Finally...Pictures of the New House!

I've had so many people asking to see pictures of the new house that I finally decided to post the ones of the rooms that are finished. We're still working on Larry's office and the guest room, but those will be finished soon too. It's taken so much longer that usual to feel settled because we've had to replace so much of our furniture that was ruined in the move...VERY frustrating! Fortunately, I found a wonderful shop that sells upscale used furniture and because we had so much to replace, the owner has worked with us and given us some great deals, praise God!

Welcome Home...

Well, we've officially lived here for a month now, so I decided I better get used to calling this "home"! We now live in the Frisco/Little Elm area...Frisco being the much larger town where we will do most of our shopping. Since the house is starting to look a bit more like "Home", we decided to take a Sunday off and explore our new home town. After church, we went to a restaurant that many people had told us to try. It was in a neat little part of town with an antique train, museum and a restaurant called "Babe's".

The restaurant looked like a broken down farm, although it's only a couple years old. Once in the courtyard, it was really neat...kinda like an old homestead!

The food was incredible...lots of fried chicken and pot roast served family style with all the trimmings...Larry LOVED it! My favorite part of course was the atmosphere...country music and the servers even danced!

Sunday afternoons, I've been working with third graders at the Awanas program. Stonebriar Church is a HUGE church, especially considering it was started by a small group of people, who along with Chuck Swindoll, wanted to start a new church in the growing town north of Dallas called Frisco. Well, it grew quickly and now it's hard to believe it's less than ten years old!

Tonight was the Awanas store and I was so impressed with how well it was run...it seems God places me in these unfamiliar surroundings so I can get new ideas for kid's programs, hmm...I wonder what He has in store for me here!

Heartbreaking Move...

Heartbreaking only begins to describe the feelings after this very difficult move! It all began when we had several estimates from professional movers and then got a phone call from a "competitor" saying they would beat the competition by two thousand dollars. Since it was a company move, Larry went to his boss, who told him to go with the least expensive offer. It wasn't until 24 hours after they had left with our stuff that we got a phone call demanding thousands more than we had already paid them. In hindsight, it's easy to see the signs that something was wrong, but that didn't help the situation. When the company finally paid them and they arrived with our belongings, item after item was broken or destroyed. The only good thing was that all of our photographs that I had worried so much about, were virtually untouched. Now begins the long process of putting our lives back together!




After all the discouraging news, Shelley and her "friend" Rusty showed up to our very unsettled house to help us with our unending projects. Amidst the mess and disorganization, we did manage to have some fun meals out where we fell in love (even more)with Rusty, our adopted "son". The best news came on Sunday when we got a call as they were heading home, and Rusty asked permission to date Shelley...our answer?...a very emphatic "yes"!

Another Move...?

I remember not too long ago when Larry first was out of work saying things like "I'll only move if it's to the midwest..." or "I don't care what you do, just so we don't have to move again!"...well, guess what? Yep, the Lord has been working miracles because I am rejoicing that Larry got a job in Dallas! I don't know how He does it, but I didn't even balk...God completely changed my heart. I'm now anxious for whatever adventure He has for me there, and I realize that He's never let me down and only keeps making me stronger!

The week before our vacation, we took off to explore the Dallas area in case the job offer came through and when it did, we had our house all picked out and were ready to accept the position. Now we leave the details in God's capable hands and begin moving forward. Knowing Him, the best is yet to come!

Summer Vacation...

It's hard to believe that the long anticipated trip back home to Illinois is already over, but we had to shorten it a bit because Larry had just gotten word the night before we left that he did get the job with Ricos in Dallas. So even though it was only two weeks, we packed a lot into the time that we had! I'm not going to mention each thing we did, but they all involved our kids and our grandkids...and that's what makes our time there so special!

Since there are so many people to see and spend time with, I always treasure the moments with my mom. I'm so glad she's happy where she is and with all the friends she has there. This picture was taken at the Ice Cream Social at Wesley Willows...it was beautifully done!

Some of my best times up north are with my good friends Laurie and Vicki. We take the day and shop and laugh and eat and just celebrate being together. They took the opportunity to celebrate my upcoming birthday...I love my friends!

The last night of our trip was spent doing something that has become a bit of a tradition each year. Everyone joins us in Janesville for dinner and a trip to the park. This year we ate at "Noodles and Co." ...mmm! I don't think the grandkids realize that what this special night means...that we won't see them for another six months, but I for one have never liked goodbyes, so for me it just "until next time..."!

Mother's Day...

It's Mother's Day afternoon and it seems kind of strange to be doing nothing today, but it hasn't really been bad because we celebrated with Shelley last night. She and Josh and Ashley came over for a barbeque...ribs and chicken, mmm! Then we watched "The Blind Side", which believe it or not, she hadn't seen yet. Stacey had sent a handmade card and basket filled with Dove chocolates and Shelley gave me a precious Willow Tree collectable that represents her...I love everything. Then when I woke up this morning, Shannon had emailed me a special Mother's Day song...I'm so thankful God blessed me with three daughters!

Since Larry's been out of work, weekends seem to be the hardest for him. After sending out emails all week and not hearing anything back, he's going stir crazy! So last Saturday morning I packed a lunch and we headed north for a nice drive in the hill country. We found a (free) living history farm that was still a working farm...really interesting and made us both wish we still lived in those times in spite of the hard work it would have required.

Before heading home, we even stopped for a picnic at the park by LBJ's home...it was a very relaxing day and helped to get Larry's mind off his situation.

The end of the school year is approaching very quickly. These last few weeks are filled with activities that both the kids and I enjoy, like the rock painting I do with fifth grade. I read a book called "Everybody Needs a rock" and then the students make memory rocks to remember their time at Encino Park. They did a great job!

Catching Up...

Well, Springtime has arrived in San Antonio, but this year, much like the year we moved here, we've had some torential rain storms. I feel like the weather has been reacting to my mood...kind of sad since we're in such limbo waiting to find what God has in store for us in the way of a job for Larry. Each morning I wake up praying..."God, is this the day you're going to reveal your plan?" but as each day passes. I get a bit more discouraged. Thank heavens I have my escape through my job at school. Larry isn't so lucky. The funny thing is, he's never taken much time off, but now we don't have the money to do the things we've always talked of doing.

Just thought I'd include some pictures that have been taken recently in my classroom...lots of exciting "Art Adventures" taking place!

"Fiesta" kicks off this week here in San Antonio and we begin two weeks of celebrating! Friday, we began with the students participating in a parade with floats they had created at home with their families and then we ended the day with classroom parties...it was an exciting day at Encino Park!

Tonight was the final performance of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr" presented by Encino Park Music Dept. I helped throughout dress rehearsals and the closer it got, the more I was amazed by our incredible students...this wasn't just the typical school musical, it was a perfomance they've been working on for a year!

Shelley offered to assist backstage the final night and although I was too busy to see much of her, it was fun just knowing she was there...that is definately one of her God given gifts!