Fall is here

With chilly mornings becoming more common around here, it's apparent that fall is in the air! I do miss seeing leaves turn colors but I don't (yet) miss the snow my parents got yesterday - 14"! It is nice having cooler weather as it is more in keeping with the season. We had several years in AZ where a trip to the pumpkin patch was cut short due to extreme heat.

First up is painting pumpkins in the park. The kids seemed to enjoy it, MTN particularly, but both loved the snacks even more.

Next up is a photo from EMNs very first field trip! She got to ride in the school van, pick out her own pumpkin, run through a hay maze and dress like all her friends. She enjoyed her trip but did not care for me trying to preserve it with photographs. So I have this one and that's it.

And finally, her birthday hoodie that I finished up about two weeks ago. It lives in our van so she can throw it on when she's chilly. She chose the yarn herself so I knew she'd love the color. It should fit her for at least a few more years. She is genuinely pleased with it and it always feels good to be appreciated.

Tomorrow we'll be carving pumpkins and decorating for our neighborhood's Halloween festivities. We have a small party in one of the cul-de-sacs and we're all looking forward to getting to know our neighbors a bit better.

New Food!

For the last two months or so, we've been eating almost every meal at home. I set up a meal plan for each day and plan my grocery shopping around that list. No more fast food drive-thrus or take out, save for the Tuesday pizza routine. A large, one topping pizza for $5 is a deal! Mike gets to be the hero because he brings it home and then I get to escape to grocery shop by myself. It's truly a win-win for all of us.

Anyway, every meal made in this kitchen. It's easy to get stuck in a rut so I try to keep breakfast and lunch standard but shake up the dinner routine a bit. Last night we had sushi. MTN couldn't get enough and EMN was skeptical but tried it. I think they liked the new chopsticks most of all! Next time EMN would like to use the chopsticks on chicken.

So why every meal at home? Several different reasons. One is to save money. We're in Financial Peace University, a Dave Ramsey course, and we're doing all we can to make our money work for us. Also, we ate a lot of fast food and take out meals while we were moving and it wasn't healthy for us. The kids got used to eating almost every meal out and that set up bad expectations. They still call out all the fast food options as we drive around town but now we only include that as a treat, such as EMN's birthday. The kids do enjoy helping to make meals at home and are learning to like lots of different foods. And a perk of Mike's new job is that he's home every day about the same time and we can have dinner as a family every night. The benefits of that are innumerable but the best is enjoying time as a family each day.

Celebrations

October begins with several celebrations for our family. On the second, Mike and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. My parents had arrived the day before so Mike and I had a great dinner out at Bin 555, just the two of us. We were married here in San Antonio so it's fun to be back in the city that holds so many memories for us.









On Saturday, we went "balling" as EMN calls it. Mike had to work so he missed out on the fun, but the rest of us had a great time!

On the 6th, our daughter turned 4 and what a day she had! Since it was her day, she got to choose the food and activities for the day (within reason of course). Breakfast was waffles, lunch
was McDonald's (and eating inside), and dinner was ramen noodles and broccoli. Cake and ice cream followed and it all added up to one very happy girl. In addition to gifts from family and friends, EMN also received lots of cards and letters from friends in Arizona that made her smile. Thanks to all of you, friends and family alike, for making her day!! Below are a few photos from yesterday. First, she woke up happy and ready to celebrate! Hats were distributed to all and then after breakfast we were off to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens to see "bushes and butterflies" as she called it. The Gardens currently have a treehouse exhibit that was fun and the vegetable garden received lots of interest. The rest of the pictures are probably pretty self explanatory.

And in honor of her birthday, I'll do a brief retrospective of her last few years. First, the day after her birth in Seoul, at five months old near the glaciers in New Zealand, and then on her first, second and third birthdays. Amazing how quickly the days go ...

Park Day

We went to a local park yesterday since the weather has been gorgeous and the kids always need a change of scenery.

