Day One

Saturday we moved to our new home. We are so blessed to have had so much help back in Dallas and here in Houston too. We have the best friends and family!




Our first night in the new house went great. We were all exhausted and the whole family slept great. The kids slept through the night. Woo hoo! We all woke up for breakfast and then the exploring began.




The kids and I started walking on the hike and bike trails and we ended up at Addie's school. We played at the park behind her school and had the best time!




Brock loved the playground and seeing all the birds, squirrels, trees, ducks, dogs, and people on our walk.




Looking up, still loving the trees!




Doak loves to explore and play.




We got some good use out of our new wagon and had a great adventure today!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BIG NEWS!

There's no need to beat around the bush, so I'll just say it.

We are moving to Houston!

Keri's boss and head coach resigned shortly after football season last fall. Keri quickly took on more responsibilities and acted as the leader in the absence of the head coach. When it came time for interviews for this position, we prayed that if it was God's will that He would allow Keri to get the job. We have loved our time here in our small town and have been fully committed to the students and athletes, as well as serving in many capacities in our church. We would have loved to continue to minister here, but Keri didn't get the job.

When a school hires a new head coach, the new guy brings in his coaches to be his Offensive Coordinator (that was Keri's job) and Defensive Coordinator. Keri probably would have been able to stay on as a freshman coach but that would be quite a backwards step career wise as well as a hard one since he had been running the program in the absence of a head coach for 2 months.

So Keri made contacts and began to look for another job. He got a call from the head coach at a Houston area school. This coach is a friend of Keri's and has worked the FCA camp with us each summer for the past 5 years. The school's football program is very successful, going a 2-3 rounds deep in the playoffs most years. The head coach is a quality coach and a great man. Keri went down and interviewed last week and was offered the job on the spot. After much prayer and reflecting back on the past 2 months Keri decided to accept the job. Moving to Houston was never in our plans.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

I have only been to Houston 2 times in my life-one of which was last week, which is crazy. Moving will mean starting over but we know God has a plan for us there. Keri will start teaching and coaching there on March 26. We will drive down at the end of this week, which is our spring break, to find a home. The kids and I will join Keri in Houston as soon as we can get into a house there. The kids are actually so excited, and we have only had a few moments where Addie shed some tears over leaving sweet friends behind. Again, this must have been a God thing for them to be so excited!

We are excited for this new chapter of our lives, and appreciate your prayers and support!

one year changes everything

About a year ago I posted this on our blog. We had just moved to our new small town and were starting over again. I believed with all my heart that God had a purpose for us here. At the same time I looked back at on our previous 2 years as Hawks and was really sad to leave that life behind. But still I knew God had a plan. So for the record, one year later I can now recount more blessings than I ever imagined. Here's a few:

AMAZING CHURCH Never, ever did I think we would find a church in this small town. Looking back now, how snobby of me to think that a small town church wouldn't be 'good' enough for us. Thankfully God is much bigger than me and He had the perfect plan! We are more involved here than we ever have been in a church. Keri and I are both teaching and are in men's and women's bible studies. I'm on the worship team, and the kids love going to the childrens activities. Addie and Doak are learning so much truth that we are reinforcing at home - it's been wonderful to watch them learn and grow. Our pastor preaches straight from the Word and challenges us each week.

TRUE FRIENDS In each season of our life we have had great friends. We are blessed to have friends all over Texas and we love that we know someone in almost every town around north Texas. The friendships made here in our small town are genuine. Something about the people we meet here is different. I feel no pressure to "keep up with the Joneses". Most of our friends are single income families and it is a relief to have people over and not feel like weird about our 9 year old couch or garage sale kitchen table. It's good to be accepted and loved for being just who you are. Another cool thing has been friendships made with people in later stages of life. Our small group at church is formed of all ages and stages and we've learned so much from a wise 80-something lady and some couples our parents' age too!

SCHOOLS Obviously we moved here for Keri's job at the high school. And we were hopeful that all the schools we were a part of would be excellent. We were right! Addie's elementary is wonderful! I've never worried about her at school because I know she is safe and loved and being taught by a great teacher! Doak's preschool is beyond spectacular. His teachers are so patient and loving and they come up with such fun activities to promote learning.

HOUSE Our house is great! We are leasing it and the owner wants us to make it our home. She doesn't mind if we paint or do anything with the house as long as we are taking care of it. We've had fun painting and decorating here.

NEIGHBORHOOD This neighborhood is such a friendly place. Kids and parents are all out in the front in the evenings-the kids ride bikes or play while the adults talk. We love our neighbors : ) We love to take family bike ride/walks in the evening and the streets are safe for our family.

GROWTH There have been many blessings-even more than those listed. This has also been a hard year in some ways. There have been challenges with Keri's job, changes in finances, and some difficult situations that can only be explained as spiritual attacks. But the growth from these things has brought about humility, helped us be better stewards of our money, and led us to fully depend on God to supply all our needs.

