I've Made It Here Ya'll

This is what we arrived with..

So we have arrived in Austin. We have been here about 10 days. I just wanted to make a list of all the things God has blessed me since I have been here.



1. God gave me an awesome peace to be free from "stuff". We sold EVERYTING we owned except some pictures and our clothes. I didn't think it would be, but it was EASY.
We sold everything is about 5 days (some things I got more than I paid for it ) including my car, which I sold the day before I left.



2. My house, I love it! It's beautiful and perfect for us



3. Olivia is going to a brand NEW school right down the hill. I went and toured the school and met some of the second grade teachers. I fell in love with one of them, found out she was a christian and prayed that she would be Olivia's teacher. Guess what?? She is. God is good



4. There is a Target down the street, PLUS the Hill Country Galleria less than 10 minutes away, Remember, Cayman has ummm Kirks homestore. Somewhere b/w an Ace hardware and a run down bed bath and beyond.

5. Summer can stay home with me an extra year since we left Cayman


6. My neighbor invited me to a bible study down the street that offers Summer and Anabelle their own bible class. And guess what, they filled the last space for the 3 and 4 year olds.


7. We moved here just in time to escape Gustav in Cayman, then we were able to provide a place to stay for David's brother and girlfriend from Galveston

8. Olivia has "5 bestfriends" at school and went to her first birthday party last night.

9. There is an 18,000 sq ft furniture consignment shop down the street. Remember we SOLD everything

10. Summer got her first scraped knee EVER since she we finally live in a place where they can have bikes.

11. My house came with a trampoline. Huge bonus points for the safety net that came with it.

12. A Farmer's Market down the street. We haven't eaten food that hasn't been on a ship in over a year.

There is so much more. I've been trying to keep a list but it keeps growing.

Cayman Went Back To Texas

Well...

we have been busy to say the least. David and I went to Europe (Amsterdam, Switzerland, and Italy) for almost 3 weeks. When we came back we finalized a decision to move to Austin Texas. Cayman has been a wonderful experience but we decided to take a business opportunity that allowed us to pick Austin Texas for our new home. I am here right now, we found a house in a day, blessed with a brand new school opening up a mile from our home for Olivia. With a Christan principle! Anyway, still lots to do. We return to Cayman to sell the last of all our possessions including wedding gifts and anniversary presents (we are keeping the photo album's) and leaving on August 20th. I will keep you posted. My new blog will be named Cayman Went.
Love,
Tara

Fathers Day 08

Phil Wickham - Hallelujah

I have a NEW favorite

Because I Have Not Been Providing Any Reading Enjoyment...

I would encourage you to read about some special friends of mine. I have them listed to my right on my blog. First my sweet and amazing friend Vicki http://thebbunch.blogspot.com/ . Someday I want to be just like her. Make sure you read about how she makes life interesting in the middle of nowhere with her 5 children.

Next, read about my friend Jeanine http://www.realroots.blogspot.com/ who just finished her first ever 1/2 marathon with 4 kids in tow. She doesn't know it yet, but I am secretly inspired by her and maybe will do a 1/2 marathon myself one day (after I can complete my first mile).

I also challenge you to check out The Burlison Family http://burlisonfamily.blogspot.com/ where you will read how Courtney did it with 3 little girls while daddy was away. I also want to mention The Seago Family http://seagofamily.blogspot.com/ where Stacey knows how to make life one big celebration. Last but not least, I love to visit in on Jillian at the http://greifenkamps.blogspot.com/ blogspot where they just had a party with 17 kids and some sweet friends of hers.

Most importantly, all these women love Jesus and it shows in their lives. They are passionate about Him. If you want evidence of HIM, it shows in their lives. They are an inspiration.

Back From No Where

Hi again... I know it's been awhile and I wish that I had some valid excuse as to why I have just completely ignored my blog. But I don't have one. Maybe I have been uninspired. Usually, I go throughout my day and rewrite in my head what it would sound like in my blog. I just don't seem to be able to recreate a readable version of my life. ....am I making this more difficult than it really is?....

Happy Easter

A Little Bit of Dis' and That

Summer at swimming lessons


Easter fun day
Sno cones with our new friend Kate

Ready for Tot's in Motion

Embarrassing Moment # 1,340,321

I have a lot of embarrassing moments. Most of the time if I would JUST KEEP MY BIG MOUTH SHUT and smile, people could just remember me as "one really happy girl"...... Well no.

And this one has to do with an OB/GYN. And, must I remind you I live on a very small island and this is the "town" doctor so I must see this doc again if I want all my woman parts to stay in working order. And even if I didn't go back, the odds of seeing him at a fine dining restaurant, the beach or maybe even at church are not all that high. And I am sure that he would recognize me even with my clothes on because of what came out of my mouth.

I told him that IT WAS MY PLEASURE. The two of us in a florescent lit room with my paper gown falling off, giving the awkward handshake, saying good bye and I told him that IT WAS MY PLEASURE. Why couldn't I have just did the smiling part and kept my mouth shut?

I mean which part was I referring to. The paper gown, the stirrups, the date of my last period, the actual exam itself? What was I thinking????????

