Back Home...and Home again!

Just returned from a week in the Great State of Texas where we vacationed and visited family and friends. The first thing I discovered is that the only thing I DON'T miss about Texas is the mosquitoes! They are terrible! But everything else was still wonderful!

Our first stop was in Lubbock to pick up the girls from their week at Encounter. We had breakfast with our youth group and got to hear about their week, which was fun. Then the youth group headed back to Arizona and we continued further into Texas. We stopped for lunch in Abilene where we visited my dear friend Anita and her family. I hadn't seen her for a few years, so that was a real treat! Her husband, Craig, who is the Theological Librarian at ACU, gave us a tour of the newly remodeled library complete with a Starbucks! Very nice! Then we continued on to the San Antonio/New Braunfels area where we met up with good friends, enjoyed some great Texas Bar-B-Que and then a day at Schlitterbahn (only the BEST waterpark in the nation!). The photo is of our girls and their friend about to enjoy the Lazy River. What fun!!!

Then it was on to the Houston/Pearland area where we spent the rest of the week enjoying my family and spoiling my little nephew and niece. We got together with friends, ate some wonderful Tex-Mex food (which I miss desperately!), went to the zoo and saw a couple of movies ("Cars" which is really good and "Nacho Libre" which is stupid but funny). Then on Saturday we began the long drive back to Arizona. We got to drive through a thunderstorm (a real one, not what passes for a thunderstorm in Phoenix). Heavy rain with lots of thunder and lightening. Usually, that would not be a good thing. But after living in Arizona for a year, seeing rain is a treat! We made it back home on Sunday afternoon. Whew! We crammed a lot of visiting, playing and eating into a week, but it was wonderful!

What surprised me most about our trip was my mixed feelings about leaving. Texas will always be home. My parents were born there. My husband and I were born there. My children were born there. My entire family still lives there. We have good friends there. It's where my heart is. But, I was glad to get back to our home here in Arizona. We have a wonderful house here. We love the weather. We have a great church home that we are growing with and getting involved in. And best of all....NO MOSQUITOES!!! : ) Funny how things change. I never thought I would feel at home in Arizona, but have come to find out that it is beginning to feel comfortable here. We miss all our family and friends in Texas, but are making new friends here and having new experiences and seeing another part of God's wonderful world. We are blessed! Now I have two places that I can call home!

On another note, can I just say that I have the best husband in the world! (Apologies to all you other ladies who thought they had the best one.) ; ) Stephen and I celebrated our anniversary on June 1st. He gave me the best day! First, he surprised me and took the day off to stay home with me. That was the best gift of all! Then he brought me breakfast from McDonald's and a Cafe' Mocha from Starbucks (which I love!) and four (yes, that's right...not one, but FOUR) bouquets of flowers. And he gave me a beautiful anniversary band to top it all off. What a wonderful day! Sometimes I just want to sign him up to give Husband Lessons! ; ) Even though I complain that he works too hard and too much sometimes, he never fails to surprise me with his romantic side every once in awhle.

We were very young when we got married and I bet a lot of people thought we'd never make it. Looks like we showed them though! : ) We've been through a lot together. I'm just so thankful that God blessed me with a husband who loves God and loves me and the girls so much. I hope my girls will be blessed with a husband just like him! And I look forward to the future and the many more experiences that we will share together. So, to my wonderful husband...."Thanks, honey. I love you!"