I have been putting off this post for awhile (obviously).
Maybe because it officially closes this chapter of our lives.
A very fun, busy, friend-filled chapter.
There's a lot of things I missed blogging about,
especially those involving trips to family in Albuquerque.
especially those involving trips to family in Albuquerque.
Exciting news: we had family move within five hours of us!
We celebrated Thanksgiving with them and then when there was a baptism/baby blessing,
I took the kids out for the events.
Mine and Brendon's first road trip ever was to visit the Shirleys and it has been fun to have so many pit stops and sleepovers with their family over the years.
As for Lubbock, our last few months were pretty normal:
preschool for Henry and Maggie twice a week, play dates, playing at the park, visiting the library, etc.
Maggie started preschool in January.
She decided to be mute during school,
but she stayed without too much of a fight (after I handed her off to the teacher),
and she participated mentally and was very cooperative in doing the activities
(so long as it didn't involve talking).
Bless her teachers! They did so well with her.
Henry, on the other hand, loved his second year of preschool.
And when the school year was over, we were all happy not to have school in our schedule.
She decided to be mute during school,
but she stayed without too much of a fight (after I handed her off to the teacher),
and she participated mentally and was very cooperative in doing the activities
(so long as it didn't involve talking).
Bless her teachers! They did so well with her.
Henry, on the other hand, loved his second year of preschool.
And when the school year was over, we were all happy not to have school in our schedule.
During our time at home, we played in our awesome backyard a lot:
Henry and Maggie played in mud,
they introduced Hazel to the slide,
and Henry climbed our perfect-for-climbing tree.
Once school was over, we packed in as much friend time as possible.
We went to the parks, to Safety City, and had lots and lots of play dates.
{Hazel in her element, accompanied by her buddy, Landon.
Carissa and I timed these babies close together, making our similar families even more similar.
There's nothing like having a close friend to share such exciting life events with.}
{Grace loves Henry and although she's younger than Maggie, Henry adores her right back.}
We also went on a small (2.5 hour) roadtrip to Abilene zoo,
and reached a milestone with Henry losing his first tooth.
Brendon had a couple weeks off before we moved.
We tried to do something fun every day.
Sometimes Brendon took the kids to do something while I cleaned the house.
Brendon and I went out together to see some friends play jazz music at a nicer restaurant in town
(seeing our friends perform was on my bucket list),
Brendon and I took Henry and Maggie to the lake and played with paddle boards,
we all went to the lake and played on the "beach" with our friends,
we celebrated the fourth of July with friends,
our little family went to the drive in,
and we went out to eat a couple of times.
Brendon graduated from residency!
Hallelujah!
For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to have all of the family come to the nice, fancy dinner followed with talking and awarding and presenting.
You can tell from these pictures how great my children did at holding still for a 30 second picture.
They did even better during the dinner.
Let's just say all the parents that brought kids were out in the hallway for a majority of the meeting.
Brendon loves these things as much as the children do.
But it was an official "W'ere Done" celebration.
And it feels good to be done with training.
{During the presentation}
{Family photo fail}
For our final hurrah, we had a large gathering of dear friends for dinner at our house
(because it down-poured right when we were all supposed to gather at the park).
We ate and mingled with our many friends who became like family.
It was the perfect ending to our time in Lubbock.
It was hard leaving so many great people behind.
We loved our babysitting co-op group (with four kids Henry's age),
my workout buddies,
the plethora of children to play with at home or the library or the park,
our go-to friends for everything from ingredients to babysitting overnight to a great chat to emergency babysitting
(I guess it sounds like we had a lot of great babysitters),
and, for Brendon, his associations at work.
What a fun ride it was to be in Lubbock.
I loved it from the first day,
thanks to a sweet friend who showed up at my door and immediately invited me to do something.
It was the perfect place for our family during residency.
A place where lifelong friendships were made,
our family grew in number and strength,
our marriage relationship tried, tested, and triumphant,
and where we grew closer to God.
