Christmas at the Sheltons

As I was putting up all of my trees, I realized, I won't get to spend much time with my friends and family during the holidays. That was a rude awakening! I guess I never really thought about it this summer when I knew we were moving. Christmas is the best time to be with my friends, not about gifts, just spending time and laughing and relaxing. The Lord has blessed me with incredible friends, and I miss them greatly. They are some of my best gifts in life!

I took a few photos of the house for those of you that asked...I bought a 12 foot Christmas tree and had fun decorating it, but found out, we need a new ladder. :-)

Man's Brain vs. Woman's Brain

This video makes me laugh every time I watch it. It is so true and I wish I had understood this the first day we were married. I am so grateful that Rick and I are different--the Lord is amazing with His creation. He is so good for me, calms me down, and is so patient with my brain that is constantly "on." However, I probably was not so good for him at times, because I never understood the "nothing" box! Finally though, I have learned to celebrate the differences!

They kept telling me we were in the land of gators...

but who would have thought we would see one on the way home from brunch today? This guy was huge, in a ditch on the side of the road, not too far from the bay. We were driving Mom and Sonny around in a neighborhood and there he was, right in the middle of million dollar homes. OMG!

Change is hard!

Ok ladies, I think you will understand this. I have tried to be so careful not to complain because of what the Lord has done in this transition. He really worked miracles...However, there is a downside and I think I have experienced most of it. You have to locate new doctors, dentists, hair dressers, nail techs, masseuse, florist, groomer, vet....need I go on? My first week here, I had to go have a dreaded root canal and found the worst dentist ever. After two visits and 6 hours in the chair, she still did not finish it and was telling me that it would just have to hurt when she worked on it, that I was to just take the pain. I finally got to a specialist and gladly paid the extra to get it finished and it was painless. My nails...my first visit to a place locally in my town, I came away with blue nails but I didn't ask for blue nails. I am still not sure what that person did. After a mediocre hair cut, I was able to find a good salon but it is in Beaumont, which is not too bad since I go there twice a week to campus.

Some of you (my friends) have moved a bunch since I have known you and never complained about this...how come? It is hard work to locate all these people and find someone you can trust after using the same provider for many years.  Well for not complaining, you are amazing. Because it isn't easy!

Utah

We were able to all visit Matt over the Labor Day weekend in Ogden, Utah. He lived with the sweetest family this summer and had a great time. Here is a photo one night at a game.

The batters face a beautiful mountain backdrop as they hit. It seems like a great place to play baseball. Matt is home now and enjoying his time off until Spring training starts. He is helping Rick with house projects, on a daily basis I think! 

We are getting more acquainted here in Mont Belvieu. Everyone is really friendly and I was able to find the outlet mall this weekend with a coach store, so feeling much better!

We're Here!

We moved a week ago and I am about 3/4 through the boxes finally. When I first got here, I panicked because it seemed like nothing fit right. After lots of trips to Lowes, Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond, I am finally feeling normal again. Yes, I know, I am a bit OCD about some things. :-) You love me anyway though, right?

The weather hasn't been bad, the first couple of days seemed really humid but maybe I am getting used to it. It hasn't felt as hot as it was in Dallas so far. We visited Old River Baptist yesterday and liked the church. Everyone was really friendly. Here are some pictures so far.

The front porch is my favorite. I really like being outside.  I bought a gardenia plant on my way home from work and can't wait to get it planted. We have two white rockers on the left and a double rocker for the right, on the way now. We will also put up a porch swing on the end. Great for sipping tea in the evenings and chatting about our day.

The kitchen is still a work in progress and I have not really cooked a full meal aside from grilling steaks. The builder has to come move the light over the table, we wanted it centered and they put it off the right; the builder has been great though to work with.

This is our new bed. It is a 19th century post empire tester bed from the south. We are just in love with this bed and it has special meaning. It belonged to Stephanie's (a close friend) mom who bought it in Louisiana at least 30 years ago. I was able to purchase it and keep it in the family, so to speak. (Thanks Stacy, come visit her any time) We added 2 feet to our bedroom when we built the house and we are glad we did.

This is our master bathroom, with the mirror we bought at Rooms to Go outlet for $24. We had to raise the light to make it work.

Here is the walk in shower with the bench. It is almost like being at a spa since it has two shower heads.

It took lots of creative ways for me to fit everything into my closet, somehow, I didn't realize I was losing so much space with the two windows, but I did.

 Formal dining room just waiting for a dinner party with our friends!

This is the entry way, I didn't have another place for the piano.

 This is the upstairs bath. Not as much space as our last house.

 The blue room is ready to go, I just need to paint and find curtains.

 This is the other guest room. We are ready to visitors!

Here is a shot from the upstairs into the living room. Can't wait to see ya'll!!!!

Moving to Mont Belvieu

The Lord is doing an incredible thing in our lives and I wanted to journal it to give Him credit. Rick was going to be laid off by Keller ISD at the end of June so he had begun to look around in late spring for a new job. A school district, Barbers Hill ISD, contacted him and he fell in love with the people and the district. He started his new job this week and I will join him in August. Mont Belvieu is a small town north of Baytown, east of Houston and about 45 minutes from Beaumont. So we are moving! It is incredible to see what God has done so far, working miracles.

What God has done so far:
1. Provided Rick a new job that he absolutely loves.
2. Laid him off from Keller so that he would find the job he loves. He would have never left Keller otherwise, even though he was driving an hour each way.
3. Provided him temporary housing in a nice home for very little money while our home is being built.
4. Provided Kaye a job at Lamar University as a faculty member.
5. Worked out the adoption process so that we will be supervised in our new area.
6. Who ever heard of building a new home in 60 days? That is what is happening for us, we put our money down on June 4th and should move into the new house right after August 5th!