Luke's Eleventh Month!

Our precious one is eleven months old now. Oh my gosh. For real. Stop the clock. Hold up.

One more month until the big zero-one! (I better get planning!)

Okay, now that I have picked my jaw up off of the floor....

We took a trip down memory lane this month and came across this photo.

See any similarities? ;)

So, Luke's eleventh month... this was the month that we actually headed East toward our Florida home.

Dad flew with me and I seriously don't think I would've made it without him. Remember a few years ago when we got stuck in Texas? Well, it happened again. NO JOKE.  I don't make this up, y'all.

Luke was THE perfect traveler, as always.

But the weather.  Oh man, the weather.  Dallas had some gnarly storms that grounded every flight headed East.  It was a mess.  But you know what? We've got this traveling thing down, and we were good.

My poor dogs who couldn't go potty on the other hand.....

sigh.

After multiple flights being canceled, I booked us on a red eye flight into West Palm Beach (FOUR HOURS from our home!). By the grace of God, we each ended up with our own row of seats.

It was the ONLY Florida flight we could get on without having to wait an extra twelve hours in the airport.  So, we rented a car. And I had to rent a car seat (a big no no since you don't know the car seat's history...) But I had no other options.  They gave me an infant seat, which was fine because Luke fit quite comfortably.

But I made sure that once we were in Florida the following morning, Luke had a nice, easy, relaxing day. That evening we were scheduled to head over to Dustin's house in Jacksonville so mom would be close to the hospital where she would have her knee replaced the following morning.

Luke cuddled with his Momau that evening as we all de-stressed and prepared for the hospital-laden days ahead.

By the way, we were greeted in Jax with a warm welcome from Dustin and his girlfriend Abigail who baked some delicious organic, fat free brownies.  Luke (okay, we all) went to town on them!

Once we were in the hospital, and mom was taken back for surgery, Luke and I hung out with my Uncle David.  Then Luke and I went on a walk by the river.

When mom got out of surgery, they let us hang out in her room.  It was nice having some private space to relax in, and Luke enjoyed playing with his great Uncle David.

Later that day, Aunt Karla, Uncle Gene and Susanna came to the hospital.  This was taken the following day.  My cousin Susanna met Luke for the first time.

Luke went right to my Aunt Karla.  We think it was because she looks like his Momau.  He went to her but studied her.... "Something is different..." It was sweet to see them together.

After mom's surgery, we headed back to Alachua and mom began the healing process.  Luke continued to lift her spirits. (In fact, when mom came out of surgery, one of the first things she said, while pointing at Luke, was "I'll take two of you." Oh, anesthesia....)

Carl and Austin drove from California a couple weeks later.  Here we all are together.  Reunited and it feels so good!

While mom has been healing, my dad and I have been doing tons of renovations on our house.
Here's Luke napping in his was-going-to-be-future-bedroom until Carl decided to trade it for a home office. (Now Luke gets a bigger room, so all worked out!)


I love working with my dad, and learning how to do things under his watch.  We hired someone to do crown molding, and we hired my dad to paint most of the rooms in our house. Together, my dad and I have ripped out the carpet in our formal room and dining room and installed bamboo flooring, painted the closets, and now we are working on wainscoting and baseboards. It's so much fun seeing our house transform before my eyes!  And Luke is mesmerized by my dad's tools.  It's pretty funny.

"Get your own ratchet!" Luke says.

On our new bamboo floor, we needed an area rug so Luke would have a cozy place to play.  Mom ventured out with me, to a little shop, and used Luke's stroller as her walker.

I have been LOVING the daily afternoon storms we are being blessed with.  Ahh, home sweet home.

(Well, that's out our front door looking at our neighbors house...but you get what I mean.)

Know what else we have now that we are home? PUBLIX. Yes!!!

We've been in the car quite a bit... picking up different supplies at different stores... but Luke is such a good car-rider.  Check out those little crossed legs.  He was listening to "Ho Hey!"

We're enjoying being in our new/old house, and Luke is enjoying the bath tub in it.

Our sweet friend even brought us dinner one night. This was our first meal in our house.  Well....out of our house, since it was on our back patio. :) It's a selfie- so excuse my crazy face.  Also, Luke is waving at the camera.

A few firsts:

This month, Luke has taken off with his vocabulary! He's still got such a sweet disposition, and I really couldn't ask for a sweeter baby.  He gives kisses, and says so many things now! Some of my favorite things he says is "Bye bye" while waving his little hand in a circle, "Nigh nigh," "Pretty," and...get this... "I love you." (Which sounds like "alluhyou!" He says it before going to bed every night. One time, I was unpacking boxes and Luke's Auntie Laurel was holding him.  I walked by and I heard "alluhyou!" and I turned and saw Luke waving at me.  That boy can make his momma's heart skip a beat like no other. Ahh.

Luke also has started giving us high-fives. It's adorable.

