Here and Now

Wow...6 months already. Exactly half a year ago Monday we spent our last glorious day on Cottesloe beach, had our sweet babysitter watch the kids one last time, and Matt and I watched our last sunset over the Indian ocean. I can't believe how the time has flown by. I'd heard so many warnings about how hard it is to repatriate and readjust to life back home that I was pretty nervous about it but honestly, we've all been so happy back in Texas that there is no doubt it was the right move for our family at just the right time. A lot of prayer goes into each move we've made and God definitely opened the right doors for us each time. Singapore was a wonderful adventure and an exciting multi-cultural experience. Perth was a laid-back, peaceful time in a beautiful country. But Texas, well, Texas is HOME. It may not always be as exciting or breathtaking, but it's where our hearts have always been. Our families are here, our roots are here, and now our children are setting roots here as well.

The best part of this last move is that it was not an assignment, it was a permanent relocation. That is a huge difference mentally. Gone are the "when we get back we'll...." or "in the next house..." and even the "for our next move we should..." It's tough as an expat to enjoy life in the moment sometimes when you're thinking ahead to when "real" life will begin again. Now we're enjoying the real life and I'm finding so much peace and satisfaction in living in our own house again, washing my own car, putting nails in the wall for things to stay, going to a church we really love. Last Saturday we got to have lunch with Grammy and Grumpy and dinner with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Amanda. Life is good.

I think a big bonus to our readjustment was settling in a new part of Houston, ironically something I was very against when the opportunity initially presented itself. We're almost an hour from our old house so we are learning all about a new community and making new friends, but we're still close enough to see old friends every once in a while. It may have been a lot harder had we gone back to our old neighborhood and tried to pick up life as we knew it four years ago since everyone's lives have gone on without us. Several families on our street have relocated from overseas or distant corners of the US so we're not alone in adjusting here.

I guess we'll always be a little different now, though. I'll want to say "air-con" forever because it's easier than air-conditioning. I still call trash cans "bins" because that's what Ben knows to call them. I have to remember at the seafood counter that it's okay to ask for "fil-lays" instead of "fil-lits" (a word I hated and usually refused to say in Australia). I still get confused occasionally about which side of the road I need to drive on or which stick controls the wipers or blinkers. Matt and I decide if we want take-away for dinner. I'm slowly resisting the urge to buy 6 cans of rotel every time I go down the aisle in the store because I remind myself I can get them anytime I need them. Our kids are learning about America's obsessive need to overdo every holiday and things like daylight savings time that they've never experienced. Boy, did Ben have a lot of questions about that! Not every 5-year old's drawings of airplanes always include inflight TV's. I'm growing more and more excited about the fact that our holidays this year won't include any marathon flights or jetlag, and we can buy freely without worrying about whether it will get back in our luggage.

It's wonderful to live life now. In the moment. And feel content. We thank God for a wonderful experience overseas and even more for a wonderful place to return home.

Trick or Treat!

Field Trip

Last week I was lucky enough to attend Ben's first field trip with him to Dewberry Farms. There were lots of other excited kids (and moms) on the trip so we both got to make some new friends. Moms weren't allowed on the bus so I packed Ben up and gave him a hug at school, then drove to the farm. I was a little less than pleased when he got off the bus there and had forgotten his jacket at school because it was a cold and windy day! Here Ben and his buddy Alexandra are waiting for the festivities.

Luckily, one of the other moms had an extra fleece pullover in her car so he borrowed hers and I didn't have to sacrifice mine. Our first excursion was a tractor ride with the class to the pumpkin patch where they all got to pick out baby pumpkins.

The proud kiddos lined up with their loot.

Afterward we checked out the farm animals and Ben was disappointed that we didn't get to pick up the chicks. I don't think the chicks were sad, though!

After lunch, we went with this group of precious little boys to enjoy the activities around the farm. They all wanted to do the corn maze first, which sounded fun until they all disappeared in different directions. Once they were rounded up we decided it would be better to stick together!

Ben and a few of his classmates stopped for a picture with his sweet teacher. I could not have asked for a better kindergarten teacher! I hope she's still there when Alex gets to school.

It was a great day, even if the weather didn't agree. The nice thing is that we got some rain with the cold weather and it stopped early that morning so the trip wasn't cancelled. And since it's Texas, the high the next day was almost 20 degrees warmer!

Pictures from my Phone

I just found the app to post on blogger right from my phone. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for such an amazing invention that I can take pictures and blog with my iPhone! Here are some random cute pictures worth sharing. Sorry to my facebook friends that have already seen most of these!

We've wanted to take the boys to a football game (preferably Aggie football, but at $80 a ticket that may have to wait a while) so we hit the local high school game last weekend. Ben and Alex LOVED it!

With the game, bands, drill teams, and cheerleaders, we were all entertained for two quarters and halftime. We finally left when it got close to 9 and the boys still complained about having to go home.

Look, it's the Great Pumpkin, Alex!!

Alex prefers to do his housecleaning properly accessorized. (and boy am I glad to have a dust-buster again! They think it's a treat to use it)

Last week was Ben's first school store where the kids can buy little knick knacks. I sent him with two dollars and couldn't wait to see what he came home with. I should not have been surprised when he was thrilled to show me his new calculator. Definitely his Daddy's son.

