Storms.

Yesterday afternoon, Waco got hit with a crazy storm. It started out just as a thunderstorm, but soon enough the winds were so strong I couldn't even see out my front window or back door ... I love rain, and especially love sleeping in it, but not this kind of rain. Jaxon was crying, terrified of the thunder & lightning, and then to find out my husband was on his way home during the storm only added to my panic.

But eventually the storm stopped, Tyler was home, and we went outside to check out what happened ... only to find this:

This huge branch is hanging upside-down in front of our house, seriously barely hanging on. Glad the tree guy is coming today to cut it down!

This tree literally snapped in half (look at the size of the trunk!) and fell onto their house ... it was just a couple of homes down from ours.

Pictures don't really do the storm justice, but the 70+ mph winds were so strong that they tipped a car over down the street.

Tyler and I joked that the easiest way to meet your neighbors here is to go on a walk ... everyone is always hanging out on couches on their front lawns (yes, i am being serious about the couches!). And after this storm, everyone was out roaming around checking out the damage.

Gotta love the south!

Changes.

Well, my sister finally convinced me to make the switch from Wordpress to Blogger. I am not sure why I didn't do it earlier, but cheers to a cuter and easier to understand blog.

We made it to Waco! The past week of our life was a complete whirlwind ... but we're here and finally getting settled into our new home. We looked at a total of 5 houses to rent and by the end of the day, we chose the one that we thought would fit our family and our budget the best! It is an older home, which I love ... has lots of old home charm! Definitely the polar opposite of our last house. I loved that one too, but this one just has more character. I do, however, miss my dishwasher. We didn't realize until AFTER we signed the lease that this new place doesn't have a dishwasher! Oh well. I miss the open layout of our old house and the big bright windows in every room, and going from 2200 sq feet 4 bedroom house to a small 2 bedroom home has definitely brought some "where the heck am I going to put this?!" challenges, but so far, it has all worked out. Luckily this house came with tons of storage (garage AND a shed) so it has been fine.

My biggest obstacle has been decorating ... having enough stuff to decorate and furnish our old stuff, and not wanting it to be cluttered in the new house has been a little tough. It's hard to find a balance between it being OVERLY decorated to feeling empty, so I am struggling trying to find a happy medium there. Right now it doesn't feel homey to me, and I think it's just because of the white walls. Our landlords weren't keen on us painting, and with me being 7 months pregnant and having Jaxon to worry about (I can just see a paint can spilling as I type...), I dropped the subject and decided to just grin and bear it.

Anyway, overall we are really happy with the house and I know the longer we're here the more like "home" it will feel. Plus, the saying is definitely true: "Home is where they love you". And I have two (and a half?) boys that love me immensely here, what more could I ask for?

Be back soon, and with pics ... I promise :)

Howdy, y'all.

Do I really have to start talking like that?  I refuse to say those two words ... howdy, and y'all.  Because they are both made up, and I am the grammar nazi.

Well ... Tyler accepted a job in Waco, Texas!  We are excited for lots of reasons.  First and foremost, it is a stable company and the job is NOT a contract! (hooray!)  They have incredible benefits, including 15 days of vacation a year as a newbie, excellent medical benefits, they take 10 days off in-between Christmas and New Years (and that doesn't count against your vacation time) AND they are paying for us to relocate.  Not only that, but all of those benefits start on day 1!  And with a baby coming in a couple of months -- ::gulp:: -- that itself is definitely an answer to prayer.  What else could we ask for?  Well, I guess we could ask for it to be in Kansas City or in the Midwest, but obviously God has other plans.  And we are okay with that.

Stability. Finding a house we can call our own.  A husband who comes home every night after work.  Perfect, perfect, perfect.

It is such a bittersweet thing.  I think this move is harder on me for one reason, and one reason only ... my boys.  I want so badly for them to know their grandparents, not just know OF them.  It kills me to lose my support system that is just hours away.  Okay, I guess I shouldn't say "lose it", because I know I'll never lose their support.  They just won't be able to rescue me when I have a 22 month old naughty boy and a newborn on my hands.  And not just their grandparents, but their aunts/uncles and cousins ... I know our families will always be apart of our lives, I have no doubt.  I just wish they could be apart of our everyday lives.

The second reason it will be so hard is because of our friends.  We have established a second family here in KC through our church and small group.  These people are irreplaceable and will forever hold a spot in my heart ... seriously.  I know the friendships we have with them will not die, and we can only hope our paths will cross again someday (soon).  And our friends that aren't apart of our small group but are still here in KC, including the newlyweds Brian & Angie that we adore ... tears ...

I have a feeling this move will be similar to our California move ... we lived there for almost a year and found work back in the Midwest and moved back 'home'.  Right now, I can't see this being a permanent, forever and ever and ever "until we retire" sort of thing.  Although, if Texas is where God wants us until we grow old and die at 99, then Texas it will be.  We have always prayed for His will to be done, and that will always be our prayer first and foremost.

We are loading the truck early Saturday morning and will leave for that hot, tornado-filled, snake-infested, red dirt state first thing on Monday.

This is definitely going to be an emotional weekend ahead, I can feel it in my bones.

Time for an update.

Once upon a time, a girl really missed her husband.  She wanted to go visit him, but after looking at airplane ticket prices, disregarded the idea.  Her husband sent her a text message asking her to come visit, emphasizing how much he really missed her and how he needed her.  So she jumped in the car and drove 12 hours, with a 1 year old, by herself.

True story!  {and the drive was seriously a breeze!}

I am in Denver!  We are together again.  And even though we're staying at his roommates house, who is a bachelor, who has 1 bathroom towel, no forks, no washcloths, and absolutely nothing except opened dog food in his fridge... we are together.  And even though we have no idea where we'll be next week, let alone in a month, we can go through this crazy ride together.

Right now, we have Tyler's resume out all over the country.  I mean, all over.  From Minnesota to Texas, from Washington to South Carolina.  And we will go wherever there is a good, stable job.  And medical benefits.  Because Lord knows we need those things.  Stability and benefits.

I have reached the point that I am ready to just go wherever we can that will give us some peace for a while.  If it ends up being somewhere other than the midwest, it will be temporary (1 year or so?) and we will continue to look for something close to our families.  But we have both reached the point that we're just ready to be settled again.  Sick of living out of a suitcase, sick of the constant worrying and stress.  Ready to just have a place to live, to decorate, to play, to eat, to belong... and to be a family again.

{can't you just see the pure joy in all of our faces?}

Dreaming.

Want to see my dream house?



I love yellow houses.  Love the big wrap-around porch.  Love the gazebo in the yard.  Cherry cabinets, granite countertops, brazilian cherry floors, stereo system wired throughout the house and a 1,000 bottle wine cellar in the basement?

Imagine what you could do with 4,140 square feet...

I keep dreaming of the day when I can sit on my front porch sipping a cup of coffee while my boys play in the yard.

Sign me up.