Here, take a look at the little dancing babe. He's started dancing whenever he hears music. It cracks us up!

https://www.instagram.com/p/ppjAuKGSK5ho1XIb3LA0RrZMBWyogem-Lukus0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

Luke also says "Oooh" quite a bit.  And, "oh wow!" on occasion.  It cracks us up.  If you ask him a question, most of the time he nods and says "Yeah." He loves putting his lips in the "oooh" shape and often whistles when he inhales! It's hilarious! He's started doing it on purpose and changing the pitch even! 

Here's Luke playing with his bud...his Poppa.
https://www.instagram.com/p/pEbQHGmSDMXW-O4AAqihZtQGaLQhGA3Hq5bAE0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

This month has been SO busy! Luke has been such a little trooper, playing along side my many crazy projects and unpacking. Friends have come and given us a hand, and helped us settle in.  I can't wait till our house is in order and we can have people over for fun! 

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for this to be a smooth transition!

Moving Day is Fast Approaching

I’m preparing for our big move to Florida. With every box I tape up, I get more and more excited. I envision where our belongings will go in our future home. I wonder what our paint colors and new flooring will look like. I imagine Luke playing along side me while I decorate. I plan to take Luke on walks every morning in our neighborhood lined with sidewalks. I picture picking up my phone and calling my parents to come play with Luke and I in our backyard.  And I get SO excited!

Then I have my moments.

Like today. I left the breastfeeding support group I go to (which is more like a mom’s group with a lactation consultant in the room….we swap brilliant ideas, talk about childrearing, and encourage one another. And our babies get to play in a safe, neutral place).

As I was walking out the door, Wendy (our LC) said “You’ll be gone to Florida soon, won’t you?” And I nonchalantly, with a smile and a shrug, said “Yeah, I only have a few more weeks at the group! I will miss it!” And I walked out the door. I got home and was curious just how many weeks do I actually have at the group? I pulled out my calendar. One. I have one group day left.

And then I got a knot in my stomach.

I have one day left to see the fellow mamas who have become such good friends with me.
I have one day left to walk down the halls of Emanuel and remember the excitement that last summer brought…the touring of the Labor and Delivery ward, the pre-registration for Luke’s birth, the being rushed to L&D, the Mother-Baby ward, the staying in the NICU (yes, that was a sad and scary time, but we came out with a healthy baby so the excitement still pulls at my heartstrings).
And I still remember my first time going to the breastfeeding support group. My mom drove me and even went in with me. Taking Luke out of the house by myself made me nervous… I hadn’t done this before! (Plus I wasn’t allowed to drive for six weeks.)

And here we are nine months later, on the flip side of the group going not for help as a new mom but to help other new moms. To be the encouraging voice they might need to hear to press on and nurse even if the baby seems hungry every minute of every day. To be the “been there” voice on nursing in a baby carrier. To help adjust those tricky straps that no one realizes moves in the Ergo.

And I cry.

I’m all sappy and then it dawns on me- yes, I will miss all of these things terribly, but what I will really miss about Turlock is that this is the place where I was born. My “wife who clings to her husband” side was born. My “wife who knows how to run a house” side was born. My “daughter who lives three thousand miles away and must be independent” side was born. My “momma” side was born. I became part of the person that I was meant to be in California. And for that reason, California will always be a special place to me.

A little over three years ago, I wrote this a post about us moving.  Let’s take a look at the second half of my post when I share good news about moving.

But.  There is good news.

    1.    I know God has a plan for me and my family.  This is part of His plan, and I choose to trust Him.  It's good to know that God has a plan for little old me, but I feel strongly that part of Him moving us across the country is to teach me to trust Him more.
    2.    My husband and I are learning to cling together more than we ever have before.  And I didn't think that was possible, because we already have more respect and love for each other than I could ever dream.  Moving so far away from our known little world in Florida will undoubtedly enable and even force us to cling together even more.
    3.    Financially, we'll be a lot safer than we are now.
    4.    I've always (as long as I can remember) wanted to be a Proverbs 31 (see verses 10 through 31 if you are unfamiliar) woman, and I feel that having a "fresh start" so to speak will allow me to create who I want me to be.  (Not that I couldn't do it here in our Florida home, but it's almost like a New Year's Resolution type thing... fresh starts can be helpful.)
    5.    Our small groups from church have helped me become friends with some amazing women.  Women that lift each other, that glorify God, and love one another with a genuine love.  We've grown so close through small groups, I'd feel blessed if Carl and I could put the idea of small groups in our future church's mind.  It's such an opportunity for growth.
    6.    If any of our friends would like to go to California, we will  host you in our home.  Any of you.  Seriously.  Hello, free place to stay!
    7.    Blogging material!  Need I say more?  Maybe I'll even go to the BlogHer '11 Conference!
    8.    Moving!  It's gotta be kinda fun, right?  I've never actually done that.  (How crazy is that?  When I "moved" from my parents home to my husband's home, it was more like "Come home from my honeymoon and my new home is full of my things"....that I didn't pack.  Yep, family moved me in to my new home.  It was such a blessing to come home from our honeymoon with no moving to do!)
    9.    We're going on an adventure.  That's always fun, no?  Carl and I always have so much fun when we're sightseeing together, exploring a whole new town is bound to be a blast!
    10.    Planes make traveling easy.  We don't have to take 5 days to make the cross country drive, we can hop on a jet a fly home for holidays.  (This gives Christmas music a whole new meaning... think: "I'll be home for Christmas.")

