the past month - in pictures - and in reverse order

Aubrey's 7th birthday today - she's getting so big!

My sister is back in the states after living in Prague for 4 years - here's the Welcome Wagon at the airport.


At the botanical gardens in ABQ.

The hole Andy's foo tmade in our n ew ceiling as he was trying to diagnose a/c problems (because central Texas during a June heatwave STINKS!).

The neighborhood deer - they love to be petted, but we don't do it often - deer ticks and all that fun stuff! We do feed them each evening, though. They'll eat right out of your hands.

Checking in

In the midst of packing everything up, I'm sneaking some net time at my friend's house. I'll try to post some pictures of our last days in Wisconsin soon.

I'm shedding tears at the most random of times, and then I'm fine when I see my dear friend's tear-stained cheeks, and I know my moving is the reason. I think it's a form of self-preservation. I cannot break down with my friends at this point. By myself I can do it a dozen times a day.

We're living off convenience foods right now, so Lauren decided yesterday that her poop was going to be a pop-tart poop. Immediately after Lauren's decision, I decided that as soon as we can get back into a routine of actually cooking, pop-tarts are banished.

Aubrey doesn't seem very sad at all. Maybe this afternoon when I pick her up from her last day of school. She does hope that her friend K isn't lonely at recess next year, with no one to play with. When she said that, I lost it. She didn't notice.

Sunday is the laying on of hands and service of godspeed for our family. Our church does this when people leave. I'm looking forward to it, it's such a powerful, God-filled time. Oh, but it's gonna be sad. This is the only church home I've ever really had. Andy, Aubrey and Lauren were all baptized there. Met one of my bestest friends there, and countless other friends who will be sorely missed. So many wonderful opportunities for our family have sprung from our church.

We'll actually get on the road Father's Day. My mother-in-law will be in the car with the girls and me. She's a saint. I don't think I can drive out of Wisconsin by myself. (Andy will be driving the moving truck, his dad and brother caravaning along, too.)

It's all coming together....

We found a home in Texas, the girls don't seem to miss us too terribly much (though every 3rd sentence out of Lauren's mouth is about me, but mostly to the tune of: "My Mommy let's me eat candy." "My Mommy gives me chocolate milk." "My Mommy has watermelon." - each time hoping to elicit from Kim, "Oh, would you like some candy/chocolate milk/watermelon?") and I am completely exhausted.

We found our new home on craigslist (along with a million and a half others), and fell in love online a week ago. It was the first one we looked at, and by 9am yeterday we knew, but we wanted to be adult-like, so we looked at 2 more. We also drove past 4 more, and subsequently cancelled previously scheduled appointments.

This house is 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage, open floor plan, privacy fency around the backyard. There's a covered patio out back, along with lots of shade. My girls will totally be running around in their PJs (or just undies - who cares, no one can see!). Every window has a tinted shade on it - unbelievable how much heat those keep out, it's truly amazing. Oh, and reverse osmosis water filter in the kitchen. I love ro water. Sounds kooky, I know, but mmm, it's so good! Tile, wood or linoleum flooring - no carpet. And, the window above the kitchen sink (that looks out into the backyard) is deep enough to hold my african violet - the only plant I seem to be able to keep alive! It's the little things that make my day. :-)

Oh, and the coolest part, there are deer everywhere. This neighborhood is just a regular neighborhood - lot sizes ~1/4 acre or less, so you maybe can picture it - and the deer are all over the place. Like in your front yard. Or sleeping under the neighbor's shady oak tree. Or standing in the middle of the road. Apparently they will let you get really close - maybe close enough to pet? Anyway, my poor new neighbors if they think of the deer as pests, because I plan on feeding them. :-)

And, so far as Texas goes, well, Texans are a very prideful people. The "Texas Star" or "Lone Star," is everywhere. Everywhere. Every other garage has a "Lone Star" hung above it. There are stars tiled into the floor at the regional airport we flew into, a metal star in the concrete at Andy's new office, and one of the homes we looked at, every single knob in the kitchen was that Texas Star, along with the flour canisters, paper towel holder and tv stand being adorned with them. Oh, and our hotel's complimentary breakfast has a belgian waffle maker - in the shape of Texas. It's fun, but wow, kinda crazy.

Oh, and I've found my new midwife, we'll be having this baby at home, hopefully in water. :-) Texas, I think I love you.

I've taken a few pictures, I'll try to upload them when I get back.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Off to Find a Home We Go....

Andy and I fly to TX this afternoon. The girls are staying here. I've never left them for this long. I'm kinda freakin' out. But they're really pretty self-sufficient - cereal for breakfast, pb&j for lunch and cold hotdogs for dinner - they'll be fine, don't you think?

