Dothan, Grand Prairie, or Austin

Almost four years ago we had a decision to make.  K was interviewing for a job in my hometown.  I had a good job in Dallas. We had a cute house down the street from the YMCA, a church we liked, Austin had a great daycare.  We were settled or at least I thought we were.

K got the job.  We moved to my hometown.  The adjustment was hard.  I didn't know God was moving us down here because He knew I would need my family more than ever.  Because my husband would choose the world over us.

I'm still going through boxes of stuff.
Stuff from Texas. Stuff from before he left us.
It's hard.
I don't like it.

I have good memories, and I know God has a plan in all this, but it all just makes me angry.

I feel like I got the better end.  Holding onto good memories and 2 beautiful kids.  But that's not what I wanted going into dating a man I thought I wanted to marry and eventually did.  I promised him for the rest of my life, and he didn't.  I prayed for a man to marry, God gave me one, then that man chose a very different road.

Life's not fair.

So I raise two little ones teaching them about Jesus, how to live a Christ honoring life.  Praying this anger & frustration will pass like the sadness that came before it.


Oh how I love them :)

Old School Austin

Foot Tickles

Join me?

When I was 12 years old a beauty queen came to my church and spoke.  She told us she started praying for her future mate when she was young and it was very important that we pray too. I started praying for Keith when I was that young.  I didn't know who he was, but I knew it was important to pray for him. I didn't know where I was going to meet him or what he looked like but I knew God did.  Praying continued through high school, college and seminary until one day when I was home for Christmas Jana Wright told me about this tall, dark, handsome guy who was just starting seminary.  What a recommendation from Ed & Jana Wright! I met him and I kept praying.  I felt like God was answering my prayers for a future mate in Keith. 

20 years of praying - 1993 to 2013 and it hasn't stopped although right now it's a different kind of prayer.  Pleading, asking, pleading, relentless talking to God about my mate. My mate that I've been praying for for 20 years...I will not give up.

Happy Friday

This is my 1201st post!

Since I've been at home with morning sickness most of the week I've been reading and finished this one in about a day.


You can find it here.  I've read the first 3 books in the series in TX and this is the 4th. 
Setting is in Africa...easy read...loved it.

In other news Zofran is working and making me feel better.  Here we are before bed last night without a stomach ache....yay!

Well...

I am 8 weeks pregnant tomorrow.
I have to say this one is completely different than with Austin.
I'm not sure how I could teach 850 students with the kind of nausea I have right now.
I am very thankful for Keith & that he works hard for us.
I am thankful for my mom who got me out of the house today and brought over groceries.

We are trying our hardest to potty train Austin.
He's trying his hardest to not tee tee or poo poo in the potty lately.

It will come.
Every morning when we are walking to school I say,
"When you can tee tee in the potty you can go to the big school for PreSchool."

My dr. called in Zofran for me today.
I'm going to take my first half pill this afternoon.
I hope it doesn't make me feel weird.
I hope it takes away the terrible nausea I have.

One week and we will have an ultrasound!

Happy Thursday!

Happy Monday!

 

 

This was taken on Austin's first Valentine's Day.  He was almost 6 months old - 2/2011

...I painted that heart on his shirt.

What a cutie!

Orange sky

 On my way to get pizza last night. 

Yes I take pictures while driving.  :)

I thought all beautiful sunsets were in TX.

I stand corrected.

My mom & Austin - after school visit

Lots of our after school activities this week

have been low key.

Little man is only sleeping 30ish minutes for nap

this week which makes him SO grumpy

in the afternoon/night.

What are we to do but to put him to bed early?!

Things are good.

Austin is loving school and learning new things everyday.

K is a great provider, hubby, dad & Philosophy professor. (Who knew he has one of the low stress jobs seen on Yahoo?!)

I am waiting for my job at the Museum to start. You can read about it here.   I'm also on the sub list but that's inconsistent so in the mean time I am studying for the first test to be certified in Alabama.  I'm taking it Saturday @ 1.  I'm also getting this rental house to look more like our home and taking care of my boys. 

Here's a picture for you to enjoy...

at our favorite coffee shop in Grand Prairie, Texas...

The Brass Bean.

We always liked to get their BLT & Snickers Latte.

Mama & Austin - 11 months old

Some things in 2012.

2012 was a doozy of a year.

I'd have to say a lot of 2012 was frustrating.

We had a lot of change - new city, new church, new house, new toddler, new job

I'd say with change comes frustration then acceptance then peace.

I think I'm at the acceptance place now. 

A few months back I was begging to get out of this rental house.  It's so old and terribly laid out, but we can't find a better place to live.  That's that. (I would like to kick the man who decided to put the laundry room outside in the garage storage space. It's not like he's going to do the laundry anyway.) 

I've accepted that I may not teach art ever again, but I'm not sure what's next for me as far as a job. 

I've accepted the fact that if God really wants us here then He has a plan for us and will show us that plan soon.