What a difference a year makes! I'm so glad we took a leap of faith one year ago!

the new house

Well, we're moved in! We had some great help (hired and volunteer) and even though it rained all weekend we got every box in and most of them unpacked. I need to take some pictures of the house and post them, but until I can, you'll have to settle for reading about it!

top ten things i love about the house:
1. it's .5 miles from Keri's school
2. we have trees
3. it's 3 bedrooms
4. it's affordable
5. it's in a great neighborhood with a park and duck pond down the street
6. tons of closet space
7. a big backyard for Addie and Kylie
8. i feel safe
9. Addie likes it
10.no upstairs neighbors!!!

top ten quirks about the house:
1. the random electric box hanging down in the dining room
2. the snow cone window in the kitchen (maybe this should be on the positive list) It slides open and comes complete with a serving bar on the outside of the house. Annalee, can I pay a fee and get a franchise of Cajun Cones?
3. the original 1960's metal and plastic venetian blinds
4. the chandeliers in the living room and dining room are held up by metal zip ties and bailing wire-these are up for auction, please email me if interested. They are black faux wrought iron with amber colored glass bulbs.
5. the entry door is flanked by two lovely floor to ceiling windows of amber colored bottled glass
6. wooden spindles accent almost every room in the house
7. the hallway to Addie's room has a pleasant aroma of dead fish
8. the chandeliers
9. the chandeliers
10. the chandeliers

Thanks for reading! All joking aside this house has been such a big blessing. The owners did so much to get it ready for us (we're leasing). They painted the brown panelling and dark cabinets white, replaced the dishwasher, put nice, new carpet in every bedroom and the living room. They did so much more than they had to and for that we are so grateful! It already feels like home and that's all that matters!

Keri is in Austin working the UT football camps, so Addie and I are visiting family in Abilene and Oklahoma for a week or so. Here are a few pictures from the last few days:


Addie helped Cookie clean the glass doors at our new house.
Addie loves her swing at Cookie and Papa's.

a late update

It's been a while since I blogged! I have felt better this past week-almost normal! Praise God. I spent a great week in Abilene resting and getting lots of help caring for Addie. Keri joined us Friday in Abilene for a friend's wedding and then Addie and I came back to Carrollton with him. This week we've been packing-we're moving to Garland tomorrow! We'll be offline for a few days, but we will post as soon as we can with pictures of our new place!

looking for a place to rest our heads

So, we're moving to Garland. In my whole life I've been to Garland 5 times. . .4 of those were last week! We have been searching for the perfect house to lease for a few years. We want a nice neighborhood, 3+ bedrooms, 2 baths, a few trees, and a backyard for Addie and Kylie. You'd think that wouldn't be too much to ask! But, the search continues. Addie and I made a trip last Monday to look at a few houses that Keri found in the Sunday newspaper. We didn't find a house, but I did get some cute pictures of Addie!

happy Friday!

We have a great reason to celebrate TGIF this week.....it's Spring Break! Keri has softball practice after school today but after that he doesn't have any school related responsibilites until Wednesday! Yippee! We hope to get some rest this week along with some good quality family time. Keri is about 99% sure that he has a new job in Garland so we're heading over to Garland Monday or Tuesday so I can meet the head coach and so we can look around the area for places to live. We're SO excited about this opportunity and the changes in our family as a result. The head coach is an amazing Christian man and will be a great mentor for Keri. Another huge plus is that the hours during football season are much more reasonable than Keri's current job-let's just say it will be awesome to see Keri during the daylight in football season! The job isn't totally official yet, but the head coach has offered the job and the principal has interviewed Keri and approved it, we're just waiting on the district for the final paperwork. Praise God for his provision and for his plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future!

and because I can post without including a picture of our cutie

a final farewell

I took this picture Saturday morning before the UHaul arrived. Addie and puppy and said a final goodbye to their favorite place to hang out.

I was really surprised that I got emotional driving away from the house for the last time. So many good memories, so many hard, sleepless nights, so many firsts . . .

Addie is adjusting really well to her new home. She loves the park, and is always asking to go outside, go for a walk, or to "pio" (Addie's code word for 'play'). We are already feeling relief from the traffic-it took us a whopping 5 minutes to get to church Sunday! YEAH!!

We are still unpacking but we're settling in and it's starting to feel like home. A big thanks to all of you who helped us move-we have the greatest friends and family!

movin on up

or should I say moving on down? !

Keri and I signed the lease on our apartment today. We are moving in tomorrow! It's a very nice 2 bedroom/2 bath. Addie's room and closet are actually bigger than her room and closet in our house! We're so excited to be 3 minutes from Keri's school, 5 minutes from church, and minutes from friends.

Packing is going well and we are so thankful that we have friends and family coming tomorrow to help us move. I'll post again when we get settled in!

ah, the memories

As we're packing up, it's hard not to think about the great memories we've made in this house. I'm going to share a few of my favorites with you all!

Mom and Addie our first weekend in the house

Addie's first bath (1 month old-her cord took forever to fall off!)

Addie's sweet nursery

hosting Christmas at our house 2005

Addie learning to crawl (at first she went backwards!)

Addie's first birthday party


getting ready for prom

sleepovers with cousins Camryn and Makynna


Addie and cousin Kiran pretending to be puppies

snow this January

That's enough reminiscing for now. We love our house, and we're so excited to pass it on to the next family who will undoubtedly make many great memories here too!

packing up and moving out

The time has come, I can't put it off anymore. It's time to pack up this house! We close on March 15th which is a Thursday, so we're moving out the weekend before. That's in less than 10 days! I'd better get busy. Thankfully I have a really good assistant who loves to help out around the house!
She does take frequent breaks and I must admit she doesn't get much done when she only has one free hand.