No, just kidding, they are staying with friends. Lauren seems to not care (I hope she understands what's going on!) and Aubrey was up at 5:45 this morning, upset about us leaving for a few days. Even though she gets to have sleepovers on school days. But we'll call every night, and she can call us whenever, and I told her we'd try really hard to e-mail a picture to her teacher fo rhim to show her.

And, in unrelated news, in my dad's family, there was an 89 year streak where no girls were born into the family (yours truly broke that streak and was subsequently spoiled rotten by Grandma Ruthie who had 6 boys and 2 grandsons before I came along), and now that my generation (of which there are girls and boys) are having children, we're up to 5 girls, one girl on the way and, yesterday, a BOY! I told my cousin it might not be his. ;-) Ruthie's Revenge has come to an end, it appears. If only she were here to hold all these babies, oh she'd be in heaven.

I hope everyone has a great, relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

~Rachel

And we're okay....

Well, Andy's current employer took the news really, really well. His CFO jokingly told him he was an a-hole, and then Andy said "Mama ain't happy." CFO's response: "And if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

So, as far as work is concerned, this is all my doing. Which is fine. Because it kinda is. Every once in awhile Andy gets big ideas about moving, and I always go along with it - look at apartments and homes online, research where the farmer's markets and museums are, etc. - but this time, I didn't just go along with it until the phase passed. I encouraged, pushed, pestered and, well, pretty much, I made the decision for us.

So now we get ready to pack our entire lives, pull up some roots that have gone pretty deep, shed lots of tears, and begin a new adventure. This is all very bittersweet, but there it is.

Things, they are a-changin'!

Well, tomorrow is the ultrasound, so hopefully baby will cooperate and I can tell you boy or girl or lobster or whatever. ;-)

But, also, this week Andy will be giving his notice to his current employer (CE). The Texas job is ready, so we will be moving for sure, it's just a matter of time. If his CE takes the news well, he'll work approximately 4 more weeks for them, and we'll have ~2 weeks to finish packing and move. If, however, CE takes the news poorly, he may be escorted out of the building immediately, with me right behind him. And we'd be moving much sooner, if that happens.

I am so excited, but so stressed. After a year of hoping that this would happen, I told myself to stop thinking aboit it and to really just focus on where I'm at and enjoy my time here. That was Easter Sunday when I told myself this. And now, we're ready to go. I should've told myself to stop thinking about it 8 months ago, huh? :-) No, I firmly believe that it's happening now because it's supposed to happen now.

Anyway, big news, and my time online may be limited for a while, but I'll try to update here with any exciting news, and I'll be peeking at your blogs when I can, too! :-)

Some random ramblings.....

First, the zophran I've been prescribed for my morning sickness is not working as well as I would like. When it works the best, I feel 80% like myself. When it doesn't work well I feel 40% like myself. Still near-constant nausea, still puking just about every day. I've left a message with my midwife to see if there's anything else I should be doing, or if messing with my dosage is a possibility. And I feel like a wimp even sharing that I'm having such a hard time - I know many moms have morning sickness worse than this. But I need help, and am hoping there's more help out there!

And, Andy's been offered a job in Texas. Officially, now. We're still waiting on the start date, but hopefully sometime in April. Texas is not my final destination, but we'll be a 10 hour drive from family, as opposed to the current 25 hour drive. And, this job, once he's got everything established and running smoothly, he can work remotely from anywhere. We anticipate that we could move to New Mexico 2 years after we move to Texas. Also, these Wisconsin winters are kicking our butts. Our utility bills for December - just under $500. No joke. (I know we'll have heating/cooling costs wherever we go, I'm just sharing our utility costs with you so you can imagine how freakin' cold it's been.)

Also, every once in awhile I come across an article about immigration that just gets to me. And my feelings on immigration (specifically illegal immigration) are extreme. At least I think they are, because I rarely read anything that similar to the way I think. And that's okay. But I am ready to share my thoughts. And I'm feeling sarcastic. Don't feel like you need to read any farther, unless you really want to. Oh, and if loads of comment appear, I will be liberal in my removal of them (not that I'll remove them because I don't agree with them, but if I don't know you and/or you are being disrespectful of my opinion on my blog, out you go!).

Yesterday I read this article from NPR. (Please note that I'm kinda an environmentalist.) The Nature Conservancy has a preserve along the Rio Grande - 1000 acres of jungle. Congress and Border Patrol want to erect an 18' tall concrete and steel fence through the preserve (though apparently not 'forestland'). Construction alone would disrupt this forest and it's imperiled inhabitants so much. Also, imagine how this beautiful piece of land will look with an 18' wall running alongside it. But apparently it will be a permeable wall and allow for wildlife to pass through the barrier.

Please, someone, tell me how the ocelot and jaguarundi will pass through this permeable wall designed to keep humans out. Will the animals be given key cards they swipe at doggie doors? Will the animals be trained to go to the gate and wait in line? Secret password? Pawprint identification?