The park has a walking trail that we did at the end of our visit. The kids loved holding hands with their daddy. Cute pictures too!




The park is right on final approach to the airport so the planes are so low and slow you feel like you could touch them. MTN claps and cheers and calls out the airline when he sees them (Nontnental is his loudest). EMN likes to see them but thinks they are a bit loud.

Later that night we got a phone call from a dear friend of ours (Jono) that flies for Southwest. We missed seeing him land by about 30 minutes but we got to have dinner and an evening of catching up which more than made up for it. Thanks for calling Jono!

Our Princess

Today EMN was invited to a Princess Birthday Party and she spent most of the morning getting ready. A sign of things to come for sure.







And no one would have ever guessed that this princess was wearing her favorite shirt - today's favorite is a Jimmie Johnson NASCAR shirt - under all that frilly stuff. That's more like the girl we know!

We're settling in ...

It's been a long couple of months but we're settling in just fine here. Here's a few photos representing our last few months.

In Arizona: EMN and MTN enjoying a DVD in their "movie theater" the packers made for them.


We stayed on base after the house was packed up and before we drove away. EMN enjoyed the National Anthem every afternoon and required everyone to stand still and give proper respect.


Crossing the border into Texas at El Paso. Texas is huge!! An interesting drive. Not much out in West Texas ...


Clutching their Texas postcards (you can't see their San Antonio shirts but they're wearing them). Both are thrilled anytime they see the Lone Star and that's a lot around here!



The empty, broken down boxes made for a great perch to watch all the activity. The stack got much higher before it got taken away. Still a few boxes remaining in the house but we'll get to those eventually. They make a great fort, spaceship, pirate ship, etc. so the kids are reluctant to let the empty boxes make it out of the house.


Our first traditional Sunday night dinner in our new house with all the family.


EMN was a HUGE fan of the Olympics, particularly Michael Phelps. The TV was on at almost all times so she could catch all the different events. She wore these special PJs that her daddy bought in San Francisco for her. She loved that a few of the Chinese girls in the opening ceremonies wore similar clothes.


It rained quite a bit here after we moved in. Almost every day in fact. With the hurricanes and typical summer storms, it was hard keeping the kids inside. Their new raincoats have gotten a lot of use!


Home improvement projects have the boys very busy! MTN was beyond tickled to use the drill. Wish we could have gotten the accompanying giggle in a movie clip - priceless!


The sunset as viewed from our backyard. I can see it when I'm standing in the kitchen at the sink and also from most of our living areas since most of them have windows out to the back of the house. Usually I'm cleaning up as the sun sets and it's just beautiful. I love looking out at the back yard. It's very serene and peaceful. We're playing more in the yard now that there are less fire ants to eat up the kids. I'm not loving the snakes but I'm working on that.


Willing workers! Anything to play in the sink. Works better now that MTN isn't using hand lotion to clean everything!


First day of school!! EMN has been waiting for this since school ended in May. It's a very different style of school than her last one so we had a few growing pains the first day. She's knows what to expect now so that helps tremendously. She eats lunch and naps at her new school (that's her nap-mat that she's hugging) and she's slowly making friends. She's been missing her AZ friends so much - she mentions them every day. We're meeting new faces here but none of them will ever replace those we moved away from! Hugs to you all!!


And we love having Daddy around more!! Continental furloughed him so now he's full time at the Guard unit. Thank God for the Guard!! Always an adventure for sure ...


So that's the basics of the last few months. It's been emotionally and physically exhausting for all of us. We're still working on getting into a good groove and schedule but that will come with time. As we establish our routines, meet more people and find a church home we'll start to feel really settled.

We're very thankful for all the help, prayers and good thoughts we've received over the last few months. Our families have been tremendous in helping us to make the move. We couldn't have done it without you!!

Just for Nonna

A few days late but the sentiment rings true ...


And just for fun ...