So here are some things I will be doing in 2013:

Praying more
Focusing on the positive
Be a better wife
Be a better mom

So next year when I write about 2013, frustrating won't be my word...It's our 7 year anniversary coming up.  Isn't 7 God's number?  And Austin...he's turning 3.  Isn't 3 better than 2?  Oh yes 2013 will be good to us.

So

I've been sharing a room with a 2 year old for the past 5 nights. The first 3 nights it felt like I had a newborn again and not in a good way. The tired kind of way. We don't know if A has allergies here or a cold, but our first 3 nights consisted of snoring, sniffling, and coughing...just what you want to hear on vacation.

Night 4 A was still coughing and rolled off his mattress twice during the night and now he has a nice bruise from the 5 am roll over onto the hardwood.

Night 5 Christmas Eve night...nice & quiet...wonderful!

I guess that explains the no nap he's taking right now. He currently has his sock on his hand like a puppet.

A is loving his Pepa & Grandma and they are loving him. He got a tee ball set from them & I think it's going to be lots of fun.

Pictures to come....

Date Night with Carolers

K & I went to eat at Olive Garden last night.  K ate spaghetti & meatballs as fast as I could eat half of my chicken parmesean.  It was yummy.  There was a waitress close to us 8 months pregnant.  I prayed for her back, legs and feet.  We were gobbling up our salad and some women in a line started walking toward the door. 

They were singing.

They were singing Christmas carols as they were walking past us.

Bahahaha

Then we went to Barnes & Noble and got each other a book.

I got this one.

You can find it here.  Looking forward to reading on our long drive.

Speaking of long drive ~
We are looking forward to breakfast tacos, downtown skylines & time with family.
See ya in January!

Let's just be honest.

I have a group of girls who make 2nd period art a living hell.

Austin is still stuffed up.

He will fight us when we come near him with medicine.

I miss my sweet little elementary kids who loved art.

I am thankful for the handful of high schoolers who like coming to my class.

So glad it's Friday!

Wednesday

Frustrated? Yep.

Kind of wishing I was still teaching in Dallas.  That was going well.  I was good at that.

Sometimes I think things are fine...and then they aren't.

Oy vay

The things we miss.

Every weekend K and I wake up to either a crying dog or a happy little boy next door to us.  K will say, "Man I wish there was a Taco Cabana close by or Rudy's to get some breakfast tacos."

We've been in a rental house for almost a year now.  It was built in the 50's.  It has hardwood floors and 2 bedrooms.  Our house in TX was built in the 90's.  It had carpet, an open floor plan, high ceilings, and inside laundry.  We are thankful for this old house, but hope one day we can have that kind of house again we had in TX.

I used to teach 850 hispanic children every week.  They were excited, energetic and happy to be in art once a week.  Now I teach 115 teenagers everyday.  They are quite different from my sweet TX ones.  Sometimes expressionless, sometimes not happy to be there.  Crazy how things change.

It's the little things.

Really Dallas?

I taught Smudges Monday to 2 classrooms of 3rd graders.  Each classroom had 17 students.

17 students.

It was a RARE day that I had 17 students in my art classroom.

I was used to teaching close to 30.

30 students, people...sometimes more.

My life teaching in TX would've been so much easier and less stressful if they didn't pack so many students in my class.  But I did it, and I was mostly successful!

Come on.

2 years and 1 month

Because he's so cute

And growing like a weed.

Like those Mexican Petunias

In Texas that took over our garden.

About to go to school

And give lots of hugs to his teachers.

Thankful for this sweet boy and

sweet teachers this year!

Looking in our memory box

 My Dad's an artist and he sent this inside a card that said for us to come and visit, and it probably had some money in it to go get some ice cream. :)

 The eyes of TX are upon you - This is where it all started.

Lots of memories in that box

Go DeMarcus!!

Demarcus Ware used to play for Troy when I was there.
Now he plays for the Cowboys...and I used to live there.
I'm a fan.  Go Cowboys!
Source

Sunday afternoon

We drove around this afternoon to get out of the house.
We picked up smoothies for us.
We found these townhouses on a pretty golf course.

One is foreclosed - $130,000
One is for sale - $169,000
One is for sale & updated $269,000  Wow.  Look at that view!

We also went to A's school and played on the playground.
He had lots of fun!


We talked a lot about TX today
Our house, the restaurants, our friends, big city activities, our church...
And how we miss it.
Those were good times.

 His & Ours

 He ran straight to the ladybug when we first got there.

Happy!

 Us!

Tunnel Slide!!

 

 

 

"No more pictures, please."  Tired boy.

Tuesday

We are tired today.
K's air conditioning is not working in his building.
He is coughing and congested so it works that his classes are short today.
A & I played this morning.
We ran some errands:
       Recycling, clothes to thrift store, library
We went to PetSmart & Old Navy
I wanted to buy some shorts but I didn't.  Maybe tomorrow.
Now it's lunch & A's favorite movie Brer Rabbit.

The End.


These were my sunflowers I grew when we lived in TX.
We had to tie them to the wheel barrow because they were so top heavy.