Alex still misses Ben during the day and I realized I don't take him to play much on his own, so we finally checked out Monkey Joe's. He loved the big inflatable slides and bouncy houses and found some other kids to play with him and fill Ben's shoes.

We were way behind in seeing the dentist with the ridiculously slow scheduling in Perth and our move, so the kids were overdue for their checkups last week. Unfortunately Ben had 3 small cavities but the dentist was able to fill them right then, which was good news for a boy who would ask 1,000 questions and stress over it until it was done. I told him he'd like the laughing gas. About 10 seconds later he said "I'm not laughing yet." Glad to have that done! He's got a bad combination of preemie teeth and a very small jaw, making them crowded and hard to clean between so we're becoming much better flossers in our house to hopefully prevent any repeats.

Our first rainy cold front finally arrived yesterday and we were greeted with a beautiful sight first thing in the morning.

Pumpkins

Our boys are learning all about Halloween this year. They've never really seen decorations and keep asking why people have skeletons in their yards and ghosts in their trees. We've done variations of trick or treating but the real deal will be a first for our kids next week. More important on their list last weekend was the carving of the pumpkins.

We went with one big and two little since Matt and I would be doing the bulk of the work.

Alex was NOT thrilled with the guts.

We made him get his hands dirty if he wanted to participate and he did so very reluctantly.

The boys picked a bat and a ghost for their pumpkins and were very pleased with the results.

Alex chose a candle for his but Ben used a toy red light to make his bat extra spooky.

Pumpkin carving is serious work. Apparently this one required power tools for precision drilling.

It turned out very nice and even got a few dowels for reinforcement. I always have to laugh at the differences between Matt's and my work. I free-handed the boys' designs so they turned out generally as requested but a bit crooked. You ask an engineer to create something and it will be exactly right!

Friends

We've been fortunate enough to catch up with some of our close friends over the past week. We helped Haley celebrate her fourth birthday and although it doesn't look like it in the picture, the kids had a great time. By the end of the party they really just wanted me to crack open the big jar of M&M's. As though two cupcakes weren't enough!

It was a very exciting day when Brynn and Ansley came to visit! These sweet girls have just left Australia and are moving to Alabama soon. We're bummed that they won't be in Texas but excited we'll get to meet up in Alabama sometimes. Malcolm, our other buddy from Perth, joined in for some fun as well.

These two are still the sweetest pair. It was a quiet, shy reunion but after half an hour they were talking and playing like no time had passed. Ben is still quite convinced they'll get married one day but he promised to wait until he's 18. I'm encouraging at least 25.

Alex and Ansley have always been two peas in a pod as well, but still like to do their own things. We've sure missed those beautiful girls!

We've also had a little fun at Grammy and Grumpy's...

Ready to fly?

Lookin' good! For those that have asked about Ben's eyes post-surgery, they're doing great. We've been really pleased with the results, although we don't know yet if his vision has improved much. The redness is almost entirely gone and his stitches should be dissolved. He was never really in pain or uncomfortable so everything really was as easy as we could have hoped.

The best part for Ben is that he's finally able to go swimming again! Couldn't risk a public pool with open incisions in his eye muscles so now that he's all healed up we've made up some of his lessons. He was signalling me to take his picture.

I've never seen Ben so full of smiles! Probably 10% due to the fact he was back in the pool and 90% because this was about two hours before the long-awaited reunion with Brynn.

Weekend Away

Matt's new position at work requires a lot of travel and we just learned that one of the perks is that occasionally it might work out for me to join him! He was in between meetings in London and Grandma K was available to watch the boys, so I hopped on the plane for a weekend with my hubby. It was wonderful!!

The best part for me - flying ALONE. Nine hours to do whatever I wanted, carrying only stuff for myself in my bag. I slept, I watched movies, I read an entire book, I went to the bathroom all by myself. That alone was worth the trip!

The next best part - Matt and I have each been to London before and only had a short list of things we absolutely had to do. The weekend filled up, but we slept in, relaxed in the parks in some gorgeous weather, and lingered over our meals. We were in no hurry and walked everywhere. Such a change from daily life. I'll share a few highlights.

First stop - Buckingham Palace. We happened to catch the last weekend the state rooms were open to the public while the queen was away for the summer.

Couldn't take pictures inside (boo!!!) but the best part for me was seeing Kate's wedding dress on display. I still remember Princess Di's dress as a kid and I was just as excited to watch the royal wedding earlier this year, so I thought it was pretty cool to see the dress and veil in person.

Had to see Big Ben, of course.

We enjoyed the passionate people at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park.

Neither of us had been inside St. Paul's Cathedral and it was really beautiful.

Absolutely gorgeous ceilings...

...and incredible paintings inside the dome.

We took the staircase all the way to the very top of the dome and enjoyed the view all the way around London.


It was so nice to enjoy a sunset and savor the moment at a rooftop restaurant. The weather couldn't have been any nicer for us.

It was wonderful to get away for a few days and enjoy some time alone together. We love our kids but we also love being a couple every now and then, too. I flew out early Monday while Matt went back to work and I was pretty happy to see two little faces when I got home! Thank you, Grandma, for taking such wonderful care of them while we were gone!!