So The Story Goes

Yesterday the kids played and played and played SOOOO wonderfully and I got so much ME time it was incredible. 37 degrees cold but still somehow an absolutely gorgeous day. I had the blinds completely open and the sunshine was pouring in. The boys were playing contentedly - some of it outside. I made myself a Salsa Turkey with Ranch Dressing on French Bread sandwhich and a tall glass of iced tea and sat at my dining room table with my computer. It felt like home. And summer.

Last night I decided to get into the kids closet. I realized I had left everything special, meaningful, and just plain nice here so that it wouldn't get ruined in California. It was like Christmas opening all these wonderful toys that I had no idea were here. I called Hubby before he got home from work and asked him to stop by our newly discovered 2 minute away Target and get some shelves for their closet so there would actually be a place to put everything. He came home with these Sauder closet organizer cubes (similar to those but only two shelves) that work perfectly - two huge deep shelves in each, enough to fit their biggest toys with room to spare. And while I was working on the closet? They played for four hours with their new toys in the middle of the living room, having a blast.

Today we started out with school and did a little workbook we had from a group we went to on Monday that was a blast, both the group and the book. The kids had fun with that and then we did some artwork. BG drew a parachuter in the middle of a pine forest (okay not underneath him) and used a technique with his crayon that he had observed from the art teacher sitting next to us at the Indian Powwow we had gone to with a friend a few weeks back. He used the end of the crayon and loosely held it to be able to easily cover a large area with color. The guy had his class with him and was doing charcoal drawings. It was amazing, as BG put it, the things tiny kids can learn from big kids.

That same art teacher I started talking to and he told me about a wonderful art program in the city that I finally checked out online yesterday and they are incredible!! They have every kind of art class imaginable, for adults, for kids, for preschoolers, and even for homeschoolers! I'm thrilled to find out more about it, and their winter classes are starting soon so that will be perfect after the holiday rush. They do have a small individual Saturday class for parents and kids that I may take them to beforehand just to check it out.

Well I'm just rambling, but God has been amazing in His blessings that He has poured out on his here. The support and friendship He has given me these first few weeks has been priceless and literally blows my mind. To find such amazing people that actually want to have a relationship with you and are in a space where they can have a relationship with you, and for them to have children that are in the same space with your children is amazing and absolutely mind boggling.

Then on top of it all to have someone who knows the ins and outs of your situation, not only from reading it, but actually going through it herself, have the opportunity to come by in the first few weeks of being here and visit and totally fall in love with your kids and they her, is absolutely priceless.

Even through my sadness, God, through these people and countless other things including, and so much more than I ever thought he could be - my husband, has given me nothing but encouragement since the day I got here. I am beginning to see the rays through the clouds. The sun is there, it has always been there, it's seeing it that's the hard part. I may have to change my Walk By Faith words, "I will walk by faith even when I don't see the light." to "I will walk by faith as I see your amazing grace.".