A Catch Up Post

It was so much easier to come up with and upload blogs when I stayed at home this summer! So, this will be a somewhat random catch up blog...

ELIN & BELLA...
...have got to be the sweetest sisters to ever grace God's green earth.
...shower each other with adoration and affection every day.
...play games in the back seat like copycat noises, taking turns escalating different two letter sounds (Bella will say "ba" quietly, then they'll take turns and each get progressively louder).
...have a bond so strong already. I couldn't possibly have imagined.
...both enjoy their new school and are just down the hall from one another.
...took really great school pictures!
...loved visiting with Grandpa Hall and Barnana.

I cannot believe that tomorrow is December 1st! Where did the last month go? Where did our summer and fall go?

We have now been in the great state of Texas for 3.5 months - I am in disbelief. I look back at the journey we have been on and am astounded that we have been living like nomads since July. We moved out of our Mill Creek house at the end of June, in with the Trujillo's for all of July, spent the first two weeks of August on the road at various hotels and with family, 6 weeks in a corporate apartment, 2.5 months in a subleased apartment... and in just a week and a half we will FINALLY be moving into our new house! OUR.NEW.HOUSE. It's been a long time a'coming. OUR.HOUSE. No more renting... hopefully no more moving for several years. We can finally get all of our things from storage and stop "camping" out in our apartment! This last week and a half will seem like eternity; we just cannot wait to be settled in for the long HALL! :)

Texas has grown on us quite quickly. Looking back at our move to Seattle, I feel that we have become comfortable here faster than we did in Seattle. Who knows? But, I am pleased at how "at home" we feel here, despite the fact that we've been living so "temporarily".

This will be my 3rd week at work and I really do enjoy my work! I sometimes still walk down the hall and think, "I live and work in Texas. Hm." I have a window office. My office suite is filled with wonderful, fun loving, sarcastic, eclectic, older ladies who love to tell stories and bring in homemade goodies. THERE.IS.ALWAYS.FOOD. We have a great cappuccino maker in our suite. There is free -- good -- coffee in the cafeteria. (In Seattle, I must have racked up $30 dollars a week at Starbucks, so this is huge!) The food in the cafeteria is delicious and healthy. Did I mention that there is always a homemade treat wafting its irresistible fragrance into my office from our kitchenette? Hmmm... desk job and treats everywhere, just as the holidays are upon us... not so good for my waistline. My new job is challenging in a way that is foreign to me, but I am learning A TON and am enjoying doing something new.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Santa Fe Halls! I had forewarned them that though we would LOVE to have them for Thanksgiving, we were pretty much "camping" in our apartment and it wouldn't exactly be the Hilton. They wanted to come anyway and I was soooooo happy to spend our first holiday in Texas with family. I had feared that it would just be us and that the loneliness would settle in like a dark storm cloud. So, we improvised quite a bit (I have no pots, pans, or cooking utensils!) in the making of our Thanksgiving meal, but everything turned out fantastic! Barb planned well and brought all the necessary pots and pans. A few things were forgotten, but we got creative. I even learned how to make mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with the marshmallows and I think I may try the turkey next year. No promises. (And yes, you read that correctly: i just learned how to make mashed potatoes!) It was a great visit! The girls loved spending time with Grandpa Hall and Barnana; there was a lot of wrestling, laughing, and cuddling. There was a lot of good eating, movie watching, and family time.

December is upon us and I am so anxious to get into the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, all of our holiday things are in storage and I'm not inclined to do up the apartment with decorations when we'll be moving out next weekend. And, I don't want to spend more money on decorations when we have it all. SO, I bought a tiny (12 inch) tall, fake, Christmas tree and a bunch of tiny ornaments, an advent calendar with little tiny drawers (thank you Halls!), and of course chocolate that the girls will decorate one advent day at a time! I'm so excited to start this new tradition with the girls! Each day they will open a drawer to get an ornament, a small piece of chocolate, and a letter that will stand for something in the Nativity story (A for angel, B for Bethlehem, etc...) and we will talk about it and possibly do a small craft. I have high expectations of doing this every day, so I pray that I won't let the busy-ness of our lives prevent us from doing this every day.

So... I hesitate to say it... but... so far... Texas ain't so bad y'all.
Pictures to come!

Bella's First Homework

The assignment was to decorate the turkey in as many ways that reflect our family:

A Little Bit About Baylor

Feel blessed to be a part of this great organization! Watch the video and be inspired! :)

Falling Into Place

...quite nicely.

I've accepted a position at Baylor (Fist pump), doing exactly what I want to be doing -- everything from my position in Seattle that I loved, minus all the things I didn't so much enjoy. I start November 14th! Great chemistry with the team and such a high caliber organization.

I'm pretty sure I've found a fantastic school for the girls! They will be starting next week. The director, knowing how much I loved it (the environment, their academic philosophy, the teachers - everything) but noticing how I hesitated over the tuition, offered us 2 weeks free for each of my girls! That's almost an entire month free!

God is good - and not just now when things are great - but all the time. He teaches me so much every day. If only I could really just give up worrying all the time!

Tiny example of His amazing ways... I've been here 3 months, unemployed and worrying/stressing about it almost every day. BUT, had I found a job right away and jumped into work immediately, I wouldn't have been able to get integrated into the church, mom's group, and of course enjoy 3 beautiful months with my girls. Hindsight's always 20/20.

Just a quick update!