Wednesday, November 2, 2011
... I passed!
Just a brief update: I "passed" the HSG with flying colors. I do enjoy passing tests. :) Everything looked normal and it wasn't even all that painful. I get to call the Dr. tomorrow to discuss the next steps.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
... Thy will be done
My God, My Father while I stray
Far from my home in life’s rough way,
Oh! teach me from my heart to say,
“Thy will be done!”
Far from my home in life’s rough way,
Oh! teach me from my heart to say,
“Thy will be done!”
Though dark my path, and sad my lot,
Let me “be still,” and murmur not,
Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,
“Thy will be done!”
Let me “be still,” and murmur not,
Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,
“Thy will be done!”
If Thou shouldst call me to resign
What most I prize, it ne’er was mine;
I only yield Thee what was Thine;
“Thy will be done!”
What most I prize, it ne’er was mine;
I only yield Thee what was Thine;
“Thy will be done!”
If but my fainting heart be blest
With Thy sweet Spirit for its guest,
My God! to Thee I leave the rest--
“Thy will be done!”
With Thy sweet Spirit for its guest,
My God! to Thee I leave the rest--
“Thy will be done!”
Renew my will from day to day,
Blend it with Thine, and take away
All now that makes it hard to say,
“Thy will be done!”
Blend it with Thine, and take away
All now that makes it hard to say,
“Thy will be done!”
Then when on earth I breathe no more
The prayer oft mixed with tears before,
I’ll sing upon a happier shore,
“Thy will be done!”
The prayer oft mixed with tears before,
I’ll sing upon a happier shore,
“Thy will be done!”
~Charlotte Elliott
I liked this hymn when King's Kaleidoscope began playing it last year at Mar's Hill U-District, but as each month passed and we were still not pregnant, I kept loving it more. The vast, vast majority of the time, I sing it wishing that I really felt what I was saying. I long for it to be true... but God is gracious and I had a moment this past Sunday that I could actually pray this prayer. Pastor Booker at Acts Church was talking about giving our hopes and dreams over to Jesus rather than trying to stuff Jesus into our dreams. He also emphasized that when we are where God wants us to be and surrender our dreams, Jesus will open up new dreams for us. Although it is true for all pregnancies, I have become increasingly aware that our pregnancy will only come through Jesus' hand. So, until He wills otherwise, I will be in a season of infertility. I might be here reluctantly, but I am where God wants me and on Sunday I got a glimpse of a dream He has for me in this place. There is an online community of women going through this too: women who desperately need hope and love from Jesus. I joined the group mainly to get answers about various tests I would be going through (i.e. They are going to do WHAT?? and How much will that hurt??) but God has given me a heart for them. And so, with only minor revolts from my heart, I am able to say: "Thy will be done!" There are a group of women going through deep pain who need someone who shares their pain to speak into their lives. Please, join me in praying for those who have had to walk this road and don't (yet) have any hope in a good God.
The update on me: I have a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test tomorrow morning, getting to the hospital at 7:30 AM. The test is basically an X-ray to see if there is any blockage in my tubes/uterus that has stopped us from getting pregnant. I feel pretty confident this one should come back normal (and thankfully, according to the discussion boards, it shouldn't actually hurt as much as I envisioned). Later in the month, we will do more blood work to see if I'm producing enough of the right hormones at the right times (the most likely culprit). But I will know more once tomorrow is done and I get a chance to check in with my Dr.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
... puppy training and ups and downs
So, a lot has been going on in the past month. Some of it has been really great, fun things and some of it has been stuff that I would honestly rather play Minesweeper than think about. By the way, I think the lack of Minesweeper is one of the greatest weaknesses of Macs.
To begin with the good:
We finally got a puppy! I have always been a dog person (sorry Hobbes) and so having my very own slobber factory is bliss. We got my Daisy-girl from the humane society because her smile is just impossible to resist. She is a three month-old yellow lab/weimeroner mix. She is super smart but did just enter the “terrible twos” of puppyhood... she thinks it is pretty fun to be told NO! for digging up my 5 lone green blades of grass in the back yard. But despite the fights over which of us really is the boss of this joint, nothing can beat a snugly puppy. She also makes me laugh a lot. In the past week, I’m pretty sure she tried to offer her squeaky ball in exchange for a skillet of sausage I had just browned. :)
One of the things that I didn’t expect in getting a dog is that I would have to examine the way that I see myself. Suddenly I had a being in my house who was actively rebelling against me (Hobbes generally looks with distain upon all that I do, but I’ve gotten used to that). I needed some advice and Daniel graciously brought home the Baylor Library collection of dog training manuals (all two of them). And so it began. Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) emphasizes that you must give off “calm, assertive” (I’m the top dog here) type vibes to keep the dog in check. The crazy thing is: it worked. When I was walking Daisy and obsessing about things that were going wrong or out of my control, Daisy would be pulling but if I took a deep breath and stood up a little taller, the pulling when down dramatically. A month into having her, I have found that it isn’t a perfect solution but it makes a big difference.
