This and That

I guess this always happens.  Maybe I'm getting older... not really feeling wiser... but maybe more experience under my belt.  Maybe I'm listening to my feelings more, or trying to analyze things in a different way.  I'm not sure.  But here is what I've noticed lately... A lot.  Several times over the summer.

I can feel two completely different ways about the same thing.  Polar opposites.  Not even close. 

Let me give you some examples.

School Starting.

On one hand I was thrilled.  It was time for us to get on a schedule.  It provides the girls with structure.  And friends.  And time apart.  It gives me a purpose.

On the other hand it means getting up every day.  It takes away some freedom.  It means time away from the girls.  And especially this year with Reagan starting kindergarten it means my baby isn't a baby anymore.  Even though I have no desire to have a baby in the house, there is still something sad about your babies getting older.

My grandparents are moving.

On one hand I know that this is the best thing for them.  I know that PaPa is getting older, and in all actuality is in the beginning (maybe not so beginning) stages of Alzhimers.  This will allow Grannie to keep a closer eye on him, and it will make it easier on everyone.

On the other hand I'm sad.  This forces us to realize that they are getting older and won't be here forever.  I'm sad that when the girls and I go visit we won't have the basement to hang out in.  I'm sad that they have to leave the home they've lived in for the past 18 years.

Moving to Ohio.

On one hand I was thrilled.  This was an adventure, and we knew without a doubt that God was telling us to pack up and move.  There is something infinitely exciting about being in the center of God's will.  That peace that passes understanding thing.

On the other hand I am heartbroken.  I love Texas.  All of our people are in Texas.  We are comfortable there.  I'm terrified that Reagan will grow up and not feel like Texas is home.  I miss my family.  If Reagan asks one more time when Thanksgiving is (when Grandma and Grandpa are coming) or when she will get to see Grammy again I might cry.  This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done.

But through all of this experience I have experienced God's faithfulness more than ever before.  There were some days that He had to get me out of bed.  And there were some days that I would have loved to jump in the van and take off moving south.  But He has provided in ways that I never imagined.  I'm afraid I will look back at this at some point and forget some of the things He has done.  So I'm going to make a list here, and I might add to it when I remember something else.  But I'm also thinking about making a rememberance.  I heard a devotion recently about remember where you've been.  The Biblical context used was when Joshua was leading the people into the Promise Land.  Once they crossed on dry land, God had a person from each of the tribes of Israel get a stone, and they stacked them so that they would remember.   I'm not sure stones would cut it, but I'm going to try to come up with something so we don't forget this amazing summer where God has provided beyond our wildest dreams.

Safe travel
A place to live
Financial ok-ness
A great pediatrician's office
New friends
A job for me
A great school for the girls
A great start of the school year
Josh loves his new job
A truck for Josh to drive
Closeness as a family
The house sold

Working on the list, and having a blast

As we made our list of things we wanted to do, Josh and I purposefully put some things on it that we already had planned.  Some things have happened better than we expected.  It has all been fun!

# 12... AGAIN.  We finished up the school supplies.  They are now all labeled and waiting for meet the teacher next week.  It occurred to me that they might not label supplies in Ohio, but too late!  It's done.

#10.  We knew we were going to go to a picnic in the park with the staff.  And we did, and it was fun.  However, we also had a surprise picnic.  I have a new friend!  Woohoo!  And we went with her and her kids to a fun little park that had a splash pad, a huge sand box, and a bunch of other fun things.  The girls had a blast, and they really enjoyed taking a picnic, sitting on the ground with friends and eating.  We shared our food so the kids got different things, and they really had a great time!  I didn't take the regular camera, and I don't know how to get pictures off the phone so we're out of luck with the visual part of the trip.

