Things are ok in OK!

Time for an update! We are officially Okies now! We arrived at our new house here in Owasso (suburb just North of Tulsa) a little over two weeks ago and have gotten all settled in now. So far we are all really enjoying it here!

We got into town on a Saturday night. The girls and I were so excited to get up here and see everything! As we took our exit and began making our way through town all three of us were shouting out all the stores and fast food restaurants we saw. "Hey look! There's McDonalds! Cool! Look, there's a big Walmart! Neat!" You know, the IMPORTANT places! As if those places don't exist on every corner in EVERY town! :) The kids were so thrilled their seat belts could barely contain them!

We settled in LATE that night on our air mattresses and slept pretty well, actually. All that excitement over McD's and Wally World must've worn us out. The next day we began unpacking the things that we had brought with us and then we all piled into the van and went out to see things in the day light. I only THOUGHT I had seen a few great places to eat & shop the night before. That day I found my mother ship...one of my most favorite places in the world to go...a place where my love tank gets filled to the brim and overfloweth...HOBBY LOBBY!! And I'm talking, a NICE, BIG one too! I nearly hyperventilated when I saw it all huge-ish, sitting on a nice corner on a hill only 2 minutes from my house. All I could get out was "Look! Look! Look!" In my awe I remember faintly hearing Nathan's voice say "THERE IS NOTHING THROUGH THOSE DOORS THAT YOU NEED!! NOTHING I SAY!" Surely I was dreaming that though...because SURELY he'd never deny me my Hobby Lobby!
{Quick Interjection: For those of you, mostly my FL friends, who don't know what Hobby Lobby is, it's a store filled with crafting supplies, home decor items, seasonal decor, etc...it's like JoAnn's but way better! And cheaper! They run 1/2 price sales EVERY WEEK! It's a heavenly place! Not so much in my husband's eyes though.}
For the past four years I have been deprived of this place since the entire state of FL only has ONE, ONE I TELL YOU!, Hobby Lobby. And it's in Panama City or some place far from Melbourne. So after discovering it, my mental to-do list was just updated and everything was shifted down the list by one bullet point. Okay, enough about H. L...

We also found several great strip malls (who came up with that name anyway...I really don't like it! A man, I'm sure!) with lots of great stores. But I won't bore you anymore with my excitement over the shopping that, by the way, is MINUTES from my driveway!!! Ahhhhh! :) In our new house, the girls each have their own rooms now. They were excited about that but I was a little worried that Taylor & Emma would have a little trouble with sleeping in a room alone since they've shared a room for over a year. So far they've done great! There's only been one morning that I've woken up with both of them in our bed. They're enjoying having their own space. The new hasn't really worn off the house yet with them, they're still enjoying playing together in their rooms everyday.

We've visited a couple of churches also. We liked one but are going to take our time and visit quite a few. Although I am ready to find one and start getting connected to people and make some friends. I haven't found a MOPS group here yet. I found a few listings on the internet but most of them are all in Tulsa and I'd like to find one here in Owasso. I'm sure there is one, I'll just have to keep looking. Pray for us that we'll find our church home and friends soon.

Taylor starts school this week. Her school is really close to our house too...about a mile away. She's indifferent about starting. She's still enjoying being at home during the day and playing with Emma so she says she's not ready to start yet. I'm sure she'll like it once it starts. We go to meet her teacher tomorrow and she starts on Wednesday. The tardy bell there doesn't ring until 8:50! I'm super excited about that!! That's almost an HOUR later than what we're used to! Woo Hoo! She gets out at 3:15. We're waiting to hear if Emma has gotten in to a preschool at a church here. A church we visited has what looks like a great preschool...much like the one she went to in FL. They were full when I called to get her in but the director told me she would be first on the waiting list and if this year goes like past years, she'll get in. They are a Tues, Thurs school with an "enrichment" day on Wed. She'll go from 9:30-2:30 on Tues & Thurs and then on Wed, it's 9:00-12:30 and on that day they teach them spanish, art, math and something else. She is definitely in on the Wed classes. We just have to wait until the first week it starts to hear if she made it in for the Tues/Thurs classes. Keeping our fingers crossed!!

We have a big back yard here at this house. The girls are really enjoying it! They play kickball every day and have races from one fence to the other. It's been pretty hot in the afternoons but not near as humid as it is in FL. And I thought I'd never find a place where the wind blows as much as it does in FL but I stand corrected! The wind is unreal here...blows strong most of the time. Our first thunderstorm here looked more like one of the hurricanes we experienced in FL! The wind blew so hard, I was really scared there was a tornado coming! I kept checking the weather on TV and online to make sure we didn't need to take cover.

Nathan's job here is in an office in Tulsa which has been strange to us. He actually gets up and leaves for the day and is home at night. It's been a nice change and he's enjoying it too. I am really glad to have him home every night. He does have to travel some but nowhere near what he had to do when we lived in FL. He has to travel this week but only for two days so that won't be bad.

I've only met one neighbor so far. She was interesting. An older lady that knows everybody on our street, what they do for a living, how many years they've lived here and every fault they have. We were getting in the van to go to a doctor's appt one morning and she was outside sweeping her driveway so I thought I'd be polite and go over and introduce myself. Nathan had already met them one day when he was mowing. 15 minutes after introducing myself I finally was able to wedge in "I'm sorry to cut you off but we're going to be late for an appt if I don't get going." She seems to be a very particular woman and very opinionated and outspoken. She said she calls or writes the homeowner's assoc. every week about something. And after talking with her that short time, I have no doubt that she does. Lord help us keep her on our good side!! She told Nathan "All I ask is that you keep your kids off the street in the culdesac! Please don't let them ride their bikes in the culdesac." That was one of the things I was looking forward to for them! Letting them ride there because it's a really big culdesac and there's so much room for them to ride. I understand where she's coming from, not wanting an accident to happen. Nathan told her that we're pretty protective of our kids and we wouldn't let them get in the street. She told me they travel a lot and are gone for two weeks at a time usually so maybe we can sneak out when they're gone. Again, I really hope we keep in good graces with her!

Well, the kids are up ready for breakfast now so this blog session is over. I'm sure I'll have pictures and a story to add this week when Tay starts school so I'll be back soon! :)

(See "Perspectives of Taylor & Emma" for a little story about just one of the many things Emma has done lately.)