When I wrote those words, I never knew how true they would be. Looking back at the past three years, here’s an updated list.

1. God sure did, and still does have a plan for me and my family! I never knew how much I would grow as a person by moving to California.
2.  My husband and I cling together more than I knew possible, and now I also know that we will continue to cling together in the future in ways we can’t even fathom now.
3.  Still true.  And by the grace of God, Carl is able to telecommute so our income should remain the same. And we will still have insurance!
4.  Having a “fresh start” in California to bloom where I have been planted has helped me be the woman, wife and mother that I have wanted to be my whole life. I’m not perfect by any means, but I’m growing daily and for that I am thankful.
5.  We didn’t start small groups through the church, but the amount of times we get together and fellowship with our families in Christ here have been so wonderful. We learned the true meaning of hospitality. One family has opened their doors every Saturday night for a bunch of families to gather at, and another family is known for their willingness to open their doors on the spot, despite it sometimes being a “messy” house (that no one cares about anyway!). I hope to be able to do those things one day. Getting together in their homes have given us so many wonderful memories I hold dear to my heart.
6. We did host some of our Florida friends in our home! Not very many, but that’s okay!
7. Blogging material. HA! NEED I SAY MORE!??!
8.  Moving…. um, do you remember our adventure out here?! I pray that it isn’t so “fun” on our return move! HAHA!
9.  The last three years HAVE been an adventure…. learning California laws, taking day trips around the state….it’s been a blast.
10.  Planes do make traveling easy, but after my flight home I am hoping to not be in the air for a while. I’m a little tired of planes.

God has been so so so good to us.

This upcoming Saturday, our dear friends are hosting a BBQ as a goodbye party for us. We are so incredibly blessed.  Words can’t even explain!




As hard as it is going to be leaving our friends and our life here in California, I trust that this is the right move for our family.  I hope to be a blessing to a future family the way our California friends have been such a blessing to us.

Excuse me!

Hey y'all! 


Please excuse me being away for a bit.  As you probably guessed, we finally made it out of Fort Stockton! We are now getting settled in our new home.  I've been spending every moment of my day working on the house so it can be in more order when my husband gets home in the evenings.  


I will have to take some pictures for y'all once it's all set up.  So far, I'm really enjoying this little town.  It's very easy to get around, the weather is foggy (which I LOVE) and it rains a lot (something else I LOVE!). Green moss grows on the roofs, and while this may be a turn off to some folks, through the fog and the pretty green, I feel like this is a semi-mystical place.  I think it's really pretty, in fact.  


An update on everyone: 
Carl is enjoying his work.  Everything is going very smoothly for him.  Thankfully the job is right down the street from our house, only taking about 4 minutes to get there.
Austin is not yet enrolled in school.  Darn paperwork!  They need all sorts of info from his old school (who is apparently slowing us down.)  There's a small chance he'll be starting school tomorrow, or (hopefully) Friday at the latest.  The upside of him not being in school is he gets to help me unpack.  
As for me, I've been getting the house in order and learning my way around town.  I've been to a few grocery stores and I've been shocked to find how different the foods are here!  I don't have my brands that I love, and I don't even have the same types of foods.  Sure, the basics are the same, but this stuff is gonna get some getting used to.  So far, we've had a bad experience with american cheese slices.  The package is called, "Pasteurized processed imitation cheese food."  UGH!  We figured we'd give it a shot because it was less expensive,  but oh goodness.  We're switching to the brand name!  Don't they say California is known for cheese?  (I know it's also Wisconsin) but the commercials say "Good cheese comes from happy cows.  And happy cows come from California."  Then again, that was "cheese food"...not "cheese."


So, there you have it.  Not too much going on.  We're all settling in.  Belle is adjusting pretty well.  She's not used to having two stories in our house, so she really likes to lay in our bed during the day and stare out the second story window.  It's pretty cute.  


I'll try to keep updating as much as possible, but right now, my priority lies with getting this house in order!  I appreciate all of you keeping me in your prayers.  Some of you have emailed me encouraging thoughts, and some have even snail-mailed them my way.  How sweet you all are!  It makes my day seeing cards in the mail simply saying that you care.  


Anyway, my husband is home with me now, so it is time for me to log off and spend some quality time with him.  We fall asleep very early here because we're trying to stay on East coast time.  (It makes you feel like a super human when you wake up at 6am fully refreshed (because it's 9am eastern!)  


It's 11:30 Eastern now, so it's almost our bed time.  Goodnight yall, and thanks again for all your encouraging thoughts!

How Belle passes the time.

When a family is stuck in a hotel room for a week, with no place to go, and one pup has energy to spare, she finds way to make due.

She's been bed hopping.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Day 5

Good news.  Nothing too big happened today!  It was definitely full of little mishaps, or happenings, but what would National Lampoon's Family Vacation our trip be without all the little mishaps that can be converted to fun anecdotes for sharing with y'all!  I've gotta have something to write about, right??


