Part Two -- How We Came to Texas

I don't remember what we had for breakfast that first day here. Maybe we went to the store and bought stuff. We didn't have our fridge yet so we must have done something. A MOMYS (mother of many young siblings) came over that day and brought lunch and dinner and we had a fun time getting to know her and her nine children. I think I was still in shock that we had moved out of our house, driven to Texas, were in strangers in a strange land, then this strange woman (strange as in I didn't know her!) brings us enough food to get through a week and acts like all is normal. That really helped me. We are used to being different, but this was *really* different. Our spirits were up, seeing evidence of God's presence with us throughout the trip.

The first day we arrived, it was sweltering hot and humid, around 92 degrees (on Feb. 25!). The next day, it was WINDY and COLD. For four more days, it was warm, sunny, and clear. Beautiful. Then it got cold and windy again and the next DAY there was thunder, lightning, RAIN like a firehose was soaking the windows, sleet and snow. Yes, snow. It was so beautiful. That was also the night the vomiting started. Yeah. Of the eight of us, five got the actual messy part and I only got the nausea. Luke and the baby were spared, as per our prayer requests. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Not me.

I will let you imagine what it's like to do laundry without a dryer (I had my washer, thank God!) and having no way to hang up sheets and towels to dry. So I didn't wash them. I let them sit. Use your imagination. (They are done now, don't worry, but I was so tempted by the trash bins in the garage!)

Getting to know the area came about by finding the grocery store, water store, Sam's Club and Wal-Mart (which are right next-door to each other but have vastly different prices on many of the exact same products!), Costco, thrift store, and the library. Those were our only destinations until... well, they still are our only destinations, with few variations. We have visited a few churches, but they are on the way to those other places.

Speaking of churches, there are so many here! The churches are as varied as the weather. We are visiting different ones each week.

We've joined a homeschool group and I found an email list for homeschool moms in this area. I met another MOMYS from the Digest and she has been such a blessing to us already.

Speaking of blessings, so far, FIVE families whom I met via MOMYS (and have since met in person) have welcomed us, fed us, unloaded our stuff and organized it, given us money, or just called to be encouraging. It's overwhelming and so very nice. I want to be that kind of blessing to someone.

The email list moms have also been accommodating, inviting us to parties and events, offering to pick me to go to mom's night out and stuff like that.

We LOVE Texas!
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