What a Year

Home is an awesome word and an even better place to be. After not having our own place for 222 Days -- or -- 31 Weeks and 5 Days(yes I counted!) we are finally home! I will write on all that God has taught me in that time as soon as I am able to put into words all the lessons I've learned(which are MANY). For now I am just enjoying the unpacking and sleeping in my own bed.

So what is up?

Well...we are still not settled. It's been one thing after another since October for us to say we are weary is an understatement. This time has been difficult yes but we can honestly say our walk with Christ has never been closer. How can you pray for us? It's simple we need to be settled soon in order for the kids to start school in the Fall. So pray our issues with our house will resolve and we can move onto the next step.

Easter

We finally made it!

We are in a temporary apartment about 30 miles from San Antonio until April but we are a family again seeing each other every night and have our own space well small space but a lot bigger than that small room at my parents.

We are getting adjusted to the big city, Eric is already so I have a bit of catching up to do. Of course the first thing we did was take the kids to the Alamo. Since Eric works downtown we have free parking on the weekends and his building is not to far away.

Tomorrow starts back to school for us. I am still homeschooling Grace and Jonah and will continue the rest of the year due to all the moving and hopefully with the last move being in April. A much much happier and content Carissa...

2013 Life Update

Now that the Holiday hustle and bustle is over I am going to really try to keep this blog updated more. Hopefully. January 2nd the Lord answered our prayer for renters. The kids and I finally get to move further south and be with Eric and live as a family again. We will be living in a temporary space, a two bedroom furnished condo, until our house is built. It really is a vacation condo but we were blessed to find they also did month to month for what is called winter Texans. Apparently there are alot of older folks that use the area in the winter to live. Our house should be done some time in April and we will move again then. 3 moves in a short time!

 I am totally excited about our new house and being able to follow the progress. They broke ground on it mid Decembe. On December 23rd the last time I was down in San Antonio the plumbing was in place.

This is part of our backyard. art of city living is giving up space. Native San Antonio people tell me outdoor time is for Winter months because of the heat in the Spring and Summer. It is going to be quite a change moving to a tropical climate.

The house is a two story and 2900 sq feet! It will feel like a mansion to us!

April can't get here soon enough but for now I am praising God that the kids and I finally are able to join Eric in San Antonio and start looking for a church and exploring our new hometown.

Saying goodbye

This past week we had to say goodbye to our beloved dog Taylor. Taylor came to us right after Eric and I moved to Illinois in the first year of our marriage. She was the best dog and loved by all. She was so gentle with kids, never knew a stranger and was in heaven just to be rubbed. The move to Texas proved to be to much stress for her old age and she was in a great deal of pain due to a tumor on her spleen that ruptured. Even though she was in so much pain she never complained. She was amazingly smart she could take a bowl full of cereal and milk off the table to the floor(so she could eat it) without spilling. She could also open the gate of chain link fences with her nose. She was awesome and we dearly loved her. She was my pal, my friend, and in a lot of ways besides my kids one of the best things I found after moving from Texas to Illinois. Taylor was special. The kind of dog that leaves you a better person because of knowing her. Yeah I know that is a cheesy remark but it is true. She was truly a part of our family and saying goodbye was one of the hardest things we've had to do. The grief we feel is real. She is and will be greatly missed.

December

This move has been nothing what we imagined. When Eric told me he felt God moving him on I pictured us as a family in a home of our own in Texas. Instead we still remain a part. He in San Antonio and the kids and I here in central Texas three hours away. It is getting close to three months. Frustration and unmet expectations visit me each day. I didn't sign up for this. I didn't sign up to be raising 5 children on my own. I didn't get married so that I could live a part from my spouse. If I wanted to do that Eric could of stayed in the military but being together after his 13 month deployment to Korea during our engagement was enough for us. This is not what I dreamed of when I dreamt of moving back to Texas. This is not what is best for our family and I wonder if we have made a big mistake. Mentally I am not doing well. Insomnia and anxiety plague me. I want to go home. I want my own home. I want to live as a family again. I want to sleep with my husband.