So, now I have 30-45 minutes each day where I am supposed to be thinking thoughts that instill/encourage confidence and I don’t really want to go down the rather lame “I have confidence in confidence” route (no offense Maria, but I was hoping for something more substantial). Although imperfectly, I have been trying to focus on the promises that God has spoken about me. One that has been especially meaningful is: "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7. I might hide it, but I am an extremely fearful person. So often I see myself as a victim, powerless and unable to shape the circumstances around me. I feel helpless even when faced with my own emotions and depression. But somehow, on those walks that I am most focused, I find that I can shift my mindset and emotional state. I was shocked. You might not be but it was a big deal for me. I work really hard to control circumstances because I don’t think I can control my emotions. Strangely enough, it turns out that God didn’t lie... maybe I can have a spirit of love and self-control rather than continual fears.
But, my fearful little self is rather scared of the responsibilities of self-control and minesweeper sounds like a really good alternative.
In other news, the one-year mark has come and gone and we are still not pregnant. I had never imagined that this would be the path God asked me to walk. I thought I had already done the hard part. I sacrificed the dream of getting my biochemistry doctorate as He changed my heart and made me want to become a mom. I took the fact that the desire came from his hand as a promise that fulfillment was just around the corner. Instead, this year has been a struggle with many half hopes and disappointments. In the process, I have become extremely grateful for amazing women who have walked this road before me. I long to have their faith and contentment but bitterness is so much easier for me. In my saner moments, I remember God’s grace in making this harder than I expected. For instance, according to my master plan from a year ago, I would be having our baby in the next month, but I hadn’t really understood what the first year as a lecturer would be like for Daniel and I don’t think I would have made it through the move here severely pregnant. So, God is good even in disappointments. But I am best when I can rationalize it. The months when it seems to make sense to me and yet God just asks me to trust His “no”, those are hard. I wish my heart would fully embrace what my mind begrudgingly acknowledges is probably true: that God is after my heart and His denials of my desires are the swiftest and best way to bring Him glory. Oh God! Please teach my heart to long for You because that is not my first inclination. While still trying to corral my heart into trusting God’s plan, we will be starting some of the routine testing to determine if something is wrong in the next couple of weeks. The plan is to do a series of tests for a cycle and then hopefully move toward a treatment plan. So, as fair warning, I will probably be talking more about my thoughts on entering the land of infertility treatments in the future... of course I should have probably put that warning a little earlier in the post. :)
To begin with the good:
We finally got a puppy! I have always been a dog person (sorry Hobbes) and so having my very own slobber factory is bliss. We got my Daisy-girl from the humane society because her smile is just impossible to resist. She is a three month-old yellow lab/weimeroner mix. She is super smart but did just enter the “terrible twos” of puppyhood... she thinks it is pretty fun to be told NO! for digging up my 5 lone green blades of grass in the back yard. But despite the fights over which of us really is the boss of this joint, nothing can beat a snugly puppy. She also makes me laugh a lot. In the past week, I’m pretty sure she tried to offer her squeaky ball in exchange for a skillet of sausage I had just browned. :)
One of the things that I didn’t expect in getting a dog is that I would have to examine the way that I see myself. Suddenly I had a being in my house who was actively rebelling against me (Hobbes generally looks with distain upon all that I do, but I’ve gotten used to that). I needed some advice and Daniel graciously brought home the Baylor Library collection of dog training manuals (all two of them). And so it began. Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) emphasizes that you must give off “calm, assertive” (I’m the top dog here) type vibes to keep the dog in check. The crazy thing is: it worked. When I was walking Daisy and obsessing about things that were going wrong or out of my control, Daisy would be pulling but if I took a deep breath and stood up a little taller, the pulling when down dramatically. A month into having her, I have found that it isn’t a perfect solution but it makes a big difference.
