spirits. I opened it up and read the liner notes (I love doing this, I will read them cover to cover before I even listen to the music. Gotta have that itinerary!) and the very first thing I read was "this is a collection of songs about the Big Picture"! I couldn't believe it. I put down the liner notes immediately and popped in the CD. (I know I am dating myself here now because isn't it all about the bluetooth or something now? I know not). The first song was called "The Ocean in Me". The lyric that hit me right in the heart and the gut, that impacted my life and made me decide that Cherie Call and I really do need to be forever girlfriends (though we still aren't...Cherie? are you out there?) went like this:
 "And when I feel like just a teardrop in the rain
 When I meant to be a river
 God sees the ocean in me"
 Simple? Yes. Beautiful in it's imagery? Most definitely. Life changing? For me, absolutely. I cannot tell you how many times I have called on these words when I have needed them. In that situation, as you know, the teardrop of a miscarriage turned into an ocean of three beautiful, healthy children. That's one heck of a Big Picture. In my current situation? I have gone a whole year without remembering it. The Big Picture. I can't see it now, but it's there. I believe it with every fiber of my being.
 "And in the depths of all my sorrow and my pain,
 when I ask to be delivered
He shows the ocean to me
 He sees the ocean in me"
 There's a whole ocean in me here and I don't even know it! The part I need to remember? "When I ask to be delivered".....I forgot to ask! And I don't think that it is about asking to be spared from heartache. I think she is talking about the deliverance of surrender. I have been so busy fighting everything, trying to force the puzzle pieces to fit. I forgot to ask for help.

 I finally asked for a blessing. The recurring theme was about making family a priority. So I am going to finally clean out my heart (and ears!) and do just that. Appreciate every moment with my kids, show gratitude to my husband. A dear dear friend ("dear" doesn't even cut it) of mine passed away this summer. She was 46 years old and had chosen a difficult path in life. But she was the sweetest person you would ever hope to meet. I have so many interesting friends because of her. I could devote an entire post (and more) to her. She left behind 5 children, the youngest is 9. She missed becoming a grandmother for the first time by just mere weeks. Life is uncertain. Love every moment. I sat at her funeral and even forgot that.

 So now I move on from letting uncertainty take the reigns. Can't avoid it, but I am not going to let it run the show. Though it all looks terribly bleak now, it will all work out. Time to make room for the Big Picture.

 My mother-in-law reminded me of Proverbs 3:5-6:
 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths".

 Now it is time to trust. And apparently, to get out my Cherie Call CD again.

Mother's Day

I have this silly image in my head about Mother's Day....that I will be served breakfast in bed, that the children will be clean and quiet. And that they will be perfect in church and then come home and sit at my feet, gazing adoringly at their sainted mother.....HA! But it is such a special blessing to be a mom and to have all my children with me at last. I don't even care that I couldn't get ONE picture with my kids where someone wasn't crying. I don't even care that they were extra naughty in church and I spent my time with them in the nursery. Lonny made me a special breakfast (who cares that it wasn't in bed?) and made sure the day was as nice as possible. I have a wonderful family who loves me and that's all the gift I need.

A Visit from Cousins

We were super excited to host Lance, Lacie and their beautiful kids as they made their way from Oklahoma to start a new life in California! Connor was sooooo happy to see Hope and the girls loved meeting Callie. And we ALL loved meeting our newest addition, Tyler! I regret not taking more pictures, but we had so much fun. We had a going away party for them and Connor made sure to sit himself between two of his favorite little ladies, Hope and Victoria. And Ella and Callie are two little peas in a pod. It was a super special time. We are very excited to go to California in November and spend Thanksgiving with these people we love so very much!