Spring 2018 Update Count Down to Summer

We have been in our new little town for over a year.  In someways it seems we have been here much longer, but other things still seem new and very foreign.  Sometimes I wonder if it will ever feel like "home".  The hard part is that we have been gone from our old home so long that it is not really "home" either,  so on the days that are cloudy and cold, I feel like I don't really belong anywhere.  Then the sun comes out and things feel a little better, more familiar, more friendly.  I am learning that maybe we aren't supposed to get too comfortable anywhere in this life. Our real home is heaven and until we get to where we truly belong, there will be cold, cloudy, lonely days regardless of what our earthly address is.

The kids have settled into school and I am not so settled in a school nurse job that is not at my children's schools.  The hours are working good, but the pay is little, the liability is huge.  Five days a week has been quite an adjustment for me...an ongoing adjustment.  I am hanging in there and counting down the days until summer break.  We just have 21 days left and then 9 weeks of summer to spend with my kiddos.  All of those long weeks will be worth it, when I get to be with my children all summer.  Sydney finished up her track season and Ethan just finished soccer.  Miah is playing soccer this spring and her schedule is keeping her busy.  Miles is interested in music and I am hoping to get him started with lessons this summer along with some swim lessons at our local pool.

Our church is keeping us busy too.  Zach is helping with the youth and I am helping in the church nursery as needed on Sunday nights.  The big kids have youth on Sunday night and the littles love children's church on Sunday morning. I am enjoying going to the Well once a month on Monday nights.  It is a ladies ministry from our church that has worship and a speaker.  Regardless of the topic, I always come home feeling refreshed and renewed.

We travel back to D'ville some.  There are always things going on there with family and friends that I want to be a part.  It definitely changes your perspective on things when you move out of town, away from friends and family.  I miss my mom, but I talk to her daily.  I really miss the people that I saw all the time, at church or at family stuff.  They were not people that I really ever called or reached out to, but I paths crossed weekly and I miss seeing people  who say"hey Mandy, or what are you up to?". I miss people that know our story and know all about us.  I miss knowing my kids friends parents and not having anxiety when they visit someones house.   I greatly underestimated and took for granted those things when I live among people I had known forever.

Before this gets to be a really negative post let me talk about some things I love in this new little place we call home.  I love that it is little.  There isn't much traffic (on our terms, anyway) really anywhere we go. There might be a little traffic on the way to Walmart, but otherwise not much waiting around in this little town.  I like our  neighborhood and the fact that everyone knows their neighbors around this place.  The kids in the neighborhood have made Ethan, Miah, and Miles feel right at home.  We have kids around our house all the time.  That has been an adjustment, but I love having the kids in and out all the time.  Sydney has connected with a few girls at the high school and I think slowly she is beginning to adjust.

I cannot wait to spend the summer with the kiddos!!!! Updates to come soon!!