Home Sweet Home

After two straight days of unpacking

from early morn to late into the night....

we have come up for a bit of air!

{note the crepe myrtle trees.....so lush and beautiful!}

How sweet it is to settle in together in this new place!

To make this house our home.

It has rained three straight days on and off...a delightful change for us.

We are mostly unpacked.

The kids have been a huge help, so today (day 3) 

we made a little more time to swim and jump on the trampoline and bake brownies!

Tonight Mr. D is visiting.

We are renting his home as he has moved his family to Holland for a year or two.

They are a delightful family and the timing worked out so beautifully for us to be here.

We love the neighborhood, Champion Forest.  It is just lovely.

I hope we can find a property to purchase here - it suits us well!

I am just giddy to set my eyes on traditional architecture and beautifully planned gardens -

while the desert did have it own beauty, this is what is beautiful to me!  

I feel like I am back home!

We've been met with warm, southern hospitality . . .

and Ian has located and made friends at the nearby 

family owned Chinese restaurant (essential!). . .

we all feel very encouraged about this new chapter in our lives.

Ian travels to pick up Meredith from DC this weekend....

and so we'll all be home together Saturday.

Hmmm....what to make for her welcome home/welcome to Texas dinner???

I can't wait!!!

Good Morning Houston!

We have arrived!

Ian drove Charlotte and Peter in the Suburban with

our two labradors, Zoe and Kirby

and our Guinea Pig, Snickers

and our snake, Gus

from Phoenix, Arizona to Houston

1,177 miles

They left Friday morning

and arrived at our new house at 10:30 pm Saturday night.

I flew with David and Claire and we landed in Houston at 12:30 am

Ian and the crew were able to pick us up at the airport and because we 

didn't have power yet, we found a hotel close to our home - a nice Homewood Suites

that even took our two labs!!!  We have a suite and will be here again tonight

until our power is on tomorrow (praying!)

I have no photos yet, so here is an update on Meredith in DC

She is really longing to be with us!!!

And we are longing to be with her - she has been away four weeks now. . .

but LOVING each and every minute of it!!!

Here is Meredith and Tara after a yoga class they take on Saturday mornings.

Their favorite spot - Sweet Greens

Tara, Momona (from Japan) and Meredith in the dorms

The whole advanced level 7 in the studios

Meredith flys here next weekend.

Our plan today is to go and see the house, investigate the area,

do a costco run, a target stop and a grocery shop.

We will get all set for Moe and the truck to arrive in the morning!

Bloom Where You are Planted

On the last day our family is together in Arizona, 

I have the most fabulous story to tell you...

Two days ago in the midst of the packing frenzy,

I looked out into our backyard and saw my Echinopsis Camarguensis.

When we first moved to the desert, this english perennial gardening girl decided to embrace

her new southwestern habitat by planting a bed of . . . cacti.

I ripped out a row of ugly, prickly bushes, visited every nursery in the valley,

sketched out a plan and went to work.

It was a lovely variety of succulents.

An array of cacti with different growth habits:

Globose, cylindrical, flattened-padded, columnar.

It was.....well, like an english garden with southwestern species.

I was a bloody mess after that endeavor (gardening in the desert is dangerous work)

  but I loved the finished product. . .

and patted myself on the back for

 "embracing my new home"

&

"Blooming where I was planted"!

Well, a couple years later we relandscaped the backyard 

and my sorry excuse for a perrenial garden  lovely project had to be sacrificed.

But, my friend karen, the landscape designer, saved my

Echinopsis Camarguensis and tucked it under the big mesquite tree.

FIVE YEARS LATER......the week we are moving, it produced its first bud!

And it was an extraordinary sight.....

And I can't tell you how it warmed by heart.

I made the whole family run to the backyard and adore it.

We were all (or maybe it was just me) filled with anxious expectation!

And this morning, on our very last day in Arizona.....I woke up to this beauty

I was overjoyed.

And it brought to mind a passage in Isaiah 35:1-4

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

 it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

the majesty of our God.

 Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

 Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Calvin's commentary says this about Psalm 35:

After having spoken of dreadful calamities 

and predicted the lamentable ruin of the whole world, 

the Prophet comforts believers by this promise,

 in which he foretells that all things shall be restored. 

This is done by Christ, by whom alone they can be renewed and made glad; 

for he alone renews everything, and restores it to proper order; 

apart from him there can be nothing but filth and desolation

-----

Upon moving here, I saw this new place 
as a barren, harsh, miserable

 place to call home.