Now would also be a good time for me to say thank you to you guys!  You are such an encouragement to me.  It means so much to me when I get emails from y'all saying you're praying for us, or calls from you saying that you've enjoyed hearing about our trip.  So, thank you!  I definitely feel cared for when so many people are interested in hearing what lil ole me has to say.  Now, moving on from the mushy mushy stuff, here's our uneventful happenings of the day.


One, I got a new phone.  It's one of those prepaid phones that you have to put money on.  It's all fine and well, but this is how activation went.  Every other button I pressed on the phone during the activation process (those darn automated things!) resulted with the friendly voice on the other end saying, "We're sorry you're having trouble.  Goodbye."  


Not, "Allow us to connect you to a customer service representative."
Not, "Please select another option."


It was just, "Sorry, see ya!  Peace out.  Later!  Stinks to be you!"  


I became more and more frustrated trying to fix the phone and get it set up, but eventually it was done.   Unfortunately, I can temporarily only speak and text with Verizon customers because I chose the lowest number of minutes in hopes of getting my phone replaced via insurance when we eventually arrive in California.


Back to the annoying fake apology from the cell service.  You should also know that stores around here use the exact same tactics on their machines.  If you call and you press a button that they don't want you to press (even if it IS presented as an option...), it tells you, "We're sorry you're having trouble.  Goodbye."


I don't feel that was a sincere apology.  Especially when you hang up on me, darn automated voice machine.  Anyway.  We'll move on from this topic.


We had to go to Walmart today because were running out of clean clothes, and eating out is getting too expensive.  Not to mention that the only places that deliver around here are Pizza Hut and another local pizza place.  There's a Chinese buffet across the street, too, so that's another option.  Not having a car really limits you.  I never realized how much we relied on our car.  So, we began our trek to Walmart in the early afternoon. 


As we got just down the road, a pick up truck drove past us and turned around.  There was an older man with leathery skin sitting in the driver's seat.  "Is he stopping for us?" I asked Carl.


"I'm not sure...."


Just then, the older man raised his finger to us and motioned for us to come to him.  It almost felt as though we were young children who disobeyed and we were getting motioned to come to the principal in school.  We started heading his way and he greeted us with a huge, mostly toothless smile.  "Why are y'all walking out here?  Where ya headed?"


"We're making our way to Walmart...."


"Well cheewiz..... this might be a small town but it ain't a walkin town!  Get in, I'm goin to Walmart too."


Carl offered me the front seat and I stepped aside, letting him know that he should take the front with this man.  I scooted in the back with Austin, and Belle in my purse.  The old man, who we never ended up catching the name of, told us all about his family.  His wife divorced him last year, and his step daughter "ran off to Africa with one of them... whadya call 'em..... well, I call em holy rollers....."


"Missionaries?"  Carl helped the man find the right word.


"Yeah...... them...... well she ran off and ya see when she was fifteen she got hit and was told she'd never have kids.  Well she had three.  No kids my....ahem.  Anyway, they stole everything from her.  She came to me in nothing but a robe to her ankles.  Not even underwear on..... the only good thing they didn't get was her laptop...the man in Africa has that!  Well she said she's married to the Lord and so she's gonna be with him in Africa but she has to come back because they're not with a group...."


His story was scattered all over the place and I was having trouble following.  I was just sitting in the backseat asking myself, "Am I really in the backseat of a stranger's truck in the middle of nowhere?  Does this count as hitch hiking?  I need to warn my family about this before they see it on my blog or they might kill me."... (just kidding, kinda).....Back to the man.  He never asked our name or why we were here.... he simply told us his life story in brief.  He spoke of his family all the way until we got to Walmart, where he walked inside with us.  He kept telling us about his life, right up until the point we politely thanked him for the ride.  Still on his tangent about his family, he squeezed in one more sentence as we parted, and it's been ringing in my ears all day.  "And that's why I'm an atheist."  


Because I don't wish to end this post on a sad note, I'm going to tell you about our dinner last night.  Bare with me, it was yet another thing that we found humorous.  We ordered pizza from the Hut itself, via the internet.  Why'd we order from the internet?  They wouldn't answer their phones.  We figured their phones were down or something.  So, we placed our order, and the pizza was going to be arriving soon.  After two and a half hours of rumbling bellies, we ordered pizza from the other pizza place in town, a local one.  We sat back waiting on it to arrive (remember, no car) when we finally heard a knock at the door.  Hello Pizza Hut.  I realize this doesn't mean a whole lot to y'all, but this is yet another illustration of how everything about this trip is a little bit off.  Apparently they were swamped on a Thursday night.  And when they get swamped, they stop answering their phones.  Nothing is going as planned, and nothing is going as expected.  But, that's okay.  Ya know why?  "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11. He's got plans for us.  The Maker of the universe has plans for us.  And that's why everything is fine.  


Everything is okay.  


And if He wants to strand us in the middle of nowhere, break our truck and car, and bring our pizza 3 hours late, that's okay with me.  Cuz He's got plans.

Young Families Surprise

We're still stuck in the Motel 8 in Texas, so I figured I'd catch up on some older posts that have been neglected.  We'll start with this one.

