Friday, January 22, 2010

Life in the South

We've had a good couple of weeks adjusting to life in San Antonio. 70 degree weather sure helps that too. Bill's parents came for a visit which kept us entertained and running around exploring our new area. We celebrated Bill's birthday. We ventured to the zoo. We've also started attending a church down here and have enjoyed the 2 weeks of that. Sophie has even been learning some new bible stories.

Here are some pictures and Sophie's version of Samuel listening to God. (You will also get a little tour of our new apartment)

Claire-bear turned 8 months yesterday. She has been a bit of a crank pot lately. I'm going to blame it on teething. She is still a sweet thing though, and quite the little mover. Although not crawling - she started an army crawl which usually gets her to what she wants.

Sophie and Bill blowing out his cannoli ice cream cake (he turned 3 according to Sophie)

Yes, these are palm trees my friend. I'm not sure if they are native to this area, because it seems that they are mostly growing outside of stores and restaurants, but still so nice to see!


Zoo fun

Friday, January 8, 2010

A week ago...

A week ago today we said goodbye to our friends, neighbors & home and set out on our 2 day drive to San Antonio. After 2 full days of driving, we made is safely to San Antonio. Here is a little recap of our journey from the past couple of weeks:

We spent Christmas in Boston and enjoyed it greatly. It was wonderful to spend time with family we don't get to see often. Christmas Eve day was spent with all of the Logozzos, and Christmas day took us to Connecticut to spend time with the Lockerts. All of it was so nice. Bill and I really enjoyed getting a "mental" vacation from all of the thoughts & stresses about moving & preparing for life in San Antonio.

We came home on Tuesday, and spent our time packing, sorting, cleaning, putting away - you name it! In the midst of this we took time to be with friends. So many were gracious to have us over for meals. It was nice not to have to worry about cooking during that time, and to enjoy quality time with amazing friends!

We had one last Sunday at Grace and were both balling like babies at times when we had to say goodbye to friends. You'd think we were moving away forever... and even though we don't plan on that happening, it was still hard because we are surrounded by such a loving church body. They exude godliness, extend grace, and love so well! Thank You Lord!

The next morning we stood in the kitchen of our almost empty house, took some time to let the emotions flow :) & prayed for our journey ahead. Sophie was funny that morning. She woke up cranky and I think she was a little sad too. However, she took it to an extreme and found it necessary to whine, a lot! At one point I asked her - "sophie, where is your happy attitude?" and she said "it's upstairs." That was a perfect answer for that morning!

Our drive was amazing. God seriously poured out his grace. The girls did fabulous in the car. I was a little nervous about Claire being in the car for so long because she has never been a huge fan of car rides, especially at night time. BUT, she did great. Maybe the switch to a convertible car seat did the trick! The most eventful part of our time on the road had to have been in Waco, TX. We were enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant. I went to the bathroom to clean out Claire's bottle and a lady at the sink next to me said: "You're cleaning a bottle and I'm going to clean my teeth." Hmm, before I could even form a thought she plopped out her dentures and rinsed them off. It was pretty disgusting, but I had to laugh.

We arrived at our apartment on Tuesday night, and it was a bit hard. It really sunk it that we were NOT home. But with time, rest, & prayer - it is getting a little better each day. It has been a good reminder for me that this world is truly not our home -- whether TX or KY - it is all a temporary dwelling place.

The girls have been adjusting pretty well minus the sleeping thing. We are attempting to make them share a room. It hasn't been too terrible. The worst parts have been getting Claire to fall asleep quietly, and getting Sophie to sleep past 5:30am! Thankfully this morning she slept to 6:15am. Sad, but that is actually good for her since we've moved here! Claire on the other hand wouldn't dream of waking up before 8am. Maybe in few months they will get used to each other. :) Other than sleeping, Sophie seems to be enjoying her new apartment and is anxiously awaiting the day we get to visit Shamu. Seaworld is literally up the street from us. Claire has been enjoying her new found talent of rolling around everywhere.

A couple pics from the last week:
One last pic in Claire's room

Hotel fun in Little Rock

Sophie in her big hotel bed

The girls in Sophie's bed here in our apartment.


Although we eagerly anticipate returning to life in Kentucky next year - we don't want to miss out on what God has in store for us this year in San Antonio. We recognize his sovereignty over our lives and his placing us here. Our prayer is that we would live life to the fullest, for his glory where ever we are.