Also, I have to wonder (and here's my extremism showing through) if someone is so incredibly desperate to flee their homeland that they hike through a jungle inhabited with ocelots, jaguarundi and other rare, threatened or endangered species, why do we have to turn them away? Are their needs less worthy than ours? Are they somehow less deserving of what we consider to be basic needs?

Oh, that's right, it can be argued that they are taking our jobs. Except that the jobs I see 'illegals' (and I hate that term!) doing are often the jobs I see most Americans refusing to do. Low paying manual labor. What? Oh, an American would happily do that job, except they get looked over because an 'illegal' will do it under the table for half the pay? Yes, that's a problem, and it makes me angry. Angry that an employer would devalue any human so much as to offer so little pay. Am I angry at the 'illegal' trying to feed his family? Not one bit. But anyway, isn't that the society we've created? Look at bids to do big construction projects - how often is the offer to to the exact same job for twice the pay the one chosen? If I can get a gallon of milk for $1.50, you can bet I'm doing it. Why spend $3.00 when I can get it for half as much? Right or wrong, this is the system we are part of.

And they are burdening our healthcare and welfare system. Isn't that another argument? People need to eat. People get sick. When they work for so little pay that they can't afford groceries or basic healthcare, it's sad. Citizen or 'illegal,' it's sad. It's true our government wastes an awful lot of money, but I cannot be convinced that giving 'illegals' food stamps and check-ups is a waste of that money.

People are people. Period. And if living with your 10 closest family members in a one bedroom singlewide, scrubbing toilets in the middle of the night and making strangers' beds in the morning is a better life than the one you left in Mexico (or wherever else you fled from), please, come on over! My God taught me to love my neighbor. Though he wasn't especially specific on what he meant by neighbor, I'll take it to mean fellow mankind, and I'll make you dinner.

Baby it's cold outside

No school today, but not because of snow. Because of extreme cold. Yup. That's right. It's too cold to go to school. 9 below, but it feels like 29 below because of the windchill. And it's expected to get colder.


Have I told you that I don't like living in Wisconsin? Well I don't. I'm glad we had this opportunity, we've made some great lifelong friends. Lots of amazing folks. And I'll never forget my first winter, when the lake froze over and people drove their trucks across it. Freaked me out. But this place is not home to us, and we are never as convinced of that fact as when they have to cancel school because it's too cold.


So we are hunkered down inside today, afraid to even open the curtains as that will let even more of the cold in. Praying that our ancient furnace will keep cranking away. And fantasizing about our anticipated spring-time move south. New Mexico or Texas. There is actually a possibility in Seattle, too, but I don't know that I am that desperate to leave Wisconsin for Seattle. (I love to visit Seattle, but I am afraid that if we were to move there, even "temporarily" we would end up in that sun-less climate ~ still too far away from those we long to be near ~ for far longer than I can stand.)

I hope that you are staying warm today!

wascawy wabbits

Okay, trying to type the way Elmer Fudd talks is tough.

But my bunnies are CUTE!

Binky (the unaltered dwarf boy with apparent dependence issues) tends to freak out when Honey (the altered giant gal who likes some time to herself occasionally) isn't on the ground where he can see her. Twice today while they had free roam of the living room, Honey's feet left the ground, and each time Binky ran around rather frantically. The first time, I was holding Honey to give her some love. The second time, Honey jumped up on the loveseat. I think she did it to rile him up. She seemed amused watching him dart from here to there and back again. Both times, he instantly knew she was off the ground, even though Honey wasn't in his line of vision. Freaky. Obsessive freaky. I think Honey has a stalker.

I've been so inspired lately, I really want to make some aprons. Do I ever wear aprons? Well no, but maybe I might someday. And I know my girls would wear them. So, since I'm making some girly cloth napkins anyway, I am going to attempt two half aprons out of the same fabric. If they flop, I'll cut off the straps and call them napkins. But first I have to finish the napkins. Only 3 more to sew before apron fun begins.

I also saw the cutest little felt house ornament. I wish Michael's was only minutes away. Nevermind. It's best that it's 30 minutes away. That way the chances of me finishing one project before starting another one are better. Still pretty slim, but better. :-)

And I really wish my camera wasn't MIA. It's not a slip-into-your-pocket camera, it's got a big ol' lens on it. Meaning, it has fewer potential hiding spots. Still, it's found a good one. Hmmm. It better turn up soon. Two weeks from now Andy goes to Texas, and I want him to take pictures (because there is a possibility we'll move there for 1-2 years on our way to ultimately living in New Mexico... shh, I don't want to jinx anything, but this would be a really great thing for us!). The week after he gets back the girls and I begin our roadtrip adventure. Oh camera,if you are reading this, come home to me and I will upload all the pictures on your oh-so-full memory stick and charge your battery up right!