A week before we left town, the young families at our church all got together to make fruit baskets for the widows and widowers.  The children were playing in the gym, listening to music and throwing basketballs with each other.  Little Miss Georgia came along with us, because the very next day was my graduation and she was in town to watch.  Ah, the life of a two year old.  :)

Here's Georgia and Carl, who she sometimes mistakenly refers to as "Marshall."  Not sure where she got that name, but she sometimes calls him Marshall and then laughs when we remind her that his name is Carl.

After making fruit baskets, the young families surprised us with a going away cake, and a bible for each of us with our names inscribed on the cover. How thoughtful! We will truly miss these people.

Here's some of our wonderful church family...
The next 5 pictures just about sums everyone up! :)
Kameron is taking the photos, so he is not pictured. Thank you, Kameron!



We gotta have a few goofy shots with this group, too!

Day 4: Texas

Phillippians 4:19 tells us that “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”


And let me tell you what: He has.  He has met our needs.  We are safe, warm, and without hunger in a hotel.  We are being taken care of.  Friends and family have warned us about what could happen, but we have someone bigger on our side than anyone or anything could interfere with.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Romans 8:28 and 31.


Before leaving, we were warned about many many things.  Roads to take, roads to avoid.  Towns to visit, places to steer clear from.  The list goes on.  


Another thing everyone warned us about, along this drive, was Texas.


"Texas is so long, it's going to take you days to get through it."
"Don't count your trip down by states or Texas will make you go insane."
"Texas is nothing but sand..."
And alas,
"Everything's bigger in Texas."


Let me say, most of those are true.
Texas IS extremely long, and it IS taking us days to get through it.
I'm NOT counting my trip down by states, because I was forwarned.
Texas IS very very sandy, there's a sandstorm outside right now, actually.  BUT, it's not all sand.  It's mountainy (is that a word?  It is now..), too.  It surprised me, also.... don't feel bad.
And it is true.
Everything IS bigger in Texas.
Even the unexpected delays.


Allow me to elaborate.  In the middle of NOWHERE, we heard a squeaking noise coming from the truck.  Something was happening.  It was eight o'clock, and pitch black outside.  We were on a lonely highway, bending and curving every which way.  Occasionally, a car would pass us.  We all sat silently, listening intently to hear the squeaking again.  Then, the "ABS" light came on.  The antilock brakes went out.  Not good when you're on a mountainy road.  We all prayed and kept our eyes peeled for a sign that told us where the nearest town was.


Meanwhile, Carl's phone ran out of it's service area.  We had no cell phones (recall yesterday when mine was thrown out the window?), and we were in the middle of nowhere, about to break down.


Finally, a sign was seen in the distance.  60 miles to Sheffield, Texas.  60 miles.  We looked at our fuel gauge and noticed it was now down to a quarter of a tank.  Without antilock brakes, we had to go extremely slow.  We travelled about 40 mph and finally made it to Sheffield in one piece.  We pulled off the road, and guess what.  There was not a town there.  This area might've been called Sheffield, but as far as we could tell at night, it was not a town, and there was not a soul around.  Not even a gas station.  We hopped back on the interstate, not feeling safe to stop.  We continued to pray and hoped we would make it to the next town.


After another 10 miles of slowly inching our way down the highway, we spotted a gas station.  At least we could refuel.  That took a lot of our nervousness away, so we refueled and kept going until we could get to a stop with a hotel.


Late that night, we arrived.  We were exhausted, our patience was thin, and we were all needing a tad bit more space from our adrenaline rush.  Once we got inside, Carl and I began the Budget phone calls.  I'm shamelessly using their name in these posts so that you know what you may or may not get into if you use their services in the future.  Anyway, after getting no where, we called it a night and pursued them the next morning.


A mechanic, who Budget is in contract with, was supposed to come help us.  It took hours upon hours for him to come, and several phone calls along the lines of, "I'm right around the corner."  He finally showed up and gave us news we were not at all expecting.  


You ready?   We knew the antilock brakes were no longer working, so it was no surprise when he confirmed it for us.  What was a surprise, however, was when he said these words: 

"The driver wheel is moments away from falling off.  You're lucky to be alive."

Ricky (the Budget mechanic) pointed out to Carl how the driver side wheel was just hanging there.  We were amazed.  We made it on a wheel that was about to fall off.  Wow, God is so good.  All of our family and friends have been praying for us to have a safe journey; my family and I thank each and every one of you for doing so.   

While Carl was with Ricky (the Budget mechanic), he walked around the car and noticed something looked odd on the towing mechanism tying our car to the truck.  Carl noticed it looked strange, but with being a computer guy and not a car guy, he confirmed his suspicions with Ricky.  Ricky said, "Wow, it's a good thing you didn't leave this parking lot.  You would've lost your car while driving down the road."  The ball had broken!  

Seriously, y'all.  I couldn't make this up if I tried.  

Keep in mind, in preparing for this trip, we decided to sell Carl's car.  The next morning, Carl was going to drive mine to work and it wouldn't start.  I remember when Carl came into the bedroom, and he told me in my sleepy state that my car was dead.  All I could do was laugh.  