But as we sought the Lord, 

He redeemed this new home for us in beautiful ways...

We saw the Lord grow and challenge us as a family, 

drawing us ever closer together as we set out to explore its possibilities

We watched Him provide new opportunities for ministry and strengthen our weak hands for His service.

We behold His glory and the power of His grace while we sought to

faithfully obey Him -- He was making us new bit by bit

not unlike the unfolding of that blossom as we trusted fully in Him.

In Christ we indeed found great joy and gladness in the desert!

We saw magnificient friendships take root and flourish  - -

And as we've said before, it is our friendships we will miss the most.

As for cactus gardening, not so much.  

Glad to be returning to perrenials!

The truck just pulled away minutes ago.

Houston - we have lift off!!!

Next post will be from our new home in a new place . . .

another work of our Sovereign Lord!


Jesus Christ is my redeemer.
He makes all things new!
Even the desert bursts forth with His majesty.

Loading Day

Today was loading day.

The crew was here bright and early.

If it wasn't packed, it got packed today and most everything is now loaded on the truck!

Tomorrow they will finish up and head 'em out!

My car also gets picked up tomorrow by a transport company.

The empty rooms are a bit sad!

One of the crew members is from Texas so I've gotten a crash course in all things Texas--

the lingo, the history, the cuisine, the culture, the traditions.....

The girls and the dogs went to our friends the Holmes today.

Dawn showed up and took them all --

reminds me of one of the first weekends after we moved here.

A large palo verde tree had blown over in a monsoon 

and early Saturday morning the doorbell rang.

We didn't know anybody and couldn't imagine who it could be.

Well, it was Dan with his boys - work gloves and chain saw in hand ready to help!

Thats the kind of friends they are.

Sharing the love of Christ faithfully!

Later in the day Charlotte's dearest friend Hayden stopped by for a good bye hugs.

We have vacationed with this lovely family time and time again....

Disney Land, San Diego, Colorado...

We cherish the memories we have made with them...and look forward to our next trip together!

I got a jump start on some cleaning today - but that's my Friday focus!

Now we are headed to our Pastor's home for a farewell fellowship meal with his family!

Good night y'all!

Packing Day

It was packing day today.

Five men had 90% of the house boxed by 4 pm!

I was impressed.

David loved the big truck...and the driver's dog
who spent the day watching from the open door!

He was quite concerned, however,  to see his legos gone and his bookshelf bare.

We explained they were going on the big truck to go to our new house!

Closets are empty.  Cupboards are bare. 

Furniture is disassembled.

They'll be back in the morning to finish up, inventory and load!
We get to enjoy the evening with friends, swimming and sharing a meal.

Noodles, Swimming and Farewells

The past week has marked the beginning of our farewells. Special play dates. Dinner guests. Sleepovers and gatherings.

On Saturday we met our friends the Stockwells one more time

at our traditional meeting spot - China Magic Noodle House.

Chef Quing Zhang pulls noodles by hand.

It is amazing and most delicious!

Lilly and Claire always get mango smoothies with their noodles!

And our Wuhan boy puts the noodles away! Seriously!

This is a tradition we will surely miss

Pearl and Charlotte have been friends since we moved here.

And at dinner together on Saturday, Jim told us that it was at a church campout

our first year here that he watched little Claire for the weekend

and decided it would be a great thing for his family to adopt, too...

and we got to watch as precious Lilly was enfolded into their family!

God is good - He knits hearts together in unexpected and beautiful ways.

We were also blessed by a gathering of special family friends as a farewell send off.

The kids in this group have grown up together at school and in a small group at church.

Kyle Navarrette stopped by - one of our favorite teachers.

He has poured into our older kids' lives in an amazing way.

Whether he was teaching Bible, Literature or Latin.....my kids LOVED him.

He is a remarkable man

and my kids both share their testimony of faith with mention of Mr. Nav!

He was that influential!

We praise God for our time at PVCP and for teachers like Mr. Nav.

We're thankful for men who upheld one another in Bible study and prayer and companionship

during the years we were here in the desert...

And these dear friends have been faithful from day one.

What a blessing it was to have an evening together to recount good memories

and watch our kids enjoy each other's company one last time!

My dear friend Laura has mentored Meredith, meeting with her on

a regular basis since 2005! They will go for ice cream, a burger or starbucks...

and talk about important things.

Laura is selfless that way - making a difference in people's lives!

