home is where the heart is

For the past 14 months we have lived in a little piece of heaven. What, wait?  Houston is a piece of heaven?  No, it's not actually Houston, but a township north of Houston called The Woodlands. Dreamed up by a genius and filled with too many trees to count, roadsides of wild flowers, hundreds of miles of bike paths, over 200 parks, and 13 pools. No tall billboards to block our view of the beautiful scenery. Sidewalks all the way to Addie's school and back.

My parents taught me to notice cardinals perched in the trees, to appreciate the primroses in Catclaw Creek.  And on family vacations to Colorado I found my own private heaven in the mountains, wildlife, trees, and rivers. The Woodlands has been the Texas version of 'my Colorado'. If I had known this place existed before last year then I'm sure I would have dreamed of living here.

For months after we moved, Keri and both commented that we felt like we didn't really live here, but instead were on some sort of extended vacation.  And even after a year of settling in, we never have felt at home.  We have benefited so much from the amenities here and have made some sweet friends.  But we seriously miss our families and friends. It's become even more evident that home is where the heart is.

I haven't blogged much about Keri's dad's health, except for a quick mention last fall.  After Delbert's episode in Colorado, he checked in with his doctors in Fort Worth.  He went through lots of testing and it was discovered that he has an auto immune disease called Goodpasture Syndrome.  This syndrome has seriously debilitated his kidneys and doctors decided to put him on dialysis 3 times a week.  He was very ill and ended up moving in with Keri's sister and her family.  It made our hearts ache that we couldn't be there to help care for Delbert.  We realized then how much we missed being an hour from all of Keri's family.  Plus we were 6.5 hours from my parents.  That made it hard to visit for just a weekend because of all the time in the car.

Even though we had hoped and prayed to be settled after our last move, we began to pray that God would hear that our heart's desire was to be settled closer to those we love.  We kept an open mind about staying here or moving on.  And we prayed that God would make His will very clear.

In January a job came open that interested our family.  Keri had an impromptu meeting with the head coach of a 3A school outside of Waco. Then he was called in for a formal interview. Since I hadn't seen this small town since before we finished at Baylor, we decided to take the whole family along to check it out. Coaching is our family ministry, after all. So we drove into Waco late one night and spent the night. Next morning we got dressed and ready, woke up 3 little pumpkins and dressed them in their green and gold Baylor gear. When we dropped Keri off at his interview the head coach invited us all into his office and talked to the kids and me for 15 minutes. I had a very peaceful feeling when I kissed Keri goodbye. While Keri interviewed the kids and I kept busy with a trip to see the Baylor bears, a visit to the Waco Zoo, and play time at Cameron Park.

Around 4:30 we finally got word from Keri to come pick him up. He had interviewed with the head coach, all the football coaches, the principal and department head. By the time we got there he had been interviewing for 8 hours and still wasn't done! The kids got restless so we jumped out of the car and played some football in the grass next to the field house. One of the assistant coaches came out, introduced himself to us, and talked with me for 30 minutes. He went on and on about what a great job Keri had done in his presentation and how all the coaches loved him. He also gave me more info about the town and the elementary schools. (All positive reports of course!)

Long story short we left with a peaceful feeling and open hearts. When Keri got the job offer a few days later we were thrilled. He will be the offensive coordinator and we will be settling in this town for a long, long time! Waco is where our love story began and so it feels like we're coming home again. Plus we're only 90 minutes from Keri's family and 3 hours from mine!!! We're so happy about this!

We've known about this move since February but haven't broadcasted it for a few reasons. The first was out of respect for Keri's current job. He just finished spring ball and didn't want his players to hear any rumors while he was still coaching. He likes to finish strong.

Another reason is pretty selfish. I just didn't want to deal with the (mostly well meaning) questions and comments. For example,

'I would have killed my husband by now if he kept moving me across the state every few years!'

Really? Death do us part, but no more than 2 moves or I'm outta here?

'Aren't you worried about the kids? Moving again will surely cause problems and chaos and kids need stability.'

You can tell they are suffering immensely.

In all seriousness.  Yes we realize that moving so often is hard on our kids.  But we would rather have a few hard weeks of transition and be in the center of God's will than be comfortable and trying to plan out our own lives.

'Oh, is this move by choice or did Keri get fired?'

Gutsy question, this one! Nope, he's never been fired. In fact Keri has won multiple teaching awards, gotten excellent reviews on all his evaluations, and influenced so many young lives. He's pretty dang smart (he's got 3 degrees you know) and works harder than anyone I know. He experiences success on the football field because he expects excellence and because he cares about his kids. I can't tell you the number of phone calls and texts he has received from players needing help. Whether it's advice on what to do when a parent kicks them out, needing help on the side of the road when their car breaks down, or needing a meal.  Keri goes so far above what is required of a coach or teacher. His heart is that of a servant and a teacher and he reaches so many kids because they recognize that in him. 

So there it is. We're moving. Again. In 16 days. We are moving back to a small town, which I'm so ready for! It's a place that feels like home already and I can't wait to walk in the door of our new home (closing June 7) and start the next chapter of our lives. (We are buying a home again after 6 years of leasing!)  We are praying that God will open up ministry opportunities through FCA, church, with the coaching staff and families and with our neighbors.


We're making our home just outside Waco. Follow along as we start a new journey!