been waiting for wifi to fill you in!

Ok, so I have been waiting almost a week to share more of our amazing journey with you.  The owners graciously agreed to let us rent beginning last Sunday.  We went to church in the morning with our friends and then headed straight to the house.  The owners couldn't be more lovely and kind.  We arrived to a fridge full of water and fruit, as well as a welcome note and several gift cards to help us with our transition.  What a gift! I mean, really, the generosity has simply astounded me.
The house is amazing! Everything we hoped and more.  When the owners told us we were getting the best neighbors ever, I initially thought about all of the wonderful neighbors we have had in the past.  But after about 2 days it was clear, we really do have the best neighbors ever! Judy is the our neighbor and mom of 10.  She and 4 of her children knocked on the door slightly after 5:30pm on our first night here, with an incredible dinner and two folding tables and enough chairs for everyone! Ethan kept calling it Thanksgiving dinner.  It was delicious and fed us for a few nights.  Her children were all so kind and thoughtful.  She is certainly someone I hope to learn a lot of life lessons from.
The week was busy, getting the boys registered for school and having some meetings for JT to get him into the program.  He still isn't on the bus but things should get a bit easier when he gets bused.
Its also been a bit tough because we still only have 1 car.  Right now I drive E to school, then come home, load all of the kids in the car, drive Jake to work, come home, play, load the kids in the car, drop JT off at school, home, lunch, naps, wake most of the boys to go pick JT up from school, wait for E to get out of school, home, snack, play, load the kids in the car to go and pick Jake up from work, home, dinner, bath, bed! Needless to say, I am looking forward to the bus which will eliminate two of my trips and a second car which will take care of the rest. HA! FREEDOM! So, when someone asks me "what do you do all day" and tells me how bored I must get I will just refer them to this blog! Oh and my awesome neighbor said she would start bringing E home when JT gets the bus so the babies can stay and sleep.
This week we had a meeting for JT.  The meeting was fine and everything went well.  I am really only telling you this because get this... we talked about church! Yeah! On school property, in a meeting... no one was fired, shot or bludgeoned to death either! AWESOME!
Yesterday was closing and Judy offered to watch all 5 of our boys while Jake and I went to closing.  What a blessing that was! We are hoping her daughter Jackie will work with us for JT once we get medicaid.  She was home and helped and I heard they had a great time! Ethan is a BIG fan of their youngest daughter who is in 2nd grade.  One day after school (we arrived home at the same time) they jumped out of the cars and ran over and hugged each other.  I see a wonderful friendship blooming here!

One last thing I wanted to share and maybe encourage you to do.  Since we have been in TX (and yes, this has only happened in TX) people take a look at our crew and instead of the look of shock we normally get, or the all too often "wow! you really have your hands full" or the "I don't know how you do it" with a tone of you must be nuts in there.  Now we are getting "wow, you are 5 times blessed."  That has been said to us a few times now and it got me thinking.  I know my hands are full, I am very well aware that some days are simply survival days.  I look like it too.  But why I like this so much is because when I am having a down day and my hands really are so fully I am wondering which kid to donate it reminds me that I really am blessed.  So incredibly blessed! I am 5 times blessed.  Yes, my hands are full and yes some days I want to run away screaming but when someone reminds me of my blessings it lifts my spirits.  When I am having a tough day and someone says I have my hands full it allows me to have a pity party or to moan and groan.  When I am having a tough day and someone tells me I am 5 times blessed it lifts my spirits.  There is no room to complain.  How to you complain or moan when you are reminded of all God has given you.  So, I encourage you, when you see someone with their hands full, tell them how blessed they are.

There is more I want to share but my wheels are turning and this is getting long.  Now that we have internet I will try to update you more regularly.

Praise: we got 1 pod, it's empty and most of it is put where it belongs.
            One of our neighbors son's came to help us unload the pod!
            We are truly happy and so blessed.
Pray: Our second pod comes early on Tuesday.
         That JT gets on the bus schedule quickly
          That we can find a cheap and reliable car quickly
         For my Sunday.  Sunday is the toughest day of the week for me here.  I have cried each week missing MPC.  Pray we find a church home quickly.  (We are going to church with our neighbors this week.)