This is straight out of a movie.  And if there's not a movie about it yet, there needs to be.  Any takers?

One thing after another has been going wrong.  It feels as though we're being tested on many days.  But you know what?  We're being taken care of.  God is taking care of us; He is looking out for us.  

"He lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks." Psalm 107:41

Day 3

We had just pulled out of the gas station in a small town in Texas, when I did something completely out of character.  I'm extremely careful and intent when I do things.  Not this time, of course.  


You ready for this?


I threw my phone out the window.  


Now, let me explain.  We were, as I mentioned, at a gas station.  While sitting in the truck, I cracked open the window.  It was the kind that you unlock and push open, like in an older van.  It opened just about 2 inches, but it was enough for Belle to stick her nose out and get some fresh air.  We had already walked, and I was just talking to my dad on the phone, so we sat there enjoying the slight breeze coming through the window.  As Carl climbed back into the truck, I said bye to my dad and prepared myself for the trip again.


I situated Belle's pillow so she's comfortable, then I buckled up.  As I leaned back in the seat, we were going about 40 miles per hour, and I set my phone on the same familiar ledge that I had been using for the past two days.  Except, this time, the ledge opened up to the pavement.  I watched my phone fly out of the window, and I shouted, "My phone flew out the window!"  It was a set of words I never thought I'd hear myself say.  I even laughed, as I said them.  Carl pulled the truck over, and since U-turns are no fun when hauling so much, I offered to hike down the road to where my phone flew out the window.


As I walked down the hill, with Belle in my arms, I just couldn't help but laugh.  I threw my phone out the window.  Seriously?  This trip was becoming humorous.  I kept hiking down the hill, noticing all sorts of plastic that had been run over by cars.  I kept questioning, "Is this my phone?"  And I stopped to carefully analyze a couple of run over electronics.  I kept going, and found my phone further down the road than expected.  


Truck drivers were honking and waving at me, and I just laughed.  Here I am in a nice sweater and suede jacket, carrying a white fluffy dog, examining trash on the side of the road.  


I found my phone, and although the screen was shattered and the battery door was missing, it still rang.  My husband was calling to help me find it.  I managed to answer it, and we talked briefly.  He was watching me from the top of the hill.  Back up the hill I began.  


On the side of the road, I found a deer skull.  I thought it was really interesting so I actually picked it up. I've been fascinated by bones since my last semester in college (woot woot) when I took a forensics course.  I was studying the skull while still carrying Belle, hiking up the hill.  Then I pictured what I must look like.


Now I was not only nicely dressed, walking on the side of the road carrying a white fluffy dog, but a dead animal's skull as well.  I threw it down and laughed at myself and how silly I must've looked.  Once I reached the top of the hill, I climbed back in the truck and washed my hands in the closest rest stop.  


On through Texas, we must go.  Wait till you see what Day 4 has in store.

Devil burrs

Our house trained pup is house trained so well that she refuses to go to the bathroom in the hotel.  Even though she has my blessing.  Here's why she has my blessing to go potty on the floor, or on a towel, or on the tile, or even in the bathtub in the hotel.  It's not because it's not my place, but because there are evil plants outside.  We go outside, and she, at all costs, stays on the pavement..where she will not go to the bathroom.  It's gotta be grass, gosh darn it!  Not even dirt!  


The reason she avoids any grassy area is this.  Her poor little feet get stabbed with these terrible burrs every time we go outside.  It's gotten to the point that I carry her around everywhere, and don't force her to walk at all.  Of course, I do put her on the ground when she wants to be.  Here's a picture I found on the internet of one of these devil burrs.  Imagine these stuck in your skin.  It HURTS.  And, the little pointy parts (it's covered in points, although it's hard to see in this picture) will break off so you need tweezers to get them out if you're not careful.  And of course, it hurts to grab them at all so pliers are a more convenient way of removing them.  Normally though, I just yank them out of Belle's toes and let them stab me so she doesn't feel the pain as long.  Aren't I a good mom?  Haha :)

Poor little girl held it for almost 14 hours and finally peed this morning.  It took her 3 minutes, no lie.  Then she limped back to me and I pulled 9 burrs out from between her toes.

Day 2

Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.  Genesis 28:15


We were warned about the Louisiana roads, but we didn't truly know what we were in store for.  Have you ever ridden a wooden roller coaster?  Those were based off of the Louisiana roads.  Never ridden a wooden roller coaster?  Okay, how about this one.  Ever laid on a trampoline while a friend bounced on it?  Yes, it was that uncomfortable.  I was literally holding Belle because she was flying out of her seat, up and down... up and down.


Along with our terribly bumpy ride (let's just say we're not sure everything is in tact in the truck anymore..) the Louisiana roads made a quick turn forcing us onto another road other than I-10, which was what we were supposed to stay on.  So, we got off of the first available exit so as to not get too far off of our path.


