This past week has been bitter sweet. My parents received a contract on my childhood home. The closing date it set for July 15th which meant last week was moving week! Man what a week it was! Dean and I came home with my mom on July 4th and the packing, cleaning, boxing, sorting, etc began. Lesley, Amanda, Layne, Mom and I worked for most of the week getting everything ready for the movers on Saturday.
The week wasn’t all work though, we did manage to have a little fun in the midst of the packing. We treated the kids to a chick-fil-a lunch, a trip to the Houston Children’s museum, and we fit in a mini family reunion lunch. Mason and Genie were able to meet us in Houston for the museum trip. It was great to experience all the craziness of the children’s museum with them. I also enjoyed some incredibly unhealthy and fattening foods during our family reunion lunch. I can’t even begin to think of the last time I had fried okra, fried chicken and yummy peas! Man it was delicious!
The week went by in a blur and moving day arrived. We were blessed with two amazing movers to help accomplish the task and by 4:00 PM on Saturday, July 11th Mom and Dad were mostly moved. We celebrated with a big family dinner made by Granny.
Dean and Emma deserve MAJOR props for putting up with moving week. These two kiddos were on their best behavior while we worked to box and pack. They were also champions on moving day hanging on until the very last box was on the truck. They both get gold stars!
Although it won’t be the same next time I go to Humble I am thankful that Mom and Dad are settled in their version of paradise and I am glad that Ronny and Carla still call Humble home. We don’t have to say goodbye to everything yet, just one house full of many wonderful memories. I pray that the next owners are richly blessed b 5511 as well.
After a weekend in Humble Dean and I headed to the lake for the 4th. There were very few 4th of July activities at our house this year. The burn ban had eliminated fireworks and the upcoming move had eliminated time for boating. Dean and I donned our work clothes and set about helping mom and dad pack and rearrange their soon to be permanent home. We did manage to decorate Dean’s bike in time for the annual parade and BBQ. Dean scored quite a few beads during the parade and enjoyed playing on the see saw and swing at the neighborhood BBQ. Although there was work we did enjoy a little Independent fun!
Dean and I made a return trip to Houston on June 30th. Our first night in town we were blessed with a fabulous dinner and a visit from Nancy and Mandi Tucker. We had a great time catching up with them. On Friday we enjoyed a day at Old McDonald’s farm. Ronny, Mason, Dean and I had a great morning with the animals, trains, dirt and heat. The boys came home super tired and took great naps. Mission Wear the Boys out was accomplished!
After naps on Friday we loaded the boys up and took them to visit Grandaddy. Matt’s Grandfather recently moved into an Alzheimers assisted living center. Autumn Grove is a fabulous facility. Dean and Mason gave it their stamp of approval after playing ball and golf in the backyard. Many of the ladies living in the center enjoyed the visit from D and M. Dean liked it so much he asked to visit Grandaddy’s new house every day we were in town.
Saturday morning we took the boys for a fun lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. Mason and Dean had a great time running around, playing on the rides and eating pizza. Dean LOVED the Guitar Hero game. All he wanted to do was sit with the big guitar in his lap. We finally got him interested in a few other games but he always returned to that guitar.
We had a great visit with Honey, Pops and Mason. Thank you for the fun! We look forward to doing it again soon.
I have deemed this summer the summer of transitions. Everywhere I turn there are family members, coworkers, and friends transitioning through major life changes. Matt and I have been on the fringes of each of these and have experienced them with sadness, tears, joy, grief, celebration and sympathy. Although I expected this to be a wonderfully relaxing summer many of these transitions have made it far from restful. We have prayed for servants hearts willing to be where we need to be when called and hope to serve joyfully. God has been faithful in each encounter and provided words, deeds and time to be with these family members and friends. We find peace knowing that each of these transitions is a growing experience for those involved and look forward to seeing the blessing they will be.
Since it’s summer I’ve been letting Dean stay up until his daddy gets home. Dean meets Matt at the door, the spend a few minutes hunting lizards and other nighttime animals and then start on Dean’s bedtime routine. I know that Matt loves having the opportunity to be a party of Dean’s evening and that Dean loves seeing his daddy before he goes to sleep, and I love listening to their sweet conversations thought the monitor. A win for us all!
