Rain pours down. We are former desert dwellers and still get giddy at the sound of the pitter-patter, so we head outside with newly unpacked umbrellas to run and romp in the rain, explore muddy ravines, and make all kinds of observations on our impromptu morning nature walk. As my children’s laughter rings in my ears and I watch their feet dance in puddles, I’m reminded how sweet and short this season is that we have with our children. Soon they will be grown and gone. The days of romping in the rain will be over and quiet will reign supreme. And I’ll miss all of this. I’ll miss the noise. I’ll miss the dirt. I’ll miss the extra loads of laundry because imaginations ran wild. 
With all of our wet, muddy clothes in the washing machine, we settled down for some tea and then pulling out our pastels. I’ve mentioned how much we love these pastel tutorials from Hodgepodge and I’ll say it again; these ebook tutorials are amazing. They are so clearly laid out and the kids love the finished results. This morning I uploaded the “American Landmarks” tutorial guide to the kindle since we’ve been learning about U.S. Geography this year. When Keegan came down for breakfast he made a mad dash for the Kindle when I mentioned that I had uploaded a new set of tutorials. He :almost: didn’t want to go play in puddles. But once he realized that we would do BOTH, he quickly downed his breakfast and completed his morning chores along with his brothers so we could head out!
As the new pastel masterpieces started to accumulate, I remembered that these fabulous tutorials are on sale through Wednesday – 50% off! If you are looking for a no-fuss, no-experience-needed art tutorials, you can’t go wrong with these! We have both the Simple Start in Chalk Pastels as well as the Shark, Winter Olympics, and American Landmarks.
As for the settling in… We’ve now been in the Dallas area for a little over a month. It’s all gone by crazy fast. Sometimes I wonder if some people just aren’t cut out for moving… If so, I would be one of them. The only way I managed to pack up our home in less than 4 weeks was by the grace of God and the help of many dear friends. After Rich left for Dallas to start his job, I must admit that there were moments where I just froze, not even knowing where to start. But there was a deadline and we made it.
Now I have another problem – no deadlines to get moved into this new house, in this strange city, without my close-knit community of friends. I’ve been dragging my feet until I realized that I wasn’t motivated to do much of anything because the house was chaotic. So we’ve been kicking the unpacking into hyper-drive and Rich has stepped in to help and work alongside me. Piles of boxes still line the sides of a couple of rooms as I figure out how to organize in a smaller space with less storage areas, but the mood has lifted today. It is amazing how much a little bit of order can accomplish.
While this was a major disruption in our “normal” it’s been exciting to watch all of us move outside of our comfort zones, experience being the newbie, discover forgotten books as we’ve unpacked, and had ample opportunity to practice extending grace to one another.
We are enjoying our new green surroundings and focusing on the positives of here – lots of green, rain, new bugs, and lots of earthworms. It’s provided ample opportunity for discovery and forays into imaginative play. But we’ll admit that we are missing our old friends, sunshine, and big Arizona skies… Knowing we are supposed to be here and the special time we’ve had together as a family has made all of this totally worth it.
You can almost feel the seasons of life changing, can’t you? You work so hard to help them grow up, but then it breaks your heart to see them finally get there and then start a life of their own. 2 of mine are grown and all along the way I wondered if homeschooling was the right decision, but as my oldest graduated, i realized that I am forever grateful that we did this schooling thing together and I didn’t miss a minute of it. Cherish every moment! It will be over before you know it.
We just finished up our 17th year of homeschooling and I wrote down a few of the lessons I’ve learned along the way. though you or your readers might be encouraged by a few of them.
http://www.switchbacks.org/2015/05/13/25-life-lessons/
Loved this, Karen. Thanks for sharing!
It is great to hear that you are settling good! Enjoy all the new wonderful stuff that are happening to you! Thanks for sharing! Greets, London Movers Ltd.
I am praying for you right now…that our Lord would give you an extra dose of patience, peace, and the feeling of “Home” that you’re missing so much.
You are an amazing woman! Wow, moving in four weeks!!
I hope that you very much enjoy Texas. I must admit, I’m so envious of all that green! I’ll look forward to hearing what you think when you’ve lived through a full year of all the seasons.
As always, you are doing a terrific job!!! 🙂
Diana
You are such an encourager, Diana! The green is truly amazing. I was struck afresh by that as we drove to a nearby park today!
Awww…sweet friend! Hang in there!! You are doing a great job! Your kiddos look so very happy and settled in their new surroundings. And, you are so right…these days just fly by!!!! Enjoy every minute of it all!!!! (Yes, even the laundry, and the mud, and the never ending activities of your little people…they grow so quickly!) What a blessing that you are establishing order in your space…one step at a time…it will all come together. Hugs, Camille
Step-by-step and focusing on enjoying each part of the journey! Hugs to you. If you are ever down in Texas, let us know!
Sounds like you are all making the best of all the changes this move has brought to your family. Praying you soon find new friends there to bless and be blessed by. The pastel art sounds/look wonderful!
The changes are really wonderful. Sometimes I buck them because they are new and thus not easy. But they are oh so very good for us.
“April showers bring May flowers!” I understand that you have had a couple difficult months. And I understand how hard it is to move away from family. Even me, when Rich left for AZ I cried every day for 6 weeks. But there was light at the end of the tunnel: he found his perfect mate, graduated, got married & started a family. That will happen with you, too. I can’t wait to visit again in July. Your little (compared to AZ) brick house will then be turned into “your home.” We love both of you so much!!
I’m still super excited about living in a red-brick house. It is certainly novel after growing up in the desert!