Thanksgiving

Yes, I know Easter is coming, not thanksgiving, but my friend Vicki http://thebbunch.blogspot.com/has challenged me to take part in her friends http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/07/hostess-with-mostest.html challenge. The challenge is to find 10 things to be thankful for. I am blessed by an amazing God and it is my pleasure to do this.

1. I am thankful that God isn't finished with me yet
2. I am thankful that God has saved my marriage
3. I am thankful that God has saved me from myself
4. I am thankful for my 3 girls, no I don't want a boy, I REALLY LOVE IT just the way HE planned it
5. I am thankful for "my lot in life"
6. I am thankful that God has is all figured out so I don't have to
7. I am thankful for my "freedom" in Christ
8. I am thankful that I feel good
9. I am thankful for coffee (I view it as a spiritual enhancement to my quiet time with God :) )
10. I am thankful that He gives me wisdom when I ask

Happy 29th Honey!!!!

Today is Davids 29th birthday. The girls and I threw him a Pirate Party because David is wild about Pirates. Well.... not exactly. It was just the easiest party to have as supplies are limited on the island. We went shopping afterschool everyday this week just to get the supplies to make his cake. Anyway, we loved having the chance to tell the "man" in the house how much we love and appreciate all that he does. Happy Birthday Honey!

Coffey Anderson Coming To Grand Cayman

video of Coffey Anderson, American Idol finalist

http://www.church.ky/images/Coffey%20promotion%201.wmv

Has Anyone Noticed???

There has been 60 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or higher THIS YEAR. I know it's weird but check out this website http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/qed/ and compare this year's activity with last years. Or better yet, compare this decade with the 90's.

Does anyone else find it interesting that Jesus himself described these as "birth pangs" before his return?

Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Matthew 24:7

Cayman Lizards

Did you miss me????

So, I feel the need to explain where I have been and what I have been doing the last few weeks just in case you keep checking my blog for some juicy gossip. I'm actually glad I don't have any. If I did, I would have to struggle in the dilemma if I should share and fill you in and embellish the details or keep a tight rein on my tounge. Which I don't really do all that well. But I am getting better due to the fact that I REALLY hate having to confess to God that YES I failed to use self control AGAIN!!!! Anyway.... was that too much information?

I will just tell you what I have done the past few weeks. I did manage to make it back to the states with my "man" (I stole that from Stacey) for about a week. I tagged along with him on business and stayed in Dallas for a night (AT THE MALL!!), Denver for a night and then a couple nights in OKC. There is just something so relaxing about staying in hotel rooms with no kids and getting to leave wet towels on the floor. Anyway, the bonus was that my girls all got sick while I was gone and they were all better by the time I got home. Yes, I had some mom guilt but they were in good hands (she got sick also) and I returned home feeling great.


The day after we returned home we moved into a ground floor condo unit. WHICH I LOVE!!!

We were able to move in most of our "stuff" and the girls unpacked their toys and we set up their rooms. I'm not really a "stuff" person but I have really enjoyed having my pictures out, and creating a little bit of a home. David had to leave town again so I took the next 4 days and organized everything. It was nice to have a deadline.


THEN, my mom, her parents and my dad's mom came to visit. What a sweet time. I loved showing them around and giving them a taste of "The Ritz". The girls enjoyed them and we had a valentines day party cookout.


So, that brings me to today. I think that brings me back to normal. I am still going to boot camp at 5:30 in the morning. I am getting stronger and I can run 1 lap around the tennis court but I have gained 6lbs. Yes, I know it's muscle, and I'm losing inches blah, blah blah. I just work to hard to have gained weight. It's called bootcamp for a reason. I must have done 100 push-ups this morning and somewhere around 200 crunches. That's with dips and running in between.



Oh, before I forget. my sweet girls have made me laugh so much lateley that I wanted to share.

Olivia wrote a book about America. We have been living in Cayman now for so long that I think she is grasping the cultural differences and wants to return to her roots and write a story. Here are some excerpts.

American money is green, but Cayman money is blue.


These are some of our famous presidents. Lincoln and George Washington.



A lot of people in America believe that people come from monkeys.



Now I wish I could show you how she has illustrated this. First she has a picture of a monkey (that looks more like a satchsquash), then the next is still a similair looking figure but now he is wearing a t-shirt, the next has pants on and the next grows hands and feet. Finally, the last figure is fully clothed with hands and feet. Leave it to her to expose how ridiclous evolution really is.



The next page, has an American flag, explains what language we speak, then finally she sums up why other people in the world dislike Americans.

America is the richest place on earth. So other people, not in America, are jealous because we have more money.

WHATTT??????????

Now the picture she drew for this one is priceless as well. First we have two figures. On one side of the page we have a smiling (American) who is surrounded by LOTS of gold coins. On the left side we have another (non-American) crossing his arms with a frown on his face surrounded by only a few coins.

Yes, folks the decision to raise her outside the US is paying off.

Oh, and Summer informed me that she can spell elephant.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P...

Did you mean alphabet?

I'll explain later....

Trip To The Turtle Farm