So, now I have 30-45 minutes each day where I am supposed to be thinking thoughts that instill/encourage confidence and I don’t really want to go down the rather lame “I have confidence in confidence” route (no offense Maria, but I was hoping for something more substantial). Although imperfectly, I have been trying to focus on the promises that God has spoken about me. One that has been especially meaningful is: "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7. I might hide it, but I am an extremely fearful person. So often I see myself as a victim, powerless and unable to shape the circumstances around me. I feel helpless even when faced with my own emotions and depression. But somehow, on those walks that I am most focused, I find that I can shift my mindset and emotional state. I was shocked. You might not be but it was a big deal for me. I work really hard to control circumstances because I don’t think I can control my emotions. Strangely enough, it turns out that God didn’t lie... maybe I can have a spirit of love and self-control rather than continual fears.
But, my fearful little self is rather scared of the responsibilities of self-control and minesweeper sounds like a really good alternative.
In other news, the one-year mark has come and gone and we are still not pregnant. I had never imagined that this would be the path God asked me to walk. I thought I had already done the hard part. I sacrificed the dream of getting my biochemistry doctorate as He changed my heart and made me want to become a mom. I took the fact that the desire came from his hand as a promise that fulfillment was just around the corner. Instead, this year has been a struggle with many half hopes and disappointments. In the process, I have become extremely grateful for amazing women who have walked this road before me. I long to have their faith and contentment but bitterness is so much easier for me. In my saner moments, I remember God’s grace in making this harder than I expected. For instance, according to my master plan from a year ago, I would be having our baby in the next month, but I hadn’t really understood what the first year as a lecturer would be like for Daniel and I don’t think I would have made it through the move here severely pregnant. So, God is good even in disappointments. But I am best when I can rationalize it. The months when it seems to make sense to me and yet God just asks me to trust His “no”, those are hard. I wish my heart would fully embrace what my mind begrudgingly acknowledges is probably true: that God is after my heart and His denials of my desires are the swiftest and best way to bring Him glory. Oh God! Please teach my heart to long for You because that is not my first inclination. While still trying to corral my heart into trusting God’s plan, we will be starting some of the routine testing to determine if something is wrong in the next couple of weeks. The plan is to do a series of tests for a cycle and then hopefully move toward a treatment plan. So, as fair warning, I will probably be talking more about my thoughts on entering the land of infertility treatments in the future... of course I should have probably put that warning a little earlier in the post. :)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
... the end of summer
Tomorrow is the first day of school and with that I'm declaring it the end of summer. So it is free to not be 109 deg. anymore.
On Friday students were moving into Baylor's dorms. Mobs of people in brilliant green shirts cheering each car that pulled up. Later that day, I went to Walmart (for the novelty of the experience... yes, really). I think half of the incoming freshmen and their parents were there. Parents pushing carts stuffed with water bottles, paper towels, and ramen noodles. The cheap TV stand aisle was packed and the plastic storage things area was terrifying. I remember the first trip to Meijers after getting to Calvin. It was a little more memorable since we went to the ... less than stellar Meijers... I think the dog food was on the same aisle as the bread. We did find the cleaner and more logically organized store and bought our fair share of plastic stuff. :) It was fun but it was pretty awesome to know that I'm done with going back to school.
Daniel on the other hand is going back to school. We went through the check-list.
First day's clothes clean and ready
Binders
(Red) Pens
Lunch box. So we don't have a real lunch box for him. But we have a lot of boxes out in the garage. One of those should do, right?
On Friday students were moving into Baylor's dorms. Mobs of people in brilliant green shirts cheering each car that pulled up. Later that day, I went to Walmart (for the novelty of the experience... yes, really). I think half of the incoming freshmen and their parents were there. Parents pushing carts stuffed with water bottles, paper towels, and ramen noodles. The cheap TV stand aisle was packed and the plastic storage things area was terrifying. I remember the first trip to Meijers after getting to Calvin. It was a little more memorable since we went to the ... less than stellar Meijers... I think the dog food was on the same aisle as the bread. We did find the cleaner and more logically organized store and bought our fair share of plastic stuff. :) It was fun but it was pretty awesome to know that I'm done with going back to school.
Daniel on the other hand is going back to school. We went through the check-list.