We pulled off the highway and wound up on little one way streets lined with cars.  We were in the impoverished section of Louisiana.  We were in New Orleans.  As we carefully maneuvered our trucks down the little side roads, children who were sitting in the streets playing with their toys were running up to our trailer and hitting it.  We got to a safer area, pulled over, and checked the map.


As Carl and Austin sat in the truck checking the map, I hopped out of the truck and took Belle for a little walk through the park.  A nice looking man was walking by with a chihuahua, so I approached him (keeping a safe distance, plus Carl was right there with me) and asked if he could direct me to I-10.


Oh lawd.... this man is Creole.  This was, no lie, our conversation.


Me:  "Excuse me, can you please tell me where I-10 is?"  
Man: "Hebedegooooooooo"
Me: "Um..... I-TEN?"
Man: "Ubagulee tosh tosh way vlay...?"  
Me: "Um..... she's a girl."
Man: "Ohhhohhh????? Ehh?? Hooooh?"
Me: "Yep....a girl.... thanks.... see ya...."
Man: "Aaaaaah....... hehehehe?"
Me: "Girl.  Good day sir."


To say the least, it was awkward.  I got back to the truck and I don't think Carl could even fathom how awkward I felt.  I did an impersonation of this stranger, and he just laughed.  Loudly.  Apparently judging by our gestures, he had no idea that there was not a real conversation that took place.

We found I-10 again, and continued on our trek.

Stay tuned for Day 3.

Day 1

Our adventure began.  The ride was a little bumpy, but everything was going well.  Except for the fact we were all sad to be leaving our home and families...but that's a different story.  This one is about the trip.  At the end of our first day, we stopped close to midnight.  We were in Loxley, Alabama.  We saw a nice hotel, so we pulled over and started our parking nightmare.  Just as we finally got our huge truck (towing our car) parked, the hotel night manager came out and told us we couldn't park there.  So, we started our attempt at backing up to get out of the hotel parking lot.  If it weren't for another driver ignoring our backup lights, we would've made it.  He stopped behind us and waited for us to move.  Unfortunately, we couldn't go anywhere but forward.  At the end of a long parking lot, there was a curb.  With no where else to go, we jumped it and wound up on a service road.  We figured we would just drive down the service road and turn around our car to get back out.  Ha, boy were we wrong.  We wound up with our truck wedged between a fence post and a ditch.  As long as we tried to back up the truck, we were having no such luck.  Either take out a fence and damage the truck, or drive into a ditch and flip over.  Neither sounded like good options so I finally was able to convince Carl to call the police.  Surely they'd understand our predicament... not being too familiar with a big truck, being out of town in the night, and stressed and tired.  No such luck.  The cops were none too friendly.  


One cop (we'll call him Officer John-Boy) hopped in the truck with Austin and I and started backing out the truck while the other cop (we'll call him Scary Samuel L. Jackson with a nightstick...) directed us.  Belle was not at all having Officer John-Boy back up our car and take us anywhere.  She wanted her daddy to drive, end of story.  I struggled to hold her back, but I also knew that if I were to let go, she'd just jump on him and bark louder.  Teeth were not an option.  Officer John had to direct me to, and I quote.... "Lower your pup, ma'am."


Just as Belle started settling down and being okay with Officer John-Boy giving us a hand, Scary Samuel L Jackson with a nightstick appeared in our truck's headlights.  Um, horror movie, anyone?  I don't blame her for not liking him, he wouldn't smile.  He just stood in our lights and grimaced while making sure we didn't hit anything.  It was after the half hour of incessant barking that we diagnosed Belle as a racist.  You see, in her short life, the sheltered pup has only seen two black people... and both were women.  A black man, no matter how friendly he may look or be, was foreign to her.  Add that to the first one she sees being an angry, tall man carrying a weapon, and you can see why she she has become a racist.  (Side note- she's not racist because she's learned it from anyone in our family.  Some of our closest family friends are other skin colors than ours.  She's just developed a schema of what is okay and what is not.... apparently I need to work on broadening it a bit.)


Anyway, the officers successfully and safely got us out of our predicament.  We thanked both Officer John-Boy and Scary Samuel L. Jackson, and headed on about our night.  We were too embarrassed to stay in that hotel that yelled at us, so we went to a different hotel that Officer John-Boy deemed "trucker friendly."  We now know what to ask for when making reservations.  Lesson learned.


Stay tuned for day two.

My Sisters

Sunday evening (a few weeks ago now), we spilled the beans to our small group from church.  While they were sad to see us go, they were such a source of comfort and encouragement.  We split up between men and women, and let me tell you what.... these women are amazing.  

They're my prayer warriors, my cheerleaders, my sisters, my comfort, my friends.

As tears poured from my eyes over the thought of leaving home, many hands and hugs were extended to me.  I truly cannot tell you how much I will miss these ladies.  

Each friend volunteered to take a day this week to pray for me, and for this move to go as smoothly as possible.  Each friend also volunteered to pray that this move will bring my family even closer together.  I cannot thank them enough.  I can feel their prayers working in my day-to-day life.  I've actually been getting excited about moving!  I didn't expect that to happen, but I'm honestly looking forward to it!  That's not to say I won't miss my family, and it's not to say that I'm not treasuring my moments and days here in Florida, but I am looking ahead to what the future brings.  


