12 Years Ago...

12 Years ago...
     I arrived in NM after a 3 day drive with my mom, David (9), Derek (2), 2 hysterical dogs and a few tote boxes of belongings to a place I'd never been before to start a new chapter of our life away from everything and everyone we'd ever known.
      And while I miss my Illinois family like crazy even all these years later, I've never been sorry I said yes to the adventure of a lifetime, not one single time.
      Daniel Meyer, I'll follow wherever you're going for always, because I love you to the moon and back.




#TeamMeYeR
#NotOneBitSorry
#AdventuresWithHercules
#TheManCrew
#NewMexicoForLife


PS. I should add that Dan and Patrick (7.5) had left town before the rest of us and had arrived in Mid-July. By the time we arrived, Dan was gainfully employed by the company that would employ him for the next 7 years, and Patrick had Auntie Karen wrapped around his little finger. 

It's the Little Things: Day 198

I want to focus on the good things this year.

All the things people get right.
All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.
All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.
So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we? 

• How can this year already be more than half over? I'm enjoying this blog series so much. It has become one of my little things. I don't get to post it as often as I'd like since I can't blog from my phone or my tablet, but whenever I get the chance to review some of my blessings, that's a blessing in itself. 
• It's as simple as a Pandora music station that plays only songs you love and gets smarter and smarter the more you play it. (Currently playing, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound radio.)
• It's a week on my own at the office. Which isn't necessarily a little thing, since it allows Jodi to have a week of stay-cation, but her trust in me to handle the students is a wonderful gift. 
• It's Hercules and DT spending a whole day together playing Minecraft and hanging out. Mama got to work in peace and they had a ball together. And neither of those is a little thing. 
• It's a hilarious Facetime visit with my 'Shua, Lauren and Caden. Little Punk was NOT all about sitting still to talk to {Grand}Mama K. At. ALL. But it was fun to visit with 'Shua and Lauren in their new house looking so happy and content. 
• It's getting a gift of candy corn from one of my this-week-only students. 
• It's my breakfast nook roof not leaking anymore thanks to some extra attention for Dan earlier this month. This is NOT a little thing, but I'm mentioning it just the same. Monsoon season is upon us and it's raining at least for a while nearly every day, so this repair came at just the right time. Thank you, Dan!
• It's an hour to blog in between students. And with DT at home with Dan again today, it's only interrupted by the office phone ringing. And that's good news for the business so that's okay with me. 
• It's pulling random ingredients from the fridge while I'm still sleepy and bleary-eyed this morning and once I woke up, realizing I've got ingredients to make a spinach salad topped with honey-chipotle chicken tenders, tomatoes, cucumber, zesty Italian dressing and Cheez-It crackers as croutons. Not bad, indeed. 
• It's looking forward to "Swing on the Plaza" tonight if I'm not too tired. Free swing dance lessons, followed by 2 hours of music and room to dance. Dastroyah recently discovered swing dancing (with Z Benson's help) and it has changed his life. Even if I don't have the energy to dance, just enjoying the weather and watching the youngsters dance will be pleasant. Plus, food trucks will be there with Taco Tuesday specials. One can hardly go wrong in that environment. LOL! 

All of these and more make up my little things list this week. Isn't it so difficult to not see the blessings once you start looking? What's on your little things list today? 

 

#100HappyDays: Day 78

Day 78:
The Organ Mountains. I never get tired of gazing at their beauty.
#100DaysOfSummer
#TheViewFromHere
#NoFilterNeeded — feeling happy in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

#100HappyDays: Day 73

 

 Day 73 of #100HappyDays
Beautiful New Mexico skies on the way to our Community Group.

#100DaysOfSummer
#NewMexico
#MPCC — feeling happy in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

So So Behind

Alright people it's official. I'm so far behind on this here blog that I don't even know where to start. A *brief* overview follows.

April~ family trip to Co Springs for Gymnastics Regionals (Utah, NM, CO and WY). David took a place in every event and the all around. We also got to spend a weekend with my niece and her beautiful family. After the regionals, Dan went home to get back to work and I drove with the boys to IL and spent 6 glorious weeks hanging out with friends and family, and helping my Dad recoop from a health issue. (Homeschooling is wonderfully flexible, have I ever mentioned that?) Dad turns 75. Big party for him, which he enjoyed.







May~ First 1/2 of May spent in IL. We arrived home and went back to school. Dan was VERY glad to see us and I was glad that the laptop fairy had visited him while I was gone, LOL! Tyler (nephew) graduated from high school. Said nephew also turned 18 *yippee* Spent most of the rest of May just trying to get settled back in and back to *normal* whatever that is.




June~ More school. Back to work for me. Dan gets laid off from his beloved Wooten job. Joined local CSA, very excited about that : ) Dan refabricates engine for dune buggy. She lives!





July~ Independance Day! School finished for the year during the last week of July. Prepared for niece coming for 2 weeks. Dan gets hired by company called Les File. Really likes it. Dan puts final touches on dune buggy like decals, painted muffler tips, etc.

August~Derek turns 6. Niece comes and spends 2 weeks. MANY adventures (whole blog post about that later) Dan gets laid off by Les File. Jodi spends weekend in Chicago and nephews stay here, much to our boys' delight. Dan busiest unemployed man I know. *amused* Dan buys me a dehydrator and I learn to make beef jerky. Dan repairs damage to dune buggy done by neice, oops *grins* Nephew James turns 9.

Phew. I think that's all the BIG stuff. Coming up is our 15th anniversary, Sister moving closer to us and Dan looking for work, and of course, the start of school in early Sept. Good times!

4 Years??

4 years ago yesterday. That's when David, Derek, my Mom and I arrived in NM where Dan and Patrick were already setting up house. It would be our first time living farther than a few miles from our parents. It was the first time we'd be living far away from our high school and youth group friends. We were in a terrible place in our marriage, undecided about whether we should just throw in the towel, or keep fighting what seemed like an endless uphill battle. We'd lost our home, our pride and our self-respect somewhere along the way. And then, God led (that should read dragged) us here, and we started a new chapter in our life. One that was centered on Him. One that made family (our nuclear family) a priority, not just by a conscious choice, but by not knowing a single person in this town except for my sister and nephew that we were living with at that time. One that showed us how far off the mark we had become. Since that time, we've moved 3 times, lived with another sister and nephews, had and lost jobs, our sanity and sometimes our temper, but we've grown in the Lord, in our family and in our maturity levels. We do almost everything TOGETHER, sometimes to the amazement of our house guests. We live, laugh, love and learn here at home, because that's where we like to be. Life is good here in NM. Happy anniversary to the Man Crew! Here we are in July 2011

And here we were in 2007 not long after we arrived.