My life with the 3stephensboys is exciting, trying, fulfilling, entertaining, amazing, tiring, inspiring... what God made me for & what I love. Therefore, you may not see many pictures of Darrin or me, but you will get an eye full of my 3stephensboys in all of their glory, amazement and cuteness! Thanks for visiting! Enjoy!

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Can It Really Be December??!!

I must admit that this may sound a bit like complaining. I don't intend for it to be, but I would like to ponder a few things before updating the blog.

It is NOT normal for it to be 80+ degrees in December. It is so bizarre! It is not right!!! I sit in my air conditioned house longing to wear my sweaters and feel a chill in my bones! It can even seem a little overcast outside, so I open the door, because it must be a tad bit chilly!!! Oh but wait, it's overcast because of the humidity and it isn't chilly at all, but muggy, hot and gross!!!!

It IS December and I'm tired of wearing flipflops and t-shirts. We are still going to the park in shorts! So weird!!! I look forward to cleaning out the closet of summer clothes to fill it again with my cold clothes! Forgetting this from last year and still a new resident of Texas, I sigh deeply! Speaking to friends and family via telephone does not help, as it is snowing there!

Recently, I heard a song on the Houston Christian radio station called, There's no snow in Houston...or something like that. It goes on to say that we will be in flip flops on the beach this Christmas. So for those of you who are reading this somewhere cold, please soak some in for me! I miss the seasons so much, but I must admit that come February, I do like the nice days here!

Anyhoo!!!!!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving!!!! It was wonderful seeing family that we hadn't seen in 1-2 years!


Like always, we had an adventurous trip. We hit Kansas City right at rush hour on Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We actually got through fairly quickly and were just north of the city on the Missouri side. Darrin was driving in the left lane of 4 lanes of traffic, going about 70mph, when the front driver side tire blew! Darrin reacted quickly and amazingly got us over on the side of the road. It was a bit nerve racking due to the heavy traffic that seemed to not slow down a bit. We were planning on driving straight through, but our plans changed need less to say!

You can't really tell, but that is the road where we had to pull off in rush hour! Yikes!

New tire bought, we hit the road the next morning early and ended up catching up with Dad.
I prayed for snow and God did answer my prayer. It began just on the other side of the Missouri/Iowa line and continued to outside of Des Moines. The ground temp was so warm that it really didn't stick, but that was good too. It would have been scarier driving had it stuck! Kru asked me, "What's that?" Oh my Texas baby!!! It was cold there, so we relished wearing our heavy winter coats and gloves and hats!

Playing cards, catching up, reminiscing, watching football, eating and playing some more cards filled our time in Iowa! We ended up staying an extra day to spend more time with our fam. We headed for home on Sunday, hoping to make it the entire 17 hours! Stopping for lunch in Missouri and changing drivers, we continued on our way. About 30 miles north of the tire episode 5 days earlier, I noticed a strange sound. We had a flat rear tire! Again, Darrin changed the tire and we attempted to find an exit with some store to help us!

Wal-Mart was the only option on a Sunday afternoon, and after 3 1/2 hours we were on the road again! Purchasing 3 tires in a matter of 5 days was definitely not part of our Thanksgiving plan, but we were very thankful that it was only tires which can be easily replaced and nothing more serious! The delay changed our plans again and we ended up staying in Norman Oklahoma. Kye and Kru ended up throwing up all night! Fun! So it probably was best we were in a hotel and not the car! Yuk!

You may be thinking what a nightmare, but I have to tell you I would do it again tomorrow!

I love my Iowa family and the time we spent with them is priceless!!! I love that nothing changes even after 2 years! That I can be myself and not try to be someone or something else! I love that we joke and tease each other endlessly! I love how much we laugh when we are together! And that snorting and crying are a part of that! I love that my granpa calls me "his girl!" I love him so much!!!!! I love that granma's house is ALWAYS open! That there are cookies in the cookie jar and Pepsi in the garage! I love that my Iowa family and my granma and granpa's house are the ONLY constants in my 35 years of life! I love that my aunts and uncles play with my boys like they see them everyday! I love that the circle of life can be seen generation after generation in my granma's living room and basement! I love that there is ALWAYS coffee! I love that my past is captured in pictures, puzzles, decorations, and talk there! I love that there are no expectations but genuine love there! I love that this family who has been through so much is still together! I love you all!!!

Almost the whole gang!!!

Kru catching up with Papa!

Kye plays with Papa's dog, Rex!

Until next time....

1 comment:

Kathryn, Michael and Alex said...

It's 9:45 pm...step outside now girlfriend...there is a chill in the air!!
I am so glad that you had such a great time and that the Lord's protection was over your family the whole time. We will have to get together over Christmas break.