First day's clothes clean and ready
Binders
(Red) Pens
Lunch box. So we don't have a real lunch box for him. But we have a lot of boxes out in the garage. One of those should do, right?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
... a deep breath
We made it and things are starting to calm down. Looking back, this summer was a fantastic whirlwind. I can’t really believe we did all that we did in such a short time.
The drive down was long, 45 hours of driving type of long. We had fun tagging along like the annoying little brother to the big rigs. “Ohhh, where are you going for lunch? Can I come too?” “How do you get gas?” “Can I park with you?” Compared to our little Toyota, we were miles up in the air and alarmingly large. Daniel did a fantastic job driving even in the midst of miles and miles of construction zones. Narrow Lanes signs had never been such a big deal until this trip. The worst was in the middle of Wyoming when our side of the interstate was down to just one lane for miles. First the cones were just on our side of the dotted line, then they were in a few inches from the line, then they were a foot into our lane, and the only people/equipment we saw for the entire construction zone was one pickup with guys moving the cones still further into our lane. Thanks guys, we really like the rumble strip. It’s loads of fuuuUUUnnnNNNNnnnn. (that’s rumble strip voice if you didn’t catch it).
But we made it... just in time to head back for Megan and Greg’s wedding. The wedding was fantastic. Megan looked so elegant and quite stunning. It was beautiful to see how much they both have grown and love each other and Jesus. I couldn’t be happier for them. I also got to have a little time with my mom and dad while Daniel went hiking with his dad and Justin.
We flew back from the wedding into Austin and drove past UT’s campus. I think we found our spot to go if we start missing Seattle too much. There were several Thai restaurants and strange street art. People dressed differently. There were ads for Priuses (Priui??). If only it wasn’t blazing sunlight and about 110 (seriously), we would have been right at home.
AND THEN, Meg and Bryan came up to see us! You know those friendships where you see each other again and find out that you really are still perfect friends for each other. Yeah, I got me some of those. Daniel and I had wanted to explore town a little bit more and it was great fun to do it with them. We went to the biggest park in town, which has cliffs looking over the river, lots of trees and mountain biking trails, shady spots down by the river, a Frisbee golf course, and Miss Nellie’s Pretty Place. There was a sign, that’s how we knew it was Miss Nellie’s Pretty Place. We agreed. It was pretty. Thanks Miss Nellie. Somehow I don’t think that name would have flown in Seattle. From there we went along the river to the First Suspension Bridge West of the ... or maybe it was South of the... anyway, we went to an old bridge. We then went to Baylor’s campus and I finally saw more of campus than just Daniel’s office. We saw the Baylor Bears. They were hot but seemed to enjoy their pool. And then we decimated Meg and Bryan at board and card games. Sorry guys. They took us to our first ever Texas BBQ. It was a new experience to say the least. As we walked into the restaurant, there was a sign saying there was a concealed handgun class being held there next week. It was a slow night so when we walked in two employees were by a piano, the little old lady playing and the college aged guy boogieing. He jumped up and ran behind the counter where he fixed Meg and I some “something something Texas ‘Taters”. This baked potato was enormous! The butter glob was about 2/3 the size of my fist and then he put 3 healthy handfuls of cheese on top and covered it with meat and bbq sauce and then told us, “y’all make sure y’all aren’t sharin’ none with them boys!” Throughout the dinner we learned many things vital to blend in with the natives… and a few things that the natives do that are just plain wacky. All in all, we had a fantastic time and we can’t wait to see them again.
And so, now we are here and it is starting to sink in that we are staying. Sometimes, especially at church, I miss Seattle and Mars Hill immensely. We were so blessed there. But we have been blessed here: our house is cute and starting to feel home-like. It amazes me how much space we have here. Hobbes enjoys his prowls in the back yard, although it is hot enough he asks to come back in fairly quickly. We are going to go by the humane society tonight to just look at the puppies*.
*This line was responsible for us getting Shasta, although there was a “but mom” at the start that time around.
In other news, today breaks the record for most days of 100 plus temperatures in a row (the streak started in June) and if we keep it up next week we will crush the most 100 plus days in a year record too. Isn’t that exciting?? Please excuse me while I find an AC vent to lay on and a large quantity of frozen things to eat.