Surprises of Texas

We have been in San Antonio about a week now and I can say that I have found several things surprising.  They are silly things but I thought it would be fun to share our findings.
1 - Things really are bigger in Tx.  It's not just a saying, everything here is ridiculously huge, especially the grocery store!
2 - There is no such thing as scenic driving.  You are either in a neighborhood or on a highway.  I think it'll take me a while to get use to that.  To help my MOCO family and friends relate, it's like driving on rockville pike everywhere you go at 70 miles an hour!
3 - People actually drive slower than the speed limit here.
4 - There are very few southern or country accents.
5 - The trees! okay, so not that they have trees, but E and I find it funny that their "pine trees" are like pencils.  Ethan's response to our giggle today was "well, different states, different vegetation. Right mommy?"  (this kid!)
6 - The weather.  Sounds crazy, yes it's hot and to those who said it wasn't humid I will simply call you LIARS! The mornings are gloomy, it always looks like rain, but nope, little to no rain at all.  Today was 107 but there was a huge "breeze" if that's what you can call it so it wasn't too terrible.  ( I CANNOT believe I just said that, not to terrible at 107!)
7 - The school sizes! The buildings look big but the classrooms and class sizes are tiny! (I am comparing then to FCPS) I think E has about 15 - 20 kids in his classroom but the room size is tiny.  Room for desks and a morning meeting, that's about it.

I guess that's it for now.  As for the family update, we are doing well.  Still staying/living with friends who promise us they will still be our friends even after we leave! We have been with them a week and the kids are all going bonkers... so are Christina and I! No, they are great, gracious, kind, helpful, and haven't made us feel badly even once for staying so long.  They are a true blessing to us and to our boys.
We did get good news today, the owners have agreed to let us rent.  Now if we can get in this weekend before school starts that would be fabulous!  Sadly, it doesn't look like JT will be able to start school on time.  They require an "ARD" meeting.  Basically a pre IEP meeting before they will allow him to begin.  The teacher told me today I should hear from someone tomorrow in regards to the ARD and starting school.
Jake is enjoying work, getting to know the building a little better each day.  Tomorrow we are going to go and have lunch with him and hope to have the boys go down the slide. Should be a fun day! As for me, I am just trying to keep my head above water while I get the boys started in school, find doctors, take boys to doctors appointments....
I have had my moments of sadness, missing people mostly.  This week JT was listening, singing, and dancing to his special song that he and his dearly loved PT Jill sang.  I just started crying, remembering the joy she brought him.  He would do anything for her, he worked so hard and loved doing it.  I can only hope and pray we can find someone as awesome to fill her shoes!

Prayers: keep Logan in your prayers.  He has had some respiratory issues since before we left.  We just can't seem to get it to stop for more than 1 day.  If it's still going on on M. I will take him to the doctor.  As for me, fairly certain I have just battled 6 days of strep with no meds.  It didn't occur to me until yesterday that that's probably what I have but with all the chaos, not knowing where I am and not having a doctor I just fought through it.  So you can pray for me and my health :-D
Lastly, pray for Ethan.  He is having the toughest time being here.  He is not excited about school.  He was very "shy" today while meeting his teacher. I have never seen him like this before.  I know part of it was an act, but I am sure that part of it was really how he is feeling.  Pray he finds a good buddy on the first day of school.  Everyone knew the boys because "we are the family that just moved here from Virginia."

Thanks for the prayers.  The Lord really is with us.  It is going to take me a while to adjust, I am fully aware of that, it's tough but it's good.  I think things will get a little better once we get settled in our house.

God's mighty hand at work!

Yesterday the owners of the house were having a yard sale.  After much debate Jake and I decided to go over and see if there was anything we might like.  I say great debate because we didn't want to be pushy or overbearing.  When we got there Jake took Caleb to check out some things.  He saw a sofa we might like so he sent me over to check it out.  I told him he needed to come with me because if we decided to get the sofa we would need to introduce ourselves and ask if they would leave it in the house or garage.

When we introduced ourselves they said they thought we might stop by.  The reason they didn't want us to walk through the house was b/c it was a bit of a mess.  I said I have 5 kids and no mess is too much for me.  They invited us in to take a look and the owner offered to watch the twins and JT who were in the car.  (E was off on a playdate) Let me just say, I know many of you have seen the pictures, this house is even more beautiful!  Jake and I are so excited! Plenty of room for our crew to move and grow.  

As we spent time speaking with the couple who sold us the house we saw God moving more and more.  They very graciously began a "getting started" pile for us.  Dish soap, sponges, paper towels, toilet paper.... the little things that are so necessary.  She had also mentioned that she had been reading our blog and knew all about our wild and crazy life.  She also mentioned that she use to work for the county special needs program and would gladly help me make sure JT has what he needs.  That is the biggest, most amazing part for us.  Moving to TX was always a bit nerve wracking because we needed to make sure JT and his needs were met.  Knowing that I have someone I can go to for advice or help is nothing short of a gift from God.  

