Hey Y'all!

Miranda Nichole Photography

Greetings from the Lone Star State, the second largest state in the Union, the land of cattle, horses, and the ranches to keep them in, the land of friendly people who think it's their business to say hi and wave to everyone they meet, and where you can walk into the neighbor's house and use the shower if you need to.  "Come in y'all, the door's unlocked!  Set yourself down and have a cup of coffee.  How's everything now?"

It's been one solid week of Texas living for us, and we are completely hooked.  It's even better here than we hoped for!  Thirty years of living in California, and one week of living in Texas.....and we feel like we fit in here so much better.  It was like entering a time warp--first of all the 2 hour time difference, and secondly the fact that everyone has TIME.  It feels like we left the busyness of California behind us, and people actually have time here for the things that really matter--friends, family, and God.  I've never seen so many churches before in my life!

I have already seen strange and wonderful things in this strange and wonderful land.

The cashier at Walmart not only bags my stuff, but also places it in the cart for me and makes small talk while they do it.

At Lowe's I was struggling handling two tired and fussy babies while trying to find some items for TJ.  I had FOUR Lowe's employees jump to help me--one went and found my items, one checked them out, one carried the items to the car for me, and a fourth carried my baby.

Eating out at a local Mexican restaurant, the people at the table next to us were so nice and friendly I thought TJ had met them already but he hadn't.  Just strangers chatting to us about everything because they were nice and being neighborly.

Walking to the local park 11 blocks away, I can walk with the girls in the stroller down the city street and the two or three people who pass me always wave and smile.  We stopped to visit with a lady and her little boy playing in the front yard.  Our girls fit right in!  Elizabeth smiles and coos at everyone, and Bella always has to wave and say in her sweet little voice, "Hello!  How are you?"

Our family here has been amazing and supportive.  The church helped us unload our truck and trailer in about thirty minutes.  We've had folks bring us food or take us to dinner almost every night, which is helpful as my kitchen at our house is gutted and it will be a while before it's fully functional.  TJ has been working very hard on getting one bathroom finished so we can perform sanitary functions at home instead of having to go across the street to Grandma Barbara's every time.  She has been so kind to let us use her house when we need to, and it's fun having neighbors across the street like that.  (My cousins Emerald and Amy live there too but they are working most of the time so we only get to see them on weekends.)

Miranda Nichole Photography

Oh, and our house.  Our wonderful, glorious house and land.  What a blessing God has blessed us with!!!  It's a four bedroom, two bathroom house with high ceilings that make it look even bigger than it really is.  We like spaciousness, and getting rid of most of our stuff helps it look even more spacious because there isn't much in the rooms.  It needs a lot of work, but we are having way too much fun customizing it to be just how we like it.  It's going to be beautiful outside and inside when we're done with it!  I am especially enjoying the fact that we get to benefit from and enjoy TJ's handiwork.  He has done so much good work in the past both with his company and the rentals we lived in, and we always had to walk away from it when he was finished and didn't get to enjoy it.  So it's really fun for me to see the tile he put in and the floors he installed and the mudding of the walls he does so well.   He is building me and the girls a lovely home and we appreciate him so much!  I love my man and the girls sure love their daddy.

I am hoping to be more faithful with updating my blog in the future.  We're pretty much settled in now and the girls are my full time job.  As our routine develops we'll see how much actual time I have for writing. 

See y'all later!  Come by and visit if you ever come through the Amarillo/Canyon area.