All in all, we are settling here. We are a little nervous but excited for classes to start and to see what life will really be like here. I’m still looking and trying to decide what sounds like a good job for me. I have a couple of leads on tutoring opportunities, so we’ll see what happens. I got a Texas gardening book today and depending on how our "just looking" goes today, I might find myself busy training a puppy. :)
The drive down was long, 45 hours of driving type of long. We had fun tagging along like the annoying little brother to the big rigs. “Ohhh, where are you going for lunch? Can I come too?” “How do you get gas?” “Can I park with you?” Compared to our little Toyota, we were miles up in the air and alarmingly large. Daniel did a fantastic job driving even in the midst of miles and miles of construction zones. Narrow Lanes signs had never been such a big deal until this trip. The worst was in the middle of Wyoming when our side of the interstate was down to just one lane for miles. First the cones were just on our side of the dotted line, then they were in a few inches from the line, then they were a foot into our lane, and the only people/equipment we saw for the entire construction zone was one pickup with guys moving the cones still further into our lane. Thanks guys, we really like the rumble strip. It’s loads of fuuuUUUnnnNNNNnnnn. (that’s rumble strip voice if you didn’t catch it).
But we made it... just in time to head back for Megan and Greg’s wedding. The wedding was fantastic. Megan looked so elegant and quite stunning. It was beautiful to see how much they both have grown and love each other and Jesus. I couldn’t be happier for them. I also got to have a little time with my mom and dad while Daniel went hiking with his dad and Justin.
We flew back from the wedding into Austin and drove past UT’s campus. I think we found our spot to go if we start missing Seattle too much. There were several Thai restaurants and strange street art. People dressed differently. There were ads for Priuses (Priui??). If only it wasn’t blazing sunlight and about 110 (seriously), we would have been right at home.
AND THEN, Meg and Bryan came up to see us! You know those friendships where you see each other again and find out that you really are still perfect friends for each other. Yeah, I got me some of those. Daniel and I had wanted to explore town a little bit more and it was great fun to do it with them. We went to the biggest park in town, which has cliffs looking over the river, lots of trees and mountain biking trails, shady spots down by the river, a Frisbee golf course, and Miss Nellie’s Pretty Place. There was a sign, that’s how we knew it was Miss Nellie’s Pretty Place. We agreed. It was pretty. Thanks Miss Nellie. Somehow I don’t think that name would have flown in Seattle. From there we went along the river to the First Suspension Bridge West of the ... or maybe it was South of the... anyway, we went to an old bridge. We then went to Baylor’s campus and I finally saw more of campus than just Daniel’s office. We saw the Baylor Bears. They were hot but seemed to enjoy their pool. And then we decimated Meg and Bryan at board and card games. Sorry guys. They took us to our first ever Texas BBQ. It was a new experience to say the least. As we walked into the restaurant, there was a sign saying there was a concealed handgun class being held there next week. It was a slow night so when we walked in two employees were by a piano, the little old lady playing and the college aged guy boogieing. He jumped up and ran behind the counter where he fixed Meg and I some “something something Texas ‘Taters”. This baked potato was enormous! The butter glob was about 2/3 the size of my fist and then he put 3 healthy handfuls of cheese on top and covered it with meat and bbq sauce and then told us, “y’all make sure y’all aren’t sharin’ none with them boys!” Throughout the dinner we learned many things vital to blend in with the natives… and a few things that the natives do that are just plain wacky. All in all, we had a fantastic time and we can’t wait to see them again.
And so, now we are here and it is starting to sink in that we are staying. Sometimes, especially at church, I miss Seattle and Mars Hill immensely. We were so blessed there. But we have been blessed here: our house is cute and starting to feel home-like. It amazes me how much space we have here. Hobbes enjoys his prowls in the back yard, although it is hot enough he asks to come back in fairly quickly. We are going to go by the humane society tonight to just look at the puppies*.
*This line was responsible for us getting Shasta, although there was a “but mom” at the start that time around.
In other news, today breaks the record for most days of 100 plus temperatures in a row (the streak started in June) and if we keep it up next week we will crush the most 100 plus days in a year record too. Isn’t that exciting?? Please excuse me while I find an AC vent to lay on and a large quantity of frozen things to eat.