As we were leaving she asked if she could give me a hug, and it was a hug I needed! Seems strange to accept a hug from a stranger, but not in this case.  This was the most wonderful hug I could have received.  We said our goodbyes and thank you's for allowing us to see the house and headed to the car.  As we were getting ready to leave she waved us down.  The neighbor was home and she wanted to introduce us.  Our new neighbor is AMAZING! She has 10, yes 10 kids!  5 boys and 5 girls!  Two of the girls will be in school with E and JT. As I was mentioning the logistics of picking E up from school and making sure I was home to get JT off the bus she instantly offered to help me by bringing E home daily or help in whatever way she could.  

Jake and I know that staying in NOVA last year was what God had planned for us, but we also know without any doubts that being here in TX is what God has planned for us now.  His provisions and blessings are abundant and overwhelming.  I will not lie, Jake and I had more than our fair share of hard hearts this year.   Wondering where God was, wondering what He was doing, had he forgotten about us?  Although we knew He loved us (deep down anyway) we struggled a great deal trying to find him and see him and his plan.  Know that we see his plan we are excited and thankful.  The struggles of this past year have paved the way for where we are now.  

Prayerfully, we can have a less stressful, less eventful year.  In our world, boring would be AWESOME!  

Please pray for us this week as we go to the elementary school to get E and JT registered.  Pray we are able to have JT's IEP meeting quickly.  Pray we are able to line up all of the doctors JT needs (neurology, physiatrist, Ophthamologist, Orthopedist, OT, PT, hippo therapy, and a pediatrician and dentist for all the boys) Pray for Jake as he begins his new job.  Lastly, pray that we will be able to rent the house before school starts so the boys have a bit of an easier transition.  Oh, one more, pray our stuff arrives sooner than they anticipate.    

Here are some pics of the boys on our travels:

 

The trip

Originally I wanted to write a post every evening to share our adventures but we were so exhausted after driving all day the pillow was much too enticing.  So, here is my best attempt to recapture our adventures.
It started on Monday night when we stayed in a hotel in Reston.  The first thing the 3 big boys said was "WOAH! There is a TV in the bedroom?!??!!"  Jake and I couldn't help but laugh at our clearly deprived television kids. The night went well, sleep was enjoyed by all.  The next morning we took the 3 big kids back over to a dear friend of ours.  She is NUTS for taking my brood but it was a special treat for the boys.  (She was already watching her sisters kids and my 3 boys made her handful a whooping 8 kids to watch!)  Jake and I went back over to the house for one last cleaning session.  Our wonderful neighbor donated a bunch of stuff for us and we wanted to make sure that was all out of the house.  We went and pick up the boys, said our final so longs (not goodbye since we hope to visit or have them visit) and got on the road!  Our plan was to make a pit stop at JMU which we did but we didn't get out and stretch our legs.  The way the car is packed it took 30 min just to get the strollers and kids out of the car.  So every stop we made was a minimum of an hour to an hour and a half.  We ended up in a nice hotel in Johnson city just outside of Knoxville.  The next day we decided to make a nice long stop in Nashville.  We found a park right across the street from Vanderbilt and spent at least an hour running around. It was a beautiful day and the break was needed.  We got to Memphis that afternoon.  Now, let me just say this, lots of people warned us about Memphis... it is such a cool city!  I don't know if they aren't use to cities, or city people, but I would totally go back! We did make sure we were in by dusk, no need to take any chances, but we all had a great time walking around a little and exploring the city.
Next day the kids all threw a major fit as we put them back in the car.  They were so done! We got to our friends house in Dallas, had a great dinner, the boys saw and played with toys for the first time in weeks! They were thrilled! JT loved it so much he didn't want to leave.  He kept asking if we could stay.  Finally we arrived in San Antonio.  We are staying with some pretty amazing friends, they haven't kicked us out yet!

So that is the thrilling info about our journey, but I guess what I really wanted to share are the little things I have learned.  As Jake and I said our fair wells to many people I noticed how much people take for granted in life.  Me included.  That saying "you never know what you have until it's gone" rang true.  We tend to take people and situations for granted until they come to an end, then we are sad, wishing we had done more, seen them more, talked more, visited, made time. Everything happened very very fast, there is no denying that.  I am thankful we got extra special time to visit with so many.