Thank you, my sisters, my friends.  You are unbelievable! 

Must go!

Scene: Wintery cool day inside a warm vanilla spice scented home.  The kiddo is at school, the hubby is at work, and the puppy is laying in my lap.  We're all doin our thing, whether it be learning, working, writing, or snoozing... it's a nice day.  I appreciate days like today when the hustle and bustle just settles down long enough to recuperate.

We've been slowly preparing for our big move to California and we have decided what furniture we will bring, what we will store for a while, and what we will sell.  We found a house to live in in Turlock, and because it's smaller than the one we currently own, we've decided to sell some pretty big items.  One being Carl's car.  God is so good; with the car being for sale for only a couple of hours, 3 people have called expressing interest in it!  I know that the car will sell soon, and God is continually taking care of us.  We have enough stress, we just need to hand it over to Him.

Amid all this chaos of moving is Christmas.  Sadly, my home is not decorated for Christmas like it normally is.  I don't even have one Christmas piece out.  Last night, I just couldn't take it anymore.  I decided to, at the very minimum, hang up Christmas towels.  My grandma had a bunch of Christmas towels still stored in the furniture I brought back from her house, so I headed to the dresser and started laying each towel out on the bed.

After about ten minutes, I realized out of nine (yes, 9) sets of towels, not one of them was complete!  I either had bath towels or hand towels.  Hand towels or wash cloths.  Not a complete set!  It made me laugh that she got away with this so well!  Nobody ever noticed because they were all so well coordinated.  And each towel was in mint condition, with fine embroidery on it and not a stain to be found.  Today, I will hang up the towels and enjoy the little touch of Christmas cheer.

I'm tidying up around the house today, but I came across this old video and it just made me smile.  My little Belle and her cousin Bonnie.  I might've showed this before, but this pup just makes me smile.  I'm gonna share it with you, then back to tidying up I must go!  By the way, if anyone wants a great rear projection 65 inch television, lemme know.  This baby must go!  She won't even fit in our new living room.  Unless we want to watch her from the kitchen.  No, thanks.

Community

In 2010, in July to be precise, I started my blog.  I originally started posting and pretending that nobody is reading it.  It gave me a sense of freedom to express myself, and if nobody was reading it, I could say what I wanted.  Then came the followers.  Oh wow, now I have an audience.  No pressure.  Still, nobody that I know in "real life" was a follower, so I was still free to say whatever I chose.

One day, I posted my blog to facebook, and all of my friends and family were free to look.  I felt as though I had just opened up my front door, opened all the windows in my home, and said, "Come on in y'all!"  People came rushing in, much to my surprise.  I never thought I would feel that people were visiting me when they were simply reading what I wrote!

Alas, I welcomed them in my home blog and made them some sweet tea kept writing.  It amazed me how many people were checking up on me on a daily basis, and I felt so loved!  The only problem?  They were still all strangers to me.  I didn't know who these people were, unless they clicked the "follow" button or ran into me in public and mentioned my writing.  As much as I appreciated them "following" me, I was surprised at who some of the people were!  And that's when I did it.  I took the "Followers" off of my blog.  No, I didn't kick them to the curb.  I simply chose to not look who the people were.  I like the feeling that I'm entertaining my best friends and complete strangers all at the same time.  I'll admit, every now and then, curiosity does get the best of me and I go behind the scenes to take a looksie at who my followers are.  And I appreciate that they have chosen to reveal themselves!  (If for nothing else, I'm not caught off guard when they bring up my blog in real life!)

I've felt that I've created a sense of community here, and that people are constantly popping in to visit me.  And, you're always welcomed here.  I want you to feel as though you can come in, kick off your shoes, and sit on my patio with your feet dangling in my pool.  Or, at this time of year, you may want to sit by my fireplace.  Either way, I'll either make you sweet tea, or hot cocoa, and we'll have a good time catching up.

In 2011, I hope to continue growing this community.  What I would really like for Christmas (cough cough) is.......I would like to know more about who you all are! I see my page counter increase daily, but I don't know who my lovely readers are!  Don't get me wrong, it can be fun entertaining strangers in your home, but I just love it when strangers become good friends.  If you'd like to reveal yourself, please click "follow" on the side of the page.  It's really easy to set up an account and you never have to log in to it.  But, if you choose to remain anonymous, I'm okay with that too (I suppose).  You seem to be a shy bunch, though... I can tell that about you!  Hehe :)

Also, since we'll be moving across the country in a matter of days, I hope to really create a community in California.  It's a little bit nerve racking to move across the country and not know anyone, but you know what?  I already have a whole family over there.  No, I haven't met them, and as far as I know our blood is not from the same family tree... but I know that the church members that I will be meeting the very first Sunday I visit will be warm and welcoming brothers and sisters to me, and my family.  Because that's what we all are: family.  It is our duty and privilege to welcome one another with open arms and make sure we are loved.

So, please.  Come along with me on this journey.  Stay with me as I change homes.  Keep me company and in your prayers throughout this crazy ride!