All in all, we are settling here. We are a little nervous but excited for classes to start and to see what life will really be like here. I’m still looking and trying to decide what sounds like a good job for me. I have a couple of leads on tutoring opportunities, so we’ll see what happens. I got a Texas gardening book today and depending on how our "just looking" goes today, I might find myself busy training a puppy. :)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
... passing through
Just a quick update:
The time with my mom, gramma, and aunt Linda was great. We had a lot of fun on our various "adventures" (having started the trip finding a definition of an "adventure" as something that contains an odd mishap). We had several odd mishaps that made us laugh all the more, including my mom walking into a taxidermied elk. I also got to see Yellowstone again, the first time since I was 5 and my only memory of the trip was wishing I could get a teddy bear at the Old Faithful gift shop. Yep. Real significant stuff there. This time I actually remember seeing Old Faithful, and the falls, and the wild flowers, and the grizzly, and the wild flowers, and the baby buffalo, and the wild flowers. In typical fashion I took 415 pictures of the week and am in 5 of them. I did really enjoy playing with my camera so it's all good. :)
Daniel got his last signature and turned in this thesis so he is officially Dr. Daniel Bolton now.
The packing is almost done. I went to the store and pilfered 7 boxes this morning thinking it was excessive and they are almost all full now. The "I'll just pack that at the last minute" pile is larger than I expected.
Tomorrow we get to enjoy and celebrate the friendships we have made in Seattle, from hanging out with my kiddos at church to a bbq with our community group and other Seattle friends. (As a side note, pray that Julie, who is hosting the bbq, doesn't go into labor in the next 24 hours. I would love to meet Jon but it could make things complicated).
Monday we pick up the truck and load it and Tuesday we take off. A week from today we will be in our new home!! We haven't figured out internet for there yet so it might be a little while before I post.
I'm excited and feel amazingly blessed.
The time with my mom, gramma, and aunt Linda was great. We had a lot of fun on our various "adventures" (having started the trip finding a definition of an "adventure" as something that contains an odd mishap). We had several odd mishaps that made us laugh all the more, including my mom walking into a taxidermied elk. I also got to see Yellowstone again, the first time since I was 5 and my only memory of the trip was wishing I could get a teddy bear at the Old Faithful gift shop. Yep. Real significant stuff there. This time I actually remember seeing Old Faithful, and the falls, and the wild flowers, and the grizzly, and the wild flowers, and the baby buffalo, and the wild flowers. In typical fashion I took 415 pictures of the week and am in 5 of them. I did really enjoy playing with my camera so it's all good. :)
Daniel got his last signature and turned in this thesis so he is officially Dr. Daniel Bolton now.
The packing is almost done. I went to the store and pilfered 7 boxes this morning thinking it was excessive and they are almost all full now. The "I'll just pack that at the last minute" pile is larger than I expected.
Tomorrow we get to enjoy and celebrate the friendships we have made in Seattle, from hanging out with my kiddos at church to a bbq with our community group and other Seattle friends. (As a side note, pray that Julie, who is hosting the bbq, doesn't go into labor in the next 24 hours. I would love to meet Jon but it could make things complicated).
Monday we pick up the truck and load it and Tuesday we take off. A week from today we will be in our new home!! We haven't figured out internet for there yet so it might be a little while before I post.
I'm excited and feel amazingly blessed.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
... Roller Coaster months
Couple of major updates that shouldn’t be totally ignored:
Daniel had his defense and passed!
We went on an awesome camp/backpack trip out to the coast on the Olympic Peninsula in celebration and it worked out perfectly.
Daniel just needs one final person on his committee (the less than friendly guy) to sign off on his dissertation and he is completely done.
Last week it felt like every day was another “ka-thunk” as we ratcheted our way to the top of a roller coaster that will last the entire month (and spill over a little on both ends). I even had all the feelings of starting a roller coaster: the anticipation, trepidation, and a little of the knot in the stomach. I am convinced that this will be fun, aren’t I??
Wednesday morning was the pause at the top, a moment of normalcy before the plunge. I went for one last time to babysit/help out with the family I have been with for a year. I folded laundry and managed minor squabbles and then I said goodbye, and then we headed for the airport less than 3 hours later. We came down to Waco to find a house and for my first sighting of the place we will be calling home. We flew into Dallas and found that it was hotter at midnight than Seattle has gotten all year. We also found that the guy at the car rental counter was nicer than all of Seattle put together. He told us stories about his kids. Seattlites need to know you for months before admitting they had kids. We made it to Waco and started looking around at houses the next morning. Waco, as a city, is a little of kilter, literally. Check out a map. Do we pick one set of roads as our “north” or do we always have to say NW, SE, etc.? The jury is still out from the residents that we talked to.
