Eight years since...

Today our oldest daughter turned eight.

Eight years since we "became a family" (as my dad always said about me!).

Eight years since I became a mother.

Eight years since the surgery that changed my life.

Eight years with our precious Felicity, a virtuous, smart, and genuinely kind little girl.

Felicity was born 9 months and 2 days after our wedding day.  We never knew marriage separated from parenthood, and while that was a concept I wrestled with for some time during that pregnancy, I can so clearly see how God's plan brings the greatest joy.

My girl and me after the long anticipated opening of birthday gifts.

 From the very beginning she has been nothing but a joy to us.  I am so proud of the young lady she is turning into and I can't wait to see what her future brings this year!

We are visiting Charlie's parents in the Houston area this weekend, and she was thrilled to spend the weekend with Nana and Papa.  She had a great day that included the usual birthday donuts (Shipley's!  Yay!), a lunch out with friends followed by play in the splash pad, and then a little birthday party with our family, Charlie's mom, and Charlie's sweet grandmother who also lives in town. (LOVE the 4 generational birthday party!)

Watching her open gifts was odd - the only toy she got was this fun girlie LEGO set.  Such a big girl now, she mostly received shoes, clothes, craft kits, and the ever exciting *SMASH book that she's been dying for.

I am forever grateful that God entrusted this precious soul to Charlie and me.  She changed our lives, and continues to inspire us.

 (I wish I had more pics...but alas, I stupidly packed my camera to computer cord in a box buried deep in storage right now...)

Blues Skies, Green Grass

We made it!

It is so, so good to be home.  I'm spending the week with the children at my parents' house in Fort Worth while Charlie is in St. Louis on business for his new job.  We've had such a blast so far, going swimming, to the park, on meandering walks, staying up late talking and drinking wine, enjoying delicious food, and more. 

I have four younger sisters, ranging from 6 to 14, and it's been such a killer for the last 5 years to be missing out on their lives.  I'm so excited to be back where I can attend choir concerts, first communions, school functions, and generally be a part of their life.  If I tried, I wouldn't be able to fully express the joy this gives me.

On the other side, I have loved watching my little ones re-forge relationships with their grandparents.  Since my sisters are in school all day, my kids have had complete access to my mom and it's amazing how quickly they have bonded to her, as well as enjoyed their times in the evening with my dad. 

No matter how beautiful the places have been where we've lived over the past 5 years, no matter the wonderful adventures we could and did have in Colorado and Wyoming - nothing, nothing can trump the bonds of family.  As we drove down the familiar streets of my old neighborhood, I felt such an incredible relief to be back where we belong.

(Then, of course, there's the Mexican food.  And unlimited access to Super Target.  And gentlemen who open doors and ladies with a southern drawl who call us y'all.  Yes, indeed.  We are home!)

I am so looking forward to getting to Austin next week and starting the house search and checking out our new area.  Also, we still have to see Charlie's family and some super special friends.  Really, the level of excitement is almost unbearable.  I feel so blessed.

(Gabrielle told us that once we crossed the state line, Serafina, Joe, and Bree the Goldendoodle were "official" Texans.  Joe's pumped about that.)

*Friends, as excited as we are to be home, would you join us in praying that our home in Wyoming will sell quickly?  We're in living limbo until that happens!  St. Joseph, Pray for Us!

GTT

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

What a whirlwind it has been.

In a week and a half, we sold all of our furniture, packed up a household of seven, embarked upon a handful of home improvement projects, listed our house for sale, and embarked upon our next adventure.

It's been a lot of work, very emotional, and there have been surprises at every turn.  And a nursing baby every few hours. 

The week was hard with the girls.  The last visit to our library.  Last Mass with our beloved priest.  Last afternoon at City Park on a beautiful Easter day. 

Then last night, there was a lovely little "see you later" soiree that was such a fun time, until the end - and goodbyes are always sad.

This morning when we pulled away from our home, with the "for sale" sign out front, the new garage and fencing of epic proportions that we added - our first home, the unparalleled mountain view, the place where my son was born - things got especially emotional for me.

Charlie was driving the Uhaul, and I was driving our Suburban with all the kids and about half of our wardrobes.  And many electronic devices.
Once we got on the road, things were going really well.  Since Charlie usually drives, I almost never get to listen to my own iPod or the music I want to hear, so I was having a great time enjoying what I like while the girls watched movies.
Next thing I knew, Charlie pulled over to the side of the road.
His UHaul had died.

There was some uncertainty for a while about what was going to happen, so I took the girls into the nearest town of Laramie for some lunch while Charlie got to sit by the side of the road in the truck with the dog and wait for a tow truck.

It was wildly inconvenient, and a little bit scary.  But, they ended up taking very good care of us.  They paid for a hotel for us - and the hotel was so nice and allowed Bree to stay, gave us free meal coupons for breakfast, and free drinks for Charlie and me!  (I haven't been so relaxed as with that super hot water and a glass of wine after kids were in bed...oh man what a blessing.)

And the fact is, we have time, we travel well together, and all of us are super flexible (though, one particular child in the family has a slightly smaller flexibility level...but she's still great!).

We'll get there soon, and we'll enjoy the ride. 

Let Texas Fill My Soul

Well, I haven't been blogging much.  Life has been a whirlwind and oh my goodness do I have happy news to share!

We are moving home to Texas!!!

Texas is the closest we'll ever have to a "homeland" and I've been missing it for five long years.

It's going to be a fast and furious move, because we have to be there in two weeks for Charlie's new job. 

What THAT means is that not only do we get to see all of our dear family and so many friends we've been missing (yeaaayyy!!!), but we'll make it back in time to catch a glimpse of those lovely Texas Bluebonnets that I love.

This was the last Spring we were in Texas - my how things have changed since then!  F was 3, G was 18 months, and we had no Colette, Fina, or Joe!

I'll share more details and thoughts later, the crazy packing is taking over my life!

(On a side note - will you say a prayer for us that selling our house will be easy and fast?!)