Lubbock,
I miss you. Well, maybe not you but your people.
{Hazel in her element, accompanied by her buddy, Landon.
Carissa and I timed these babies close together, making our similar families even more similar.
There's nothing like having a close friend to share such exciting life events with.}
{Grace loves Henry and although she's younger than Maggie, Henry adores her right back.}
and reached a milestone with Henry losing his first tooth.
We tried to do something fun every day.
Sometimes Brendon took the kids to do something while I cleaned the house.
Brendon and I went out together to see some friends play jazz music at a nicer restaurant in town
(seeing our friends perform was on my bucket list),
Brendon and I took Henry and Maggie to the lake and played with paddle boards,
we all went to the lake and played on the "beach" with our friends,
we celebrated the fourth of July with friends,
our little family went to the drive in,
and we went out to eat a couple of times.
Brendon graduated from residency!
Hallelujah!
For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to have all of the family come to the nice, fancy dinner followed with talking and awarding and presenting.
You can tell from these pictures how great my children did at holding still for a 30 second picture.
They did even better during the dinner.
Let's just say all the parents that brought kids were out in the hallway for a majority of the meeting.
Brendon loves these things as much as the children do.
But it was an official "W'ere Done" celebration.
And it feels good to be done with training.
{During the presentation}
For our final hurrah, we had a large gathering of dear friends for dinner at our house
(because it down-poured right when we were all supposed to gather at the park).
We ate and mingled with our many friends who became like family.
It was the perfect ending to our time in Lubbock.
It was hard leaving so many great people behind.
We loved our babysitting co-op group (with four kids Henry's age),
my workout buddies,
the plethora of children to play with at home or the library or the park,
our go-to friends for everything from ingredients to babysitting overnight to a great chat to emergency babysitting
(I guess it sounds like we had a lot of great babysitters),
and, for Brendon, his associations at work.
I loved it from the first day,
thanks to a sweet friend who showed up at my door and immediately invited me to do something.
It was the perfect place for our family during residency.
A place where lifelong friendships were made,
our family grew in number and strength,
our marriage relationship tried, tested, and triumphant,
and where we grew closer to God.
I miss you. Well, maybe not you but your people.
3 comments:
I was looking through this post again (hoping there would be a new one), but looking at this one again because I have been needing you in my life. For real, I'm not just saying that. And then I saw that there were not comments. I swear I commented on this when I read it the first time. I even remember what I wrote. I started off saying, "Well, thanks for making me cry tonight..." My computer must have glitched, or else my brain. And both are a likely option. Today at church (Stake Conference) I kept thinking I saw you and I would start to get excited-Oh, there's Stephanie!...and then my brain would remember that it could not in fact be your head I was seeing because you are not here. Pretty sure I did that about 3 times. I miss that I could genuinely share my woes with you (like potty training) and we were so often in the same boat, and then we could in the same breath have a really uplifting conversation about life or the gospel or any other topic aside from our children. I need some new posts about your life in Utah so I can picture you somewhere when I think of you. Cause I can't picture you in your family room sitting in the chair by the window anymore...that memory has been ruined since I have to go see other people living in your house now. Haha! I'm being so dramatic. Love, Love, Love. Lots of love your way. And really, you are the only person who understands the potty woes. How's that going for you I wonder?
I continue to fall in love with you my girl!! You are the perfect addition to our family, the perfect mate for my boy. You have come on this journey willingly, working hard and find joy in this very journey along the way. It is why you have connected deeply everywhere you go in life to others who see your goodness and are drawn to you. I pray you find it in Hurricane as well. Your love for Brendon and our babies is a gift from God and I thank you for sharing it so freely!! Onward!
Well, I didn't experience any of that with you, but felt the true friendships and the blessings that came to you and your family in Lubbock! I seriously was teary while reading that. Maybe because of our move a year ago & felt the same feelings moving away from a home & community that we were a part of for nearly 8 years. We are so glad you guys were able to come out as often as you did.
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