Ellie is 7

Here she is the day she was born...

And here she is seven years later!

Our beautiful Elizabeth brings us joy every day.  She is my big helper, and she is the child most likely to bring me a blanket.  She also sings a lot, and plays well with others.  Except when she doesn't.  Ellie has a mind of her own, and we love her.

Change

People ask us if we are still glad we moved to Texas.  Yes.  When you do what you think is right, with spiritual confirmation, the decision is the same the day you make it and a year down the road.  We knew this move would involve all kinds of change for us--leaving our ward and neighborhood, good friends, family, a home we loved, and a beautiful part of the country.  But, we also know, firmly, that when we follow the Lord, He blesses us in ways we cannot even imagine.

While we were in our apartment, we were serving in a ward that was very different from Harmony Ward.  Their challenges were completely different than we had experienced before, but while serving in that ward, John and I both learned and we saw miracles happen in our lives--daily.  Even though John felt stretched with his job and his calling, we saw the Lord make both happen for him, so he could successfully meet the demands of both responsibilities.  We had opportunities to be touched by people that we found to be strong and loving.

We are learning that change is not all that frightening.  You just live your life, and serve in the Church, and while your location may change, not much else does.  We are getting to know people and building a whole new network, which is hard to replace, but what I have learned is that I can move to a new city and be fine.  My family will be fine.  We look forward and not back.

If we have to, or choose to, do this again, it will be easier.  In fact, I was thinking of selling everything and moving to Provo last week.

But I won't.  This year.

Running in Texas

Once, Tiffany and I saw a coyote.  Up close.  Too close.

Seriously, it was on Mill Plain, between 24 Hour Fitness and Walmart.  In the dark.

I have never minded running in the dark.  It's always cooler, the air is fresher, especially at 20 degrees, and it was companionable with Tiffany.  Dark is a necessity in Texas in the summer.  When the sun comes out, it BEATS down on you.  I know I've said this before, but the Texas sun is brutal.  And when I see people running outside in the middle of the day, I think, "Poor you.  Don't you know you can get up in the dark and you'll be so much happier?"

There are some differences here, though.  For example, I run across all kinds of critters.  Every shadow, stick, leaf or other black thing, makes me nervous.  Could be a SNAKE, for heaven's sake! 

Here's what I've seen while running in the dark:

crickets--no big deal, but they move fast.

fire ants--they are the clean-up crew of nature on the sidewalk.  They EAT smashed crickets and worms.

worms--after it rains they all dry up on the sidewalk.

toads--big ones, like as big as my fist.  Running across one of those guys in the dark makes my heart rate jump.  They are a big three-dimensional shadow on the road.  YUCK.

And one night, while out walking with John, we did see our first snake.  It was VERY small, but gross just the same. 

Hopefully, everything will hibernate in the winter and I can run in the dark ALONE.

P.S.  I wrote this with my shoes on.

These Happy Golden Years

This is truly a great time in our lives.  Our kids are a joy to be around (most of the time) and easy to take just about anywhere (most of the time)! 

John was able to take a few unexpected days off work, so we took the kids down to South Padre Island for a short vacation.  It's supposed to be the best beach in Texas, and we loved it.  The water was warm, the sand was fine, the beach was long, and the surf was shallow and safe.  Perfect for a family vacation.

We did a few "touristy" things too.  First, we picked up smashed pennies at every machine we could find!  If you haven't done this with your kids, I highly recommend it.  We found penny wallets at the Oregon Zoo last year and collected smashed pennies all the way to Texas.  Now I just look at the website, www.pennycollector.com

every time we are traveling somewhere different.  They like getting a penny from all the places we visit.

Next, we stopped at the Port Isabel lighthouse, which I believe is the only remaining lighthouse in Texas.  I expected a tour and stuff like you get at the Oregon Coast lighthouses--NOPE!  Just pay your nine bucks and go up for the view.  Oh well, the view of the bay and South Padre was nice.

Port Isabel Lighthouse, Texas

Seth at the top of the lighthouse

All of us, in the heat, at the top of the lighthouse.

We decided the take the kids on a Dolphin Watch tour. The bay around the backside of South Padre Island has about 300 year round dolphin residents. We didn't see as many as we had hoped, but except for Sea World, I've never been that close to a dolphin!

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Cute Family on the Dolphin Boat

Beautiful Hannah with South Padre Island in the background

On the way down from Austin we stopped at Cabela's (who can resist?) and bought John a set of binocs for his upcoming birthday.  We all used them and loved them! 

On the boat, the guys put a net out the back for awhile and trolled along the bottom of the bay so they could bring up some sea life for the kids to look at.  The depth of the bay averages about 3 1/2 feet!  I couldn't believe it.  I think it's 3 feet from the guy's depth finder, but his boat is probably about 3 feet in the water, so we figure it's maybe more like 6 feet, but STILL!  That is one shallow bay!

Some kind of spiney fish.  The pelicans eat them, but they have to be careful to eat them head first, or the spines get caught in their throats.  The pelicans catch them and then let them swim around in their pouches until they face the right way to be swallowed.

A lizard fish.  Bottom-feeders, black meat, not good to eat because they eat garbage.

Striped puffer fish.  This guy was MAD when they pulled him up, and he was puffed up all big and round.

And finally, the DOLPHINS! We really didn't get any great pictures of these guys--these are the best of the bunch. Dolphins feed in pods. Here is a group of five, I think.

The South Padre skyline and beach from the Gulf of Mexico.

Seth in heaven in the sand.

Me pointing out what I thought might be a jellyfish.  I've heard stories about the Gulf of Mexico.  Turned out to be trash, but you can't be too careful when swimming with your babies.

I like to call this, "Man, I got saltwater up my nose, and it hurts!"

"Now I got saltwater in my eyes!"

Opie the Kite, which we bought in Newport, made a reappearance in Texas!

View down the beach--see the ROWS of beach umbrellas?  The Texas sun is BRUTAL.

"Hey, people, let me tell you 'bout my best friend...."

A real sandcastle--not built by us, but admired by all.

Attempting to build a sandcastle.

This bird seriously got close enough to get some good pictures.

View from the lighthouse. 
 The bridge over to South Padre is the longest bridge in Texas at 2.9 miles, and is called the Queen Isabella bridge.

We truly had a lovely weekend with our kids.  I wish I had pictures of them helping to haul everything in and out of the hotel, sitting quietly at meals, watching "Phineas and Ferb" in the evenings on Disney Channel, and calmly sharing a bed.  Someday I will look back on these pictures and be grateful for this little window of our lives, and they will bring me joy.  It's all about the memories, isn't it?