#9, #3, and #4. These go together. When my family came a few weeks ago for our mini-reunion my sister-in-law and I were talking, and she told me about a place in Columbus called Fort Rapids. She said that it is somewhat like Great Wolf Lodge, but not quite as expensive. I looked it up, and they were having a sale on weekday reservations. We thought it would be perfect for the girls. They haven't gotten to swim at all with us (they did swim with mom when she came to visit), and with it being inside, we don't have to worry about weather or heat or Reagan getting burnt to a crisp. As we were looking closer we found that we couldn't check in until 4:00 so we started looking for things we could do in the morning. We chose the state fair - you can't get more Ohio-ish than that! The fair was HOT and expensive - I forgot how quickly things add up when you're paying by the ride or the food item. But we had a great time.

The cardinal is at the entrance.  He's not Big Tex, but he is a big bird. 

I don't know what it is, but Corndogs from the fair are just yummy.  We also had chocolate covered bacon.  It was good, but the bacon needed to be thicker.  It needed more salty.  And of course Josh got his funnel cake.  He never passes up that opportunity.

The girls rode several rides including the carousel, and we all rode the ferris wheel.  Again, the ferris wheel wasn't as big as the one at the Texas State Fair, but the girls still loved it.

I thought this was cute.  It was a display for Ohio Education, but we just liked the big letters.

Then it was off to the hotel.  The girls knew we were going to stay in a hotel, but they didn't know anything about it.

They were THRILLED with the bunk beds.

This picture was taken right after we walked to the pool area.  Reagan asked me at the fair if I thought the hotel would have a pool.  I told her I thought it might.  She was beyond estatic when she walked in and saw everything.  I was pretty thrilled too!  We swam for a few hours, and then went back to the room to get ready for dinner.  The plan was to eat at the restaurant in the hotel.  However, when we got there it was closed.  So we went to drive around to find something to eat.  We found a BOSTON MARKET!!!  We loved that place when we lived in the metroplex, but they didn't have one anywhere near Gainesville or Conroe.  It was just as good as we remembered.  Their rotisserie chicken is the best!  I was thrilled that we found something so good, and we didn't have to pay out the wazoo for it.

Back at the hotel we got ready for bed.  The girls were asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow.  It was a busy day!

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel (it left MUCH to be desired), and then headed to the water!  These slides were super fun because we could all go down at the same time.  Reagan loved them because she was tall enough to ride by herself.  There were three tube rides that she couldn't ride... she was 2 inches too short.  But she handled that really well.  We got Avery on them, and she absolutely loved them.  It still amazes me that my child who is afraid of so many things loves roller coasters so much.

Here, she and Daddy are getting ready to shoot off on the Black Hole.

After going through part of the slide, it shoots you off into this huge bowl, and you go around and around and around until you go into the hole in the middle.  It was so fun!

The water is coming!!!  My family is such a good sport to pose for pictures even when they know they are going to get dumped on!  :)

The park really was a blast!  It was perfect for the girls.  We could see all the parts so they didn't have to stick right beside us the whole time, and they could ride almost everything.  The only down side was that outside people could buy a day pass so at 12:15 a daycare came.  Oh mercy... so many kids who weren't very nice. :/  But they left at 2:15 and things calmed down again.  We didn't stay too much longer though because we were all exhausted.  The girls didn't even complain when it was time to leave.  It was so perfect for our family.  We will definitely go back!

#6.  One of the things Josh put on the list was to make homemade ice cream.  We got an ice cream maker for our wedding, and I think we've used it twice.  But he loves it!  He and Reagan did this together, and she loved being the helper.

It was so hot that we ran out of ice, and just had to stick the middle thing in the freezer.  Next time Josh will buy the big bag of ice!  :)

The next day after nap we had ice cream!  Yum!!!

#1.  Today we got out the play-doh.  The girls just finished playing... after an hour and a half.  That's a lot of time sitting on the floor and playing, but they had a blast. 

I think we're going to have to keep this up even after school starts.  Maybe we'll do 5 things per month or something.  I have to be careful that I'm not just checking things off of a list, but it also had made me careful about making sure I don't promise things to the girls, and then have something come up.  Life happens, but then we reschedule.

I also think we will restart the family devotions in September.  Here's what I have so far...

September - things we've learned
October - not sure yet
November - things we're thankful for
December - we'll do like last year where each day has a task.  That was fantastic, and the girls are already asking about it.

If you come up with any October ideas, let me know.  :)