We saw some interesting houses. One had a railing separating off 1/4 of the living room. No step, nothing, just a railing. One had pineapple wallpaper in the kitchen. One had bright pink tile in the bathroom. And one was fantastic. It is a beautiful home with a nice kitchen and the most amazing backyard with place for a garden already set aside. The back yard has huge old trees and slopes down toward a creek bed (but being 103 at the time, I’m only guessing that water occasionally passes by on occasion). We are really excited and a little awed at the fact that we will be moving from a 1 br apartment in Seattle to a 3 br place in Waco with only a $150/mo increase in rent. I have no idea what we will do with ourselves and with our rather limited furniture in a place like that.
One loop-de-loop on the trip was that a girl who had just got her license and has a car with bad brakes T-boned our rental car. Everyone is fine. Her clunker might not be any prettier and the rental’s passenger door was dented in exactly the right place for it to not open anymore. But we spent 4+ hours dealing with that stuff. (btw. You should make sure that the credit card used to make the reservation is the one you present at the pick-up counter. It will save you a LOT of grief.) Thankfully, we got the call that we got the house 5 minutes before the accident so we really did have an afternoon to kill.
We are back now, briefly. I will be leaving on Tuesday to go on a girl’s adventure in/around Yellowstone with my mom, aunt, and grandma. We are staying in a rustic cabin for a while and then ending the trip with a day at a hot springs and spa. It should be great. I’ll be back on the 14th. Meanwhile, Daniel is going to a conference and will be getting back the 16th. We load the truck and will be leaving Seattle on the 19th. An epic road trip will follow and we will start to unpack and then fly back to CO for Megan and Greg’s WEDDING!!
And every once in a while, I just might throw my hands up in the air and scream.
Last week it felt like every day was another “ka-thunk” as we ratcheted our way to the top of a roller coaster that will last the entire month (and spill over a little on both ends). I even had all the feelings of starting a roller coaster: the anticipation, trepidation, and a little of the knot in the stomach. I am convinced that this will be fun, aren’t I??
Wednesday morning was the pause at the top, a moment of normalcy before the plunge. I went for one last time to babysit/help out with the family I have been with for a year. I folded laundry and managed minor squabbles and then I said goodbye, and then we headed for the airport less than 3 hours later. We came down to Waco to find a house and for my first sighting of the place we will be calling home. We flew into Dallas and found that it was hotter at midnight than Seattle has gotten all year. We also found that the guy at the car rental counter was nicer than all of Seattle put together. He told us stories about his kids. Seattlites need to know you for months before admitting they had kids. We made it to Waco and started looking around at houses the next morning. Waco, as a city, is a little of kilter, literally. Check out a map. Do we pick one set of roads as our “north” or do we always have to say NW, SE, etc.? The jury is still out from the residents that we talked to.
We saw some interesting houses. One had a railing separating off 1/4 of the living room. No step, nothing, just a railing. One had pineapple wallpaper in the kitchen. One had bright pink tile in the bathroom. And one was fantastic. It is a beautiful home with a nice kitchen and the most amazing backyard with place for a garden already set aside. The back yard has huge old trees and slopes down toward a creek bed (but being 103 at the time, I’m only guessing that water occasionally passes by on occasion). We are really excited and a little awed at the fact that we will be moving from a 1 br apartment in Seattle to a 3 br place in Waco with only a $150/mo increase in rent. I have no idea what we will do with ourselves and with our rather limited furniture in a place like that.
One loop-de-loop on the trip was that a girl who had just got her license and has a car with bad brakes T-boned our rental car. Everyone is fine. Her clunker might not be any prettier and the rental’s passenger door was dented in exactly the right place for it to not open anymore. But we spent 4+ hours dealing with that stuff. (btw. You should make sure that the credit card used to make the reservation is the one you present at the pick-up counter. It will save you a LOT of grief.) Thankfully, we got the call that we got the house 5 minutes before the accident so we really did have an afternoon to kill.
We are back now, briefly. I will be leaving on Tuesday to go on a girl’s adventure in/around Yellowstone with my mom, aunt, and grandma. We are staying in a rustic cabin for a while and then ending the trip with a day at a hot springs and spa. It should be great. I’ll be back on the 14th. Meanwhile, Daniel is going to a conference and will be getting back the 16th. We load the truck and will be leaving Seattle on the 19th. An epic road trip will follow and we will start to unpack and then fly back to CO for Megan and Greg’s WEDDING!!
And every once in a while, I just might throw my hands up in the air and scream.
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