So We Moved

Andrew, Cooper and I have moved to Texas! I am now required to say ya'll, wear boots, and have big hair.

Just kidding. 

Guys, so far this place is awesome. Today I walked to get Cooper from school in shorts and a t-shirt and even broke a sweat...in JANUARY. #glory

After Christmas we packed up our home, let some movers load our stuff, and drove for about a week. It doesn't usually take a week to make that drive, but we stopped and visited friends in Indiana and my bother (well, just his house - he was in eurpoe!) in Arkansas on our way across the country. We literally passed through the gateway to the west. Pretty fitting.

St. Louis visit. 12/31/15

We snapped this picture just moments after driving up to our new home.

The day after we arrived in Texas, I had a fingerprinting appointment. Rest assured, the fingerprints were taken in a gun range, out in what seemed to be the middle of no where. I drove down this dirt road to get there and had a huge "Where the hell am I?" moment. With Cooper in the backseat I tried to make it sound like an exciting adventure, but my insides were a hot mess. 

Speaking of Cooper, that day I also registered him for school. His first day he was nervous and scared. The following weeks were no easy task as his mom. There were complaints about going to school, which had never happened in Ohio, there was an earlier wake up time, there was lots of missing his friends. Huge adjustments were happening in his life. We had lots of conversations. "Mom, no body likes me."

-"Why do you think nobody likes you?"

"They won't play with me at recess. They won't let me play with them because they are playing skylanders and I don't know how to play skylanders."

-"Well, if that's the case, then maybe you can find someone else to play with."

"I can't. They are my friends."

"That's not they way friends who love you act. You can find a friend who will include you, I know it. But in the event that this is you not wanting to play because they are playing skylanders and not mario, being a friend means sometimes playing what the other person likes. It's ok to try new things. You might love it."

Yep. Lots of conversations like that. Really, I think he had a hard time not being "mr. popular." He is so used to everyone loving him that being the new kid who no one really knew was a new thing for him. I was hoping that after some time he would settle into some friendships and feel more at home there. 

Then a back seat conversation this past weekend happened. 

"Mom, "A" is my best friend. But sometimes he gets sad when I play with other people. But I have to play with other people. I need like 1,000 friends."

There it was. He had friends. He was playing with lots of kids. And true to his personality...he needed those friends to feel better. To top it off, we met some neighbor kids (our neighborhood has kids!!!) and he's excited he has people to play with while he's home, not just at school. I'm happy to report that this week he has been excited for school and seems more like his normal, happy self.

This is not monkey, this is coconut, the class stuffed animal. Cooper had him for the weekend.

I am loving our new home. Those of you who know me can probably guess what I'm most excited about. (#BigBlackDishwasher) We have a lot of space, there are ceiling fans, blinds that don't break when I clean them, 2.5 bathrooms, more than one shower and tub, a fenced in backyard...basically everything I have wished for in a home. Coming from our house in Ohio, I feel like I'm living in a mansion. Every day I just look around with happiness in my heart. The past 5 months have been hard on our family. Most days I was just trying to survive. I didn't cook, tossed housework out the window, and hunkered down with my journal and bible. I have walked down a path that is scary, shaky, and unknown. One day last week  my friend told me "your house is just an every day example of how much God loves you." This was a hard pill to swallow because God would love me even if we still lived in Ohio. God would still love me if I didn't have a dishwasher. God's love for me has been so obvious and tangible the past 5 months; ways that don't have anything to do with how nice of a house I live in. But another friend assured me. "Chandra, you have obeyed God in a huge way. He knows the desires of your heart. Obedience brings about blessings." So now I look around at this house, a house that I'm so thankful for, and thank God. He is rebuilding our family. He's rebuilding me, and Andrew, and Cooper. I'm excited that the rebuilding is happening in this home.

Cooper has this awesome room thanks to some awesome wall stickers from Nana and Grampsy.

This weekend Cooper said, "Mom I love living in San Antonio. This is the room I've wanted. This is the playroom I've wanted. I love our home." I smiled and said, "Me, too, bug. Me, too."

We would love some visitors in Texas! Make it happen, people.