Meredith and I will BOTH miss her!

I have been asked what I shall miss the most about Phoenix.

The answer?

Simple!

Friends. Good friends!

God's Amazing Provision!

This Sunday during worship I found myself singing the third verse of a hymn that went like this...

Fear him ye saints and you will then

Have nothing else to fear,

Make you his service your delight

He will make your wants his care

At the end of May, our margin for anything pertaining to a move out of state was nonexistent.

My husband had traveled much over the past few months after becoming a partner and was working hard in this new roll which God designed for him. Ian had taken no action steps on the move due to lack of time. And lack of being at home!

I had to finish my school year . . .as unto the Lord. Programs, parties, curriculum mapping, assessments. May was a full month at school. We were also filing paperwork for David's six month post placement. Anything Houston related would have to come after June 2! But that was surely cutting it very close. Before the final week of May we had done nothing to rent our home here and did not have a property to move to in Houston.

We simply prayed and asked for God's continual guidance and provision.

Then we saw Him move in a most profound way. The last week of May. Just in time. All the pieces fell into place within a matter of DAYS.

Long story short....kind of....

My student Will's mother's cousin's best friend's neighbor (I am not joking) was moving to Holland and wanted to rent their home in the very neighborhood we desired to live. We exchanged contact information, talked with them the following weekend. Gave them a verbal agreement. Ian was just there with them last week. What a gracious family. They are so excited for us to be in their home and we are so excited to be in their home while they are away!

God provided! He was faithful. He made our wants HIS care!

That very same week, Ian traveled to Florida for the SAP user's group meeting. The last night he attended a meet and greet before the closing Sting concert. In God's good providence, he met a man named Matt from Georgia. He was moving his family to Phoenix this summer. And YES...he was looking for a home to rent. They exchanged contact info. A few days passed and we had heard nothing. Then, we got a phone call that Matt had traveled cross country, was in town and wanted to see our house. Do you know the end of this story........he wants to rent our home!!! He is a Christian brother and we know he will take excellent care of the house.

God provided! He was faithful. He made our wants HIS care!

The hymn we sang last Lord's day was based on Psalm 145:1

I will extol thee, My God, O King;

and I will bless thy name forever and ever.

I surely will! We are in awe. Simply in awe. He has redeemed so much about what has been hard about living in the desert. He has gone before us, no doubt, and we live together as a family with great expectations as we move into this new chapter. We are excited about Houston. I cannot wait to meet Christina, my student's mother's cousin's next door neighbor and my landlords neighbor and friend. She is a sister in the Lord AND a preschool teacher. I like her already! Be still my heart.

New Recipes

I received my new cookbook in the mail a week or so ago.....Sara Foster's newest cookbook, Southern Kitchen. As an aside, when my husband told me we were moving to Arizona, a friend gave me a desert gardening book and I ordered a southwestern cook book. Do you see the pattern here??? My strategy is simple: gather information, embrace the new culture and keep on smiling! Somehow it just works. That along with great measures of God's grace!

How delighted I was to curl up in a comfy family room chair and "read" my new book from front cover to back cover, taking in all the exquisite photos and the special excerpts of personal information by Sara. It is full of old fashioned recipes, southern soul and charm. And lots of ingredients I have never purchased, cooked or served to my family. I like challenges. I like "firsts". We'll see if my gang does......cheesy grits, fried okra, crawfish, squash puppies, sweet potato spoon bread and gold rice.....should be an interesting culinary adventure!

This week we tried 2 recipes from the new book - both were beautiful and delicious. Every member of my family enjoyed the simple crab cakes and the summer succotash

Fresh, quick and yummy.

We will do these again during the hot summer months for sure!

All the kids wanted seconds of both!

Love from Texas...

We made it to Houston and a through a busy first day. Right from the airport we visited one of the top schools on our list. We met with the admissions director on campus then she arranged for us to meet some of the teachers at a nearby Starbucks. That was lovely - they are on spring break, but these ladies came and spent over an hour with us engaged in meaningul conversation about christian education, the classical trivium, their hearts for children and the partnership they forge with families.

We see three more schools before we leave town......as well as spend time with a realtor today.

Last night we drove into Houston and met an ERM friend of Ian's for dinner with his wife. That was really fun and a chance to see a different part of the city - the Galleria. David was a champ!

The bluebells are blooming. The sky is blue. The people are very friendly!!!

I think I'm gonna like bein' a Texan'!

Love from Texas--

Christine