It's been a long time since my last post......I obviously get sporadic spurts of inspiration !
We are all settling in to TX and life in general. Jake has been working part time and also finding some marketing ,which he really enjoys doing. I have been just working and working and oh, yeah, working :) Nathan is counting down the days till his 13th birthday and I am wishing he was 4 again. It is so much eaasier to take away their pain and hurts when they are little . There are so many challenges for a teen these days ! Nathan even has his heart broken by a girl and the girl he now likes( which he says he could stare at all day) likes his friend! I guess if I can keep him talking about his problems I should be thankful!

Megan has joined Girl Scouts and is VERY excited about being a part of it! She is the child who always has to have something going and somewhere to be!

Jay is my go with the flow kid and just enjoys life for the most part. He is low mantience except when he wants to strike a bargain which is every time you ask for something :)

We are so excited to have Spring get here and although everyone is warning us we will be tired of the heat , we are looking forward to being outdoors. It will be fun to experience TX and see what it has to offer!''

Thanksgiving 2009

In years past we have always had Thanksgiving with family and most often it was at my house. Although I did not enjoy the cleaning part I loved cooking and creating a beautiful dinner!
This year , we were at loss as to what we would do to make it a special time and not feel so lonely!
We decided to make small gift bags full of useful things like ,socks,toothbrushes,combs,ect and find some homeless to share them with. Jacob and Megan stuffed the bags and Thanksgiving afternoon we headed out,praying we would find exactly the ones who needed it the most. Austin has homeless on nearly every street corner. We found about 15 people in one spot having their own little feast. The kids all got out and we went around handing the bags out. There was one women and she was excited cause the bags were hot pink and she said she never gets anything girly !
We went home and pulled our small little table into the living room where we had our dinner. It was hard for me to not have the big beautiful dining room all set up but the kids loved it and asked if we could do it again next year! Amazing how kids help you see the fun in everything!

Job Hunting,,,,,

Have I mentioned that I HATE filling out applications and going to interviews? I spent about a month getting the kids established and settled into school before seaching for a job. We were learning to give ourselves permission to slow down and heal from the past few years. The extreme fatigue we felt was difficult to understand but we allowed ourselves to embrace this time in our lives.
Thankfully, I had the advantage of being in the Medical field so I did get several interviews. I worked 2wks in a ENT office which I hated , and was then offered a job in a Acute Care Clinic. Again, God led since the hours allowed me to take the kids to school and pick them up!
Jacob, is working at a low stress job and with pinching pennies and eating Mac & Cheese we are surviving :)
Since being here, although it has had it's fears and stress, we have found the simplicity of life a real balm to our bruised spirits!

Our Move to Texas

Ok.......so I decided to start this blog and update you all as to where or what has happened to us :)
In August of 2009 we made the desicion to simplify our life and make a move. I did some research ( I like to say I closed my eyes and pointed at a map) and felt drawn to Austin , TX. We sold everything we owned except our beds and clothes! I still remember crying as my beautiful bedroom set was loaded into someone elses car. It was a real time of letting go of all the familiar things around us. It is amazing how we put so much of our feelings of security in the things that surround us. When all of that is stripped away and it is just us it is a amazing experience.
When we drove away from Boise , we did not have a place to live or jobs that we were headed to. Looking back it seems like a crazy thing to do but we were lead all the way! We saw some amazing ,beautiful country on our drive here. Our first stop was Salt Lake where we spent the night. Driving through Utah we saw beautiful red hills just amazing formations on the land.
We went through New Mexico and saw a wild pig family crossing the road and also had to make a quick exit from a gas station as a mexican tried picking a fight with the owner! The kids werre VERY entertained!
Driving into Texas I was sure we were driving in circles since mile after mile was the same. We stopped to gas and and when we walked into the store( if you could call it that) The lady said they were out of gas . It was the most forsaken place I think I ever seen!
The kids really did well even though they never slept while driving and wanted to stay with mom. Jacob suffered all by himself in the truck listening to books on tape :)
We stopped in Sea World for a day of swimming , sight seeing and sun!
As we drove over the hill into Austin I remember looking around and wondering what on earth were we thinking. We did not know anyone , had no home and it was time to get the kids in school!
We stopped at the first Extended Stay and that was our "Home" for the next few days.
Driving around Austin , was a real test of faith for us. We did not know the area or anything about the best place to live. I will have to say there were moments of terror and fear!
As we drove along Jacob remembers surrending and just asking for help. The first road he noticed was called Surrender! We turned on this road and saw several homes for rent and started calling to be able to see them. We found a small 3bdrm house with a office space on pretty tree lined street!
In the middle of the house hunting I was frantic to get the kids in school. I had not been able to do this before hand since we had to know where we would live before we could even register them! I found a Science and Math Charter school for Nathan (12yrs) which I was very happy with. All 3 of my kids have gone to a small private school for the most part of their lives and I was very nervous about putting them out in the big bad world!
I visited a small school in our neighborhood and was very impressed with the staff. The twins started school about a week late but have really adjusted well !

Oh